How the Agricultural Revolution
Destroyed Our Diet

The original caveman diet consisted mainly of protein, in the form of meat and fish. This constituted approximately two thirds of the average intake. The rest was in the form of carbohydrates, but these were only fruit and vegetables.

It is important to remember that this was the diet for our species for centuries, if not millennia. The change in food intake came only recently. It came with the advent of the agricultural revolution, when man could finally grow his own food, in the form of grains such as wheat, rye, corn, and so forth. He could then grind them, store them and bake them, to be eaten when his heart desired.

In the early stages, the food produced was still very high in fibre and roughage, allowing a slow absorption of glucose into the blood stream. However, as the milling process became ever more efficient, the flour that resulted became whiter and finer, and more easily digested and absorbed. The fibre and the roughage were discarded, used for sale to the poor, or used as animal fodder.

Fashionable Food

Over the years it became more fashionable to eat the white and refined flour products. As a matter of fact, it virtually became a status symbol. So the farm animals got the good stuff - the fibre, the roughage and most of the vitamins, and humans got the empty calories.

Extracting the taste and losing the value, was a phenomenon that was not restricted to the grain industry. As technology advanced we became better and better at extracting sugars and fats and adding them, in a very attractive and tasty way, to a plethora of food products, much of which is junk food.

One only needs to go to a supermarket or a petrol station to see row after row of chocolates, sweets, bars, gums and just about everything you can possible imagine that can masquerade as real food.

The real problem is that these products are very tasty. Much time, research and money have been spent on making sure that they are attractive to our palates. If you then add clever marketing and eye-catching packaging, you end up with a product that is almost irresistible.

In the days when products like these were considered a treat, the problem was not so significant. Almost anyone could afford to have a taste treat every so often and not do much damage. But now these products are cheap and very affordable and they are to be found everywhere you turn. There is no escape.

The sad fact is that many people consider these junk foods to be so much part of normal eating, that to be without them is considered to be the height of self-denial. Add to this the cheap and accessible fast food industry, and you have a problem of catastrophic proportions that is just around the corner.

Obesity Epidemic and Food Manufacturers

It is no surprise that we have an epidemic of obesity in the Western world, one that is being closely followed by an emerging epidemic of maturity onset diabetes mellitus.

In order to appreciate some of the forces that are driving this epidemic we need to look at the economics of food in this country. Of the $75 billion that is spent on the food industry in Australia, 5.0% is spent on producers and more than 90.0% is spent on refiners.

This ratio says it all. A significant driver of the change in our eating habits is the mighty dollar. The manufacturers who make most of the profits need to market more aggressively and advertise more in order to sell more products.

One popular technique used by manufacturers and their advertising companies, is to target a food or nutrient that is considered healthy or advantageous for weight loss, and then create a new product utilizing that particular nutrient as an ingredient.

For example, protein is considered to be healthy and useful for weight loss, so a protein bar is created and marketed as a snack food for those who want a protein snack. The problem is that the manufacturing process and many of the ingredients and preservatives used in the process create a product that is far removed from the original protein snack. It is much more likely that the end product is relatively unhealthy, and often fattening.

Unless we educate and inform consumers about the foods they are treating as staples, the problem will only get worse. In Australia the prevalence of overweight doubled between 1985 and 1995, while the rates of obesity have trebled. Currently 20-25% of children and adolescents in Australia are overweight or obese. In the USA the situation is even worse, with the rate of obesity in some states, classified as a BMI of more than 30, and is affecting approximately one out of every three people in the state.

The consequences for the health of the population are so adverse that actuaries are now predicting that unless something is done soon, the lifespan of the current generation of youngsters is likely to be at least 10 years less than their parents.