The Paleo Lifestyle

Finally, after hiding for a week in my bedroom closet to avoid the Ebola outbreak, I emerged into the sunlight filtering through the window curtains, and turned on my laptop only to discover that the outbreak is gaining traction. Historically, communicable diseases like Ebola or Smallpox were seldom found in hunter-gatherer groups, and seem to have been confined to the settlements of farmers and herdsmen that lived in squalid, crowded conditions along with their animals.

I began thinking about the dubious benefits of ‘Civilization’, and started to search the Internet for information about alternative lifestyles that might be emerging. Lo and behold, I discovered the burgeoning industry developing around the so-called Paleo Lifestyle concept; that is, living like Paleolithic savages from 10,000 years ago or earlier. The thesis is that it is far more ‘healthy’ than living in say, New York City. The movement even has its own magazine: 

 Now, this thing is becoming a fad and no doubt millionaires are going to be made providing bizarre products to sell to the practitioners, ‘gurus’, and enthusiasts. Well, if you are thinking of joining the movement, here are some fun facts right from the source. I selected the Highlanders of Papua New Guinea as the source, as it is proven that they have been living the ‘lifestyle for over 45,000 years.  Here are a group of gentlemen that practice the art as it has evolved in that inhospitable and remote location:

First of all, it should be noted that their diet has little in the way protein and lots of carbohydrates. Their day to day diet consists of  yams, manioc (also known as “cassava”, a plant with a large starchy root) and on occasion meat from village raised pigs, wild cassowary (a large flightless bird related to the emu) or other forest game (such as tree kangaroos and cuscus – a marsupial with a yellow nose and prehensile tail). They also kill and eat each other on occasion, especially after conducting raids to get wives.

And if you visit them, you learn that some tribesmen get a vicious and fatal disease from eating the brains of their victims. Of course, cannibalism is a time-honored tradition of many Paleo peoples around the world, and I am not making fun of any of them. They just reinforce the view that humans are omnivorous and opportunistic feeders. In Africa, they competed with Hyenas and other scavengers on a daily basis for dead carcasses when they couldn’t bring down any live game on their own. The best modern representatives of this ancient lifestyle may be found in the San people of Namibia and South Africa (although these gentle people don’t practice cannibalism– you have to go to the Congo and adjacent countries in central Africa to find this going on.)

So, the lifestyle of ‘Modern Paleos’, as projected in the forgoing magazine, seems to me to be hype to sell more stuff. I think you should pay attention to other opportunities that will present themselves when the supermarket shelves are empty and hungry people start roaming the streets. Here is an example of what I’m talking about:

Wikipedia on Roadkill: It is a practice engaged in by a small subculture in the United States, Southern Canada, the United Kingdom and other Western countries as well as in other parts of the world. Advantages of the roadkill diet, apart from its low cost, are that the animals that roadkill scavengers eat are naturally high in vitamins and proteins with lean meat and little saturated fat, and generally free of additives and drugs.

While this may seem disgusting, It may be a very practical thing to do while you learn to be a genuine hunter-gatherer living the genuine lifestyle of a modern ‘Paleo’. To help you along, here is a recipe book that might be helpful: http://deadfood.com/