The evolution of human diet

[Jacques Cinq-Mars]

Since this topic is presently making the (press) round, under one form or another, here is some information from the horse's mouth, as it were:

Workshop information for:
The evolution of human diet:  the known, the unknown, and the unknowable.

An understanding of the diets of our ancestors is of great importance to paleontologists and archeologists interested in our past, and to nutritionists, medical practitioners, and laypersons interested in understanding what our bodies have evolved to eat.

What do we really know about the diets of our early ancestors, the fossil hominins?  What is not known?  What is unknowable?  These questions are difficult to answer because of a lack of communication among producers of knowledge on the evolution of human diet.   Of equal significance is the lack of communication between these producers and the consumers of this information; especially the dieticians, physicians and diet book gurus that popularize “caveman” diets, and claim that we should be eating foods more like those eaten by our distant ancestors.

The workshop has two goals:  1) to bring together producers of knowledge from disparate fields to assess what is known, unknown and unknowable about the evolution of human diet; and 2) to bring producers together with those consumers that apply this knowledge to help create popular diets for weight loss and health maintenance.

This workshop is organized by Dr. Peter Ungar and made possible by the generous support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The Workshop Presenters consist of:

Bunn, Henry
Cordain, Loren
Daegling, David
Eaton, Boyd
Grine, Frederick
Milton, Katharine
Schoeninger, Margaret
Sears, Barry
Sept, Jeanne
Shea, John
Teaford, Mark
Ungar, Peter
Wrangham, Richard.

Some of the Abstracts are quite informative and can be read
HERE.

Jacques Cinq-Mars

[Jacques Cinq-Mars]

All,

Here is a complementary (?) 'press' story on the topic of my earlier post.

Jacques Cinq-Mars

UA Site Of Symposium On Diet
Understanding Eating's Evolution May Help Explain Effect Of Food

Special To The Morning News/NWAonline.net. Wed, Aug 13, 2003

FAYETTEVILLE -- Each year more than 300,000 Americans die of obesity or weight-related health conditions. At the same time, tens of millions of people report they're trying to shed pounds.

This week, the University of Arkansas will gather a dozen of the nation's leading experts to discuss the evolution of the human diet. By understanding how diet developed throughout the history of our species, these researchers hope to offer insight on how the food we eat affects our health and bodies today.

Supported by a $40,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, "The Evolution of Human Diet: the Known, the Unknown and the Unknowable" will be Thursday and Friday in the Poultry Science Center Auditorium on campus. Experts on human evolution, nutrition, behavioral ecology, anthropology and medicine will provide two days of presentations aimed at educating the public about what is known and what can be known about diet and its relation to health.

The symposium is free of charge and open to the public.

"A lot of what the public assumes is known about diet is not, and much of that may, in fact, be unknowable. With diet books topping the best seller lists, telling people what we're 'designed' to eat, the public needs information to distinguish claims supported by scientific research from those based on conjecture," said Peter Ungar, professor of anthropology and the organizer of the symposium.

With presenters ranging from Boyd Eaton, an expert on evolutionary medicine, to Barry Sears, author of the popular diet book, "The Zone," Ungar expects the conference to offer a wide examination of the subject -- from academically oriented research to consumer-oriented industry.

University officials say this broad perspective could provide valuable information to a number of audiences, including the general public, health professionals, nutritionists and scholars. In addition, it brings together researchers from a variety of fields to share their findings, which may open opportunities for collaboration across disciplines.

"There are many researchers examining the human diet and its evolution, but they've taken different approaches, and they come from different professional circles. As a result, they're often not as familiar with each other's work as they ought to be," Ungar said. "We hope the symposium will bring about a dynamic interaction that may move the field forward."

Over the course of two days, each expert will give a 50-minute presentation, followed by 10 minutes of questions from the audience.