Recent History
January 10, 1933
Ten Lessons on Meat for Use in Schools
Meat is one of the most important foods. It is usually the item around which the balanced meal is built. In studying the composition and the chemical constituents of meat, the role it plays in the diet will be understood.
Meat as a Food
Meat is one of the most important foods. It is usually the item around which the balanced meal is built. In studying the composition and the chemical constituents of meat, the role it plays in the diet will be understood.
Protein.
Meat is undoubtedly the most widely used of all animal proteins. This use of meat as a source of protein is scientifically sound because of the high biological value of its protein. The belief is no longer held that proteins from whatever source are of equal value in the diet.
Dr. H. H. Mitchell makes this point clear in the following statement: "Even vegetable foods such as dried (navy) beans and cocoa, which are relatively rich in crude protein are unimportant as sources of protein in nutrition because of the enormous losses of nitrogen in the course of their utilization in digestion, or in metabolism, or both. Their high content of protein is deceptive and the conclusion that such foods are 'meat substitutes/ though frequently stated, must be considered erroneous. "Among the animal foods it is evident that meats and meat products are preeminent as sources of protein. Although the biological value of animal tissue proteins (nitrogen) is appreciably lower than those of eggs or of milk, the higher content of protein in animal tissues, either on the fresh or dry basis, offsets or more than offsets their greater losses in metabolism.''1
McCollum and Simmonds emphasize the same point: "It is surprising that proteins of all peas and beans are of low biological value. This means that they are not well utilized when they form the sole source of protein in the diet. This fact compels a revision of views formerly held concerning the importance of seeds of the leguminous plants. A few years ago it was generally taught that peas and beans were excellent substitutes for meats. . . . Proteins from one source, rich in certain digestion products which were furnished in but small amounts by proteins from another source might be combined, and each protein would enhance the value of the other. Unfortunately, the proteins of peas, beans and soy beans do not enhance to any marked degree the quality of the cereal grain proteins. In this respect these proteins are distinctly inferior to meat proteins."2
Dr. Casimer Funk and Dr. Benjamin Harrow make the following statement about the use of meat as protein food: "Meat is the most popular protein food, but at the same time contains other food constituents. We find proteins in peas, beans, and cereals, though as a rule the proteins found in the plant world are not as 'complete' as those found in the animal world. This is a strong argument against the adoption of a strictly vegetarian diet."3
A survey of Table 3 will disclose the marked superiority of animal foods over vegetable foods as sources of protein. Another angle from which protein study is approached is the supplementary relations which exist between proteins from different sources. Proteins with the same amino-acid deficiencies will not supplement each other. Proteins from meats are decidedly valuable in enhancing the proteins of the cereal grains. This is due not only to the fact that meats and cereal grains do not have the same amino-acid deficiencies but also to the fact that the proteins from both of these sources are highly assimilable.
Fat.
Fat is a valuable constituent of food. It is used in the body to form fatty tissue and to furnish energy. Fat has a greater fuel value than any other food constituent. One pound of fat will yield two and one-fourth times as much heat as do proteins or carbohydrates. Meats, especially the fat meats, such as bacon and salt pork, are splendid energy foods.
January 11, 1933
Ten Lessons on Meat - For Use in Schools
"It seems fair, then, to conclude that the earlier estimates of man's protein needs were approximately correct, and that to enjoy sustained vigor and to experience his normal expectancy, man must eat a liberal quantity of good protein. By good is meant proteins of protein mixtures which are of high biologic value, in which the proteins of meat or milk, preferably both, find first place."
EARLY in the history of the science of nutrition meat was regarded just as one of the several protein foods. As knowledge of protein values increased greater stress was placed on the fact that animal proteins, namely, meat, milk, eggs, and cheese must be differentiated from vegetable proteins because of the higher biologic value of the former class of proteins. You learned this in Lesson One; also that meat is an excellent source of two essential minerals, iron and phosphorus; that meat contains copper; that meat furnishes energy; and that meat is a source of vitamins, especially the glandular tissue. Lesson Nine presents some of the more recent findings of research on the value of meat in the diet.
Meat in the Normal Diet
Protein requirement.
The question of minimum and optimum protein intake has long been a battleground in the science of nutrition. There is a wide difference of opinion concerning the minimum amount of protein which will maintain health and vigor, although the higher protein standard is more generally accepted. The human race instinctively has chosen the high level of protein intake. Voit, a pioneer in the field, concluded from observation of the amount of protein taken by persons generally that 118 grams was the proper amount for the average man engaged in ordinary activities. Atwater advocated about the same amount, 120 grams. This estimate was generally accepted.
Chittenden, from experiments on himself and a group of students and soldiers, concluded that the accepted protein intake was too high and that about 50 grams daily will assure the best results. McCollum favors a more liberal allowance and points out that Chittenden's experiment represented too short a part of the life span to be conclusive. Muller tells of the decrease in mental and body efficiency and decreased resistance to disease which was experienced in Germany during the war, when one of the chief characteristics of the war-time ration was protein deprivation. McLester sums up the discussion of the relative value of high and low protein diets:
"Thus it would appear that the terms optimum and minimum as applied to diet are not synonymous, and that the smallest permissible intake is not necessarily the best. Meltzer understood this when he said that as an engineer adds the factor of safety when he builds a bridge, a similar factor should be added in the diet. We may be able to get along happily and well, at least for a time, on a minimal protein intake, but the diet which promises the greatest insurance against decay and disease is the one which carries with it a liberal factor of safety. This is the optimum diet.
"It seems fair, then, to conclude that the earlier estimates of man's protein needs were approximately correct, and that to enjoy sustained vigor and to experience his normal expectancy, man must eat a liberal quantity of good protein. By liberal is meant an amount in excess of his theoretic needs, such an amount as the race, in its long experience, has instinctively chosen—say, 100 grams daily, more or less. By good is meant proteins of protein mixtures which are of high biologic value, in which the proteins of meat or milk, preferably both, find first place."*
January 1, 1935
Vilhjalmur Stefansson
Adventures in Diet
Stefansson describes his experiences living with the Eskimo and eating an all meat diet.
In 1906 I went to the Arctic with the food tastes and beliefs of the average American. By 1918, after eleven years living as an Eskimo among Eskimos, I had learned things which caused me to shed most of those beliefs. Ten years later I began to realize that what I had learned was going to influence decisively the sciences of medicine and dietetics. However, what finally impressed the scientists and converted many during the last two or three years, was a series of confirmatory experiments upon myself and a colleague performed at Bellevue Hospital, New York City, under the supervision of a committee representing several universities and other organizations.
Not so long ago, the following dietetic beliefs were common: To be healthy you need a varied diet, composed of elements from both the animal and vegetable kingdoms. You got tired of and eventually felt a revulsion against things if you had to eat them often. This latter belief was supported by stories of people who through force of circumstances had been compelled, for instance, to live for two weeks on sardines and crackers and who, according to the stories, had sworn that so long as they lived they never would touch sardines again. The Southerners had it that nobody can eat a quail a day for thirty days.
May 1, 1935
May 1935 issue of The Canadian Medical Association Journal (Toronto)
Dr Urquhart has not yet met with a single case of cancer in the seven years of his practice, the Eskimos of the Canadian Eastern Arctic were still living substantially on their native foods.
A health survey made in 1935, with cancer as one of its focal points is described in an article by the senior investigator of the survey, Dr. I. N. Rabinowitch of Montreal, appearing in the May 1935 issue of The Canadian Medical Association Journal (Toronto).
“Two different interests prompted this investigation. The purpose of the Canadian Government was to determine the general health of the Eskimos; whether contact with civilization is causing their deterioration; and, if so, the causes. Quite frankly, this was not the writer's interest ... His interest was primarily in the alleged absence of diabetes, cancer, and arteriosclerosis, and the possible relationship between such absence and the peculiar dietary habits of the people.”
Dr. Rabinowitch found in 1935 that the Eskimos of the northern coastal section of the Canadian eastern Arctic were still living substantially on their native foods, although they were in some places eating enough carbohydrates to materially affect their previously good teeth. Of diabetes and arteriosclerosis he found only slight indication. Of cancer he says on page 493:
“In the western Arctic [from Alaska to Coronation Gulf] Dr. Urquhart has not yet met with a single case of cancer in the seven years of his practice. Cancer must be very rare in the eastern Arctic also. I saw one suspicious case ...” [Dr. Rabinowitch thought it was probably not cancer.]
January 1, 1937
Vilhjalmur Stefansson
Cancer and Diet
Eskimos suffer very little from maglignant disease despite a practically exclusive meat diet.
Chronologically speaking, the next report on cancer for this region is credited to me, on page 171 of Dr. Frederick L. Hoffman's Cancer and Diet (Baltimore, 1937) :
“... food surveys of the Arctic region, particularly by Stefansson [in northern Alaska and the Canadian western Arctic] seem to show, regardless of a practically exclusive meat diet, that Eskimos suffer very little from malignant disease ...”
Ancient History
Germany
50000
B.C.E.
Palaeolithic and Mesolithic kill-butchering sites: the hard evidence
The upper paleolithic is characterized by advanced hunting of large animals with various weapons, and planning to maximize easy prey
Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Hunting:
the archaeological record leaves us some direct evidence of man's hunting activities. At Meiendorf (Rust 1937) and Stellmoor (Rusf 1937), some bones of reindeer and birds still conserve weapon marks and a few pieces of silex have remained thrusted in mammalian bones; man kills reindeer with harpoons and sticks (fractured skulls), birds with bows and maybe slings. Three fractured skulls of red deer in Abri Pataud (Bouchud, 1975), and one bovid skull with a circular orifice in Saint Marcel (Allain, 1952) suggest the practice of the so called " co'up de merlin": man has delivered a blow similar to the one used today to butcher cattle. Probably the animal already immobilized (wounded or entrapped) was hit on the frontal with a big stone. At Kokorevo I (Siberia), a large scapula of bison is pierced by the upper end of a point made of bone (Boriskowksi, 1965). At High Furlong (Mesolithic), an elk was discovered with the marks of L7 wounds made by barbed points, of which two were found in the site, and by other arms. The animal had apparently been attacked at two distinct occasions: during the first one, hunters aimed at the legs to lame the animal (fig. 6), later hunters hit the thoracic region and the lungs to kill it. However the elk died in a little lake, perhaps imprisoned in the ice, and man had no access to the meat. The animal represents in fact a hunting loss (Hallam et a1.,1973).
Planning: very good. Many sites belong to Wpe e, were occupied periodically or seasonally and specialised in the capture of a particular game (e.g., horse, reindeeq, ibex). Game drive towards cliffs have been claimed and Solutre (Combier & Thevenot,1976) has long figured as an example, but the evidence is far from conclusive.
Scavenging: no doubt H. sapiens still killed or exploited animals in the occasional and opportunistic way of Lower Palaeolithic times. According to Lindner (Lindner,1941), hunters at Predmost utilised the carcasses of hundreds of mammoths that probably succumbed as a result of natural catastrophes, as food.
Food transport: selective transport of the most useful animal parts is claimed for many sites.
Specialised activities: sometimes the material is dislocated in distinct clusters that could reflect specialised activity areas as for example at Solutre (Combier & Thevenot, 1976). Site topography: some hunting sites were located in valleys enclosed by steep slopes as at Rascano (Gonziilez-Echegaray, 1979), Stellmoor (Rust, 1937), Meiendorf (Rust 1937), or at the foot of rocky cliffs at Solutr6 (Combier & Th6venot, 1,976).
4. Conclusions
Most of the Lower Palaeolithic sites analysed here belong to category a (butchering sites); other kind of concentrations are rare and difficult to ascertain. A number of hunting stations (category e) and a hunting stop (category f) form my sample for the age of Neanderthal man and related people. The Upper Palaeolithic is characterised by many hunting stations, while in Mesolithic times a hunting loss (category d ) was found as well as several sighting sites (category g). The foregoing distribution seems to reflect in a vague way an evolution from scavenging and haphazard opportunistic hunting to well organised, selective hunting activities. However, this reflection results no doubt in part from a priori assumptions concerning the evolution of hominid meat procurement often colouring the interpretations offered for the osseous "hard" data; these are frequently equivocal.
Vindija, 42000, Varaždin, Croatia
28500
B.C.E.
Neanderthal diet at Vindija and Neanderthal predation: The evidence from stable isotopes
The isotope evidence overwhelmingly points to the Neanderthals behaving as top-level carnivores, obtaining almost all of their dietary protein from animal sources
Archeological analysis of faunal remains and of lithic and bone tools has suggested that hunting of medium to large mammals was a major element of Neanderthal subsistence. Plant foods are almost invisible in the archeological record, and it is impossible to estimate accurately their dietary importance. However, stable isotope (13C and 15N) analysis of mammal bone collagen provides a direct measure of diet and has been applied to two Neanderthals and various faunal species from Vindija Cave, Croatia. The isotope evidence overwhelmingly points to the Neanderthals behaving as top-level carnivores, obtaining almost all of their dietary protein from animal sources. Earlier Neanderthals in France and Belgium have yielded similar results, and a pattern of European Neander- thal adaptation as carnivores is emerging. These data reinforce current taphonomic assessments of associated faunal elements and make it unlikely that the Neanderthals were acquiring animal protein principally through scavenging. Instead, these findings portray them as effective predators.
Stable Isotope Analyses.
Mammal bone collagen δ13C and δ15N values reflect the δ13C and δ15N values of dietary protein (14). They furnish a long-term record of diet, giving the average δ13C and δ15N values of all of the protein consumed over the last years of the measured individual's life. δ13C values can be used to discriminate between terrestrial and marine dietary protein in humans and other mammals (15, 16). In addition, because of the canopy effect, species that live in forest environments can have δ13C values that are more negative than species that live in open environments (17). δ15N values are, on average, 2–4‰ higher than the average δ15N value of the protein consumed (18). Therefore, δ15N values can be used to determine the trophic level of the protein consumed. By measuring the δ13C and δ15N values of various fauna in a paleo-ecosystem, it is possible to reconstruct the trophic level relationships within that ecosystem. Therefore, by comparing the δ13C and δ15N values of omnivores such as hominids with the values of herbivores and carnivores from the same ecosystem, it is possible to determine whether those omnivores were obtaining dietary protein from plant or animal sources.
Cheddar Reservoir, Cheddar BS26, UK
12000
B.C.E.
FOCUS: Gough’s Cave and Sun Hole Cave Human Stable Isotope Values Indicate a High Animal Protein Diet in the British Upper Palaeolithic
We were testing the hypothesis that these humans had a mainly hunting economy, and therefore a diet high in animal protein. We found this to be the case, and by comparing the human δ15N values with those of contemporary fauna, we conclude that the protein sources in human diets at these sites came mainly from herbivores such as Bos sp. and Cervus elaphus
We undertook stable isotope analysis of Upper Palaeolithic humans and fauna from the sites of Gough's Cave and Sun Hole Cave, Somerset, U.K., for palaeodietary reconstruction. We were testing the hypothesis that these humans had a mainly hunting economy, and therefore a diet high in animal protein. We found this to be the case, and by comparing the human δ15N values with those of contemporary fauna, we conclude that the protein sources in human diets at these sites came mainly from herbivores such as Bos sp. and Cervus elaphus. There are a large number ofEquus sp. faunal remains from this site, but this species was not a significant food resource in the diets of these Upper Palaeolithic humans.
If the humans hunted and consumed mainly horse, then their 15N values should be c. 3–5‰ (Equus 15N value of 0·7‰+enrichment of 2–4‰). Instead, their 15N values make more sense if they lived mostly off Bos and Cervus elaphus (Bos and Cervus values of c. 3‰+enrichment of 2–4‰=the observed values c. 6–7‰). It is also possible that other species, including Rangifer tarandus, were consumed by these individuals. Rangifer tarandus has 15N values similar to Cervus elaphus (Richards, 1998), and has more positive 13C values, which may explain the observed slight enrichment in the human 13C values. A number of artefacts made from Rangifer tarandus have been found at Gough’s, but there is no other evidence that this species was being exploited for food
Province of Crotone, Italy
500
B.C.E.
On the Sociology of Ancient Sport
One report states that a trainer named Pythagoras recommended a meat diet to the Olympic athletes he trained.
A lack of animal-derived protein seems to have been rectified early in history, as there are two reports of the introduction of meat into the athletes’ diet. One report states that a trainer named Pythagoras recommended a meat diet to the athletes he trained. https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/a-comparison-of-ancient-greek-and-roman-sports-diets-with-modern-day-practices-2473-6449-1000104.php?aid=69865
8 He [Pythagoras] is said to have been the first to train athletes on a meat diet. The first athlete he did this with was Eurymenes. Formerly they had trained on dried figs, moist cheese, and wheat. Some say that it was a trainer named Pythagoras and not the philosopher who was responsible for this innovative diet. For our Pythagoras prohibited killing, not to mention eating, life which possessed souls like our own.
Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Philosophers 8.12
Sport and Recreation
To all appearances medical knowledge in general and nutrition in particular was widespread in Pythagorean circles in Southern Italy, especially in Kroton. Burkert has pointed out that the fmaous doctor Alcmaeon came from the Pythagorean center of Kroton. From the akousmata (secret doctrines), which doubtless contain old religious traditions, we learn that the Pythagoreans were not originally strict vegetarians; the consumption of meat was permitted, with the exception of lamb and the meat of draft oxen. Burkert considers there is some likelihood that Pythagoras introduced a meat diet for athletes. He believes this tradition arose when Pythagorean vegetarianism had not yet been completely developed. In later times, when vegetarianism had prevailed, a second tradition has possibly been invented, in which it was not Pythagoras, the philosopher from Samos and Kroton, but a homonymous person who wrot the great 'trainer's recipe book'.
57: There are similar issues regarding the transmission in later sources of Pythagoras advising the successful heavy athlete Eurymenes of Samos to use a special meat-based diet instead of the dried figs and cheese he had previously been eating.
On the Sociology of Ancient Sport - page 43.
Mantineia 221 00, Greece
480
B.C.E.
A Comparison of Ancient Greek and Roman Sports Diets with Modern Day Practices
Dromeus, a long-distance runner, is said to have first thought of eating meat for training instead of just cheese and won multiple victories.
The second report is that of Pausanias, who writes of Dromeus, a long-distance runner from Stymphalos [23].
“...he won two victories in the dolichos at Olympia, the same number in the Pythian Games, three at the Isthmian and five at the Nemean. He is said to have first thought of eating meat (as part of his training diet). Until then the food for athletes was cheese fresh out of the basket.”
Clearly, if his success is anything to go by, then Dromeus had really found a winner’s diet. There are also reports of athletes eating meat from oxen, bulls, goats and deer, a very” red-meat” diet which is a rich form of protein. Moreover, with meat as a part of their diet, the performance of competing athletes would most certainly have improved noticeably.
5 A man named Dromeus from Mantineia was said to have been the first we know of to have won the pankration by default [ = akoniti]. Pausanias 6.11.4
Dromeus, Long-Distance Runner
There was a man from Stymphalos, named Dromeus, whose record as a long-distance runner was exceptional: he won two victories in the dolichos at Olympia, the same number in the Pythian Games, three at the Isthmian and five at the Nemean. He is said to have first thought of eating meat (as part of his training diet). Until then the food for athletes was cheese fresh out of the basket.
