The method(s) of how progress in food cultivation allows peoples across eons around the globe to grow, develop and define their cultures is a fascinating topic. It is easy to forget for some in more recent generations that for the bulk of human history people have had to spend most of their waking hours working for their food every day. How this food progression took place helped shape the societies we know in today’s world. This essay will summarize how food allowed various cultures to grow and expand because of the food they were able to domesticate and cultivate, regardless of the sometimes drastic climate changes which took place. Diets sometimes had to change in order for people to adapt and survive, and because of such adaptations and changes, we have the huge smorgasbord of foods available to us today, no matter where on the planet one lives.
Pre-humans, a/k/a hominids, “left the forests to live on the wooded edges of huge brackish lakes and estuaries in what is now Africa’s Rift Valley.” Fish and shellfish were the staple diet of early pre-humans and humans. Early human civilizations were founded along coasts and rivers where there was easy access to seafood, an excellent source of protein needed to fuel the body for hard labor, and DHA/EPA-rich omega-3 fatty acids, which are thought to have allowed brain size to grow and modern humans to develop. Taras Grescoe, the author of the “Want to live longer? You need this nutrient” articles suggests that today’s food is too heavy in omega-6 fatty acids, and that humans were able to develop and progress because of omega-3 fatty acids which are found in fish. Until very recently, the vast majority of the world’s population lived near rivers and coastlines and had easy access to brain-enriching nutrients. Some companies are taking advantage of this information to create their business models: selling brain health. So that people who do not have access to fresh fish can increase their intake of...