Muhlenbein, M. (ed.) 2015. Basics in Human Evolution. Elsevier ( in press ). Chapter 27: agriculturalism

To return to the evolutionary mismatch question, Lloyd et al. (n.d.) point out that in a sense evolutionary mismatch is always with us, because our environment is always changing if only because other species are evolving. Moreover, the diet of Paleolithic peoples was not constant, but also must have changed over time. I agree with Zuk that the claims of paleodiet enthusiasts are greatly overstated and that their viewpoint likely exaggerates the persistence of hunter-gatherer adaptations. On the other hand, Lindeberg (2010), Lloyd et al. (n.d.) and others are making a genuine contribution to nutrition research by attempting to put it on an evolutionary footing. Moreover, it is unquestionably true that today we have an abundance of cheap, readily available sugar, salt, fat, and other high calorie foods, and that we tend to over-eat them, because of cravings that were adaptive in ancient times,when such foods were not available in quantity. Agriculture certainly started the process of making such foods readily available to us, and it did so because we selected for palatability, which is to say according to our cravings. But for most of the 10,000 years of agriculture, there were countervailing forces that encouraged us to continue to eat bitter herbs, for instance, and that militated against drastic overconsumption of calories and sugars. In addition, we evolved, as for instance the amylase gene copy data suggest (Perry et al., 2007). Moreover, the starch-dysentery relationship illustrates that the whole story is more complex than as usually conceived. There certainly is a serious evolutionary mismatch today (see Low et al. chapter), but much of this derives from the Industrial Revolution, which began only a short time ago, evolutionarily speaking. Also, ironically, the mismatch is of our own creation. We did it to ourselves, because of our evolutionary history, and because, thanks to fossil fuels and the Industrial Revolution, we could.

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Figure 2.Generalized map of the spread of domesticated plants from the Fertile Crescent origin center.

Extinctions and contractions in range due to human impacts

Evolution of domesticates, including ornamentals

Evolution of weeds and other “pests”

Invasions, many if not most of them due to the spread of agriculture,

leading to biotic homogenization

China 10,500 BP rice, millets

Mexico 10,000 BP squash, maize

New Guinea 10,000 BP taro, sugar, bananas

Central Andes 10,000 BP squash, quinoa
Sahel 7,000 BP sorghum

Mississippi Valley 5,000 BP sunflower, squash

Spearmint Carrot

Peppermint Parsley

Lemon mint, etc. Celery

Sage Cilantro (coriander)

Rosemary Anise

Thyme Dill

Oregano Fennel

Marjoram Caraway

Summer savory Cumin

Winter savory Asafoetida

Lavender Chervil

Lemon balm Lovage

Catnip

Table 4. Evolutionary trends under domestication (modified from Blumler, 1994)

Indehiscence

Uniform maturity

Loss of competitive ability (upright growth)

Increased self-fertilization
Probably resulting at least in part from conscious farmer selection

Uniform germination (loss of dormancy)

Increased size of the desired plant part

Increased harvest index (proportion of the crop biomass harvested for food)

Loss of anti-herbivore defense (increased palatability)
Hypothesized changes that are without empirical support

Increased seedling vigor

Increased adaptation to fertile soils

Consistent physiological changes

Starch: increases

Sugar: increases

Fiber: decreases