The Eating Evolution

Ever wonder why the foods we crave always seem to be heart attacks waiting to happen? Curious as to why french fries are undoubtedly more appealing to our stomachs than celery stalks from the dining hall?

A recent article on organic foods in Time magazine affirmed the notion that the human body only wants foods that are bad for it: namely, fat, salt and sugar. And, according to Boston University biology professor James Traniello, Darwinism may have more to do with our late-night pizza runs than we think.

The evolution of eating behavior in ancient times led to the development of our current dietary preferences, Traniello said.

"Behavior was adaptive in the past, but not necessarily today," he said. "Selection acted that shaped the human palate."

Scientist Charles Darwin described natural selection, or survival of the fittest, in his 1859 work "The Origin of Species" as a process in which certain traits are favored over others.

Certain dietary components, such as sodium and fat, were favored in early history and are still prevalent in our diet today, Traniello said.

I CAN HAZ CHEEZBURGER?

So why did ancient humans hunger for salty and fatty foods so much?

"They were nutritionally very important," Traniello said.

"Fat was relatively rare but energetically full of calories," he said. "Salt [was] important as an electrolyte and in nerve function."

Those substances were essential for central processing in the human brain, he said.

He said that although salt and fat were necessary for the maintenance of the human body, they were not easy to come by during ancient times.

"It was at a time when food was not abundant at all," he said. "If it was rare in the environment, selection would have acted in order to favor it."

Attaining those types of foods had a direct impact on reproductive success, he said. In other words, people with more fat and sodium in their diets had a better chance of reproducing because they were the healthier and fitter members of their species.

SUPERSIZE ME

Certain bodily and behavioral changes throughout early history may have also contributed to the modern human appetite, Traniello said.

According to the Time article, the average American consumes almost 220 pounds of meat per year.

Scientists are currently trying to piece together parts of the fossil record in order to determine when the human diet started to become more meat-oriented, he said.

"It's somewhat controversial," he said.

He said one popular theory is the cooking hypothesis, developed by Harvard University biological anthropology professor Richard Wrangham in 2000, which argued that the start of cooking over a billion years ago allowed the early human brain to expand in size.

"The argument is that brains are very expensive to maintain metabolically," Traniello said.

If the human brain expanded over human history, the energy to do so must have come from shifting to a higher quality of diet containing more meat, he said. Using fire to cook food made things like carbohydrates and nutrients easier for the human body to absorb, he said.

SOCIAL SNACKING

Prefer eating dinner with friends? So did early humans.

"Food certainly has much more than nutritionalvalue in human society," he said.

"In our earlier history, humans were expending more energy to acquire food," he said. "[Their] lifestyles were not the lifestyles of either agrarian societies or industrial societies."

Group hunting was common in those times, he said.

He said eating was also used as a bonding experience, much like the human experience today, although there were certainly no grocery stores and dining halls to be found.

One of the world's oldest funeral meals, documented from about 12,000 years ago, included a large number of tortoises and game animals that were slaughtered and eaten, he said.

WHAT IS ORGANIC, ANYWAY?

Traditional processed foods, which tend to be high in sodium or fat, are usually the source of dietary temptation, the Time article said. In addition, some foods contain added hormones or pesticide remnants, the article said.

"Certainly, people are aware of the consequences of pesticides," Traniello said.

When used in combination, the toxicity levels of pesticides are unknown, he said.

Organic foods, however, offer consumers the option of eating foods raised without the use of pesticides or growth hormones.

"First of all, you're getting better tasting food," he said.

"A lot of the idea of eating locally is that you're eating food that's very fresh," he said. "You get not only the nutritional value, but you get the added value of not having to adulterate it in any way to make it taste better."

Dining Services Sustainability Coordinator Sabrina Harper said in an email that many organic options are available to students through the BU farmer's market, which runs every Thursday from August to November in the George Sherman Union Plaza.

"Gold Meadow Farms sells organic vegetables and plants," she said. "Ward's Berry Farm, while not being organic, does practice integrated pest management, which aims at minimizing fertilizer and pesticide use."

She said products from the market are just as affordable for students as those from local grocery stores.

"The prices at the famer's market are very competitive with local supermarket prices, especially when considering the quality," she said. "It is no doubt a great value."

Students can obtain a balanced diet from the dining halls without adding any supplementary foods, though, she said.

"The farmer's market is not intended to replace the dining halls nor enhance [them]," she said. "It is simply intended to offer students local, sustainable options."

She said students have responded well to the market, with a growing number of visitors each week.

She said students should always make smart choices when eating, whether at a dining hall, restaurant or grocery store.

"At the dining halls, you know you are eating healthy when you choose a Sargent Choice option, as well as items such as fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins," she said.

School of Management sophomore Soleil Schwabe said she thinks Sargent Choice foods are good options for students.

"If you want to eat healthy, you can," she said.

College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Sophie Cox said she agrees that many healthy foods can be found in dining halls, but she is sometimes disappointed with the selection.

"There's not a whole lot of options in the smaller [dining halls]," she said. "I kind of get tired of salads all the time."

However, she said that she feels alternate products are always readily available to students elsewhere, such as local grocery stores or drugstores.

"It's pretty easy to buy something healthy like granola bars," she said.

CAS sophomore Howie Zuefle said he feels there are just as many unhealthy foods as healthy options in dining halls, such as brownies.

"Eating healthy depends on you so much," he said.