T. Williams:

I'm glad The Gnoll Credo spoke to you. 

And I'm glad to hear that something more sustainable than imported Spam is becoming available on the islands!  All that fresh volcanic soil might not be the best for agriculture, but one can certainly graze ruminants on it...

pzo:

You're absolutely correct.  Fruits and veggies are seasonal: the only non-seasonal food sources for humans are meat and tubers.  And I've noted before that vegetarianism and veganism are indeed religious in origin, although I haven't written an article on the subject.

Politics loves pseudoscience...it's a cloak of respectability thrown over naked greed.

Asclepius:

"Ghost acres" is a great term which I haven't heard before (though I'm familiar with the concept).  The ocean, in particular, has been strip-mined for protein ("fished", "trawled") for decades.  Any discussion of earth's "carrying capacity" that doesn't mention the impact of this unsustainable contribution is intellectually bankrupt.

JS

Jurik:

Based on the archaeological record, I would argue that "wellness" long predates the Egyptians -- or any agricultural civilization!  

However, it is true that we are making the problem of "healthy eating" far too difficult.  As I said in another article: Eat anything you could pick, dig, or spear.  If we eat within that paradigm, we usually come out pretty well.

It's unfortunate that government subsidies for growing grains have made grass-fed meat so expensive!  Hopefully we're making it profitable enough that more ranchers will start producing it.

JS