Human beings have always been adaptable when it comes to food. As omnivores, we have the ability to thrive on both animal and plant-based foods, depending on what is available in our environment. Early humans, living over 100,000 years ago, consumed a wide variety of foods—some eating more animal-based foods, others focusing on plants, depending on the terrain, climate, and season. This dietary flexibility is a cornerstone of our evolutionary history.

The Pre-Agricultural Diet: For the vast majority of human history, food was minimally processed. The two primary alterations were hand harvesting and cooking. This is in stark contrast to the food industry today, which manipulates food in many ways, including genetic modifications, the use of pesticides, and food processing techniques that extend shelf life. Our ancestors were primarily foragers, hunting and gathering wild foods, a practice that limited human exposure to the industrialized, chemical-laden foods we have today.

The Agricultural Revolution: Around 10,000 years ago, the advent of agriculture began to reshape human diets. Early agriculture, which involved the domestication of plants and animals, was still far less manipulated than modern food production. However, even back then, humans had begun selectively breeding plants and animals for traits like size, yield, and disease resistance. This early agricultural shift provided more stable food supplies but also led to a decrease in dietary diversity. While we gained more predictable access to food, we also became more reliant on staple crops like wheat, rice, and maize, leading to a less varied diet and new nutritional challenges, such as vitamin deficiencies.

The Industrial Food System: Fast forward to the 20th and 21st centuries, and the modern food system has been revolutionized by industrial farming. The rise of monocultures, where a single crop is grown over vast areas, has resulted in nutrient-poor, highly processed foods that are often loaded with preservatives, chemicals, and refined sugars. These foods are created for convenience, shelf stability, and mass distribution rather than for flavor, nutrition, or sustainability.

This shift has led to a dramatic increase in foods that are:

1. Not wild-caught or harvested.

2. Deviated from traditional, small-farm agricultural methods.

3. Produced with a focus on shelf stability and cost reduction, often sacrificing flavor, nutritional value, and variety.

Adulteration of Modern Foods: When I refer to the “adulteration” of food, I mean the significant manipulation that occurs in modern food production. This includes everything from genetic modification and the use of pesticides to industrial-scale processing that alters the nutritional content of foods. Even basic cooking techniques, like microwaving or pasteurizing, can lead to the loss of important nutrients. Today’s food industry is built around maximizing profit, which often means sacrificing quality and nutrition.

For example, many commercially produced grains, like wheat, are stripped of their nutrients during processing. The result? A food system that prioritizes quantity over quality, leading to an increased reliance on refined, low-nutrient foods. Studies show that processed foods contribute significantly to the rise in chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, as these foods are often high in sugar, unhealthy fats, and salt while lacking fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

The Impacts of the Modern Diet: The shift from foraging to farming brought about significant changes, some of which were beneficial, like increased food security. However, it also had unintended consequences, including health problems linked to a less diverse diet. Early agricultural societies saw an increase in diseases associated with malnutrition, such as scurvy and rickets, due to limited access to micronutrients found in a varied, wild diet.

In the modern era, despite advancements in food production, we face new challenges. For example, a 2017 study from the journal Environmental Health Perspectives highlights the depletion of soil nutrients due to industrial farming practices, which results in foods that are less nutrient-dense than their wild counterparts. Additionally, the rise of highly processed foods has led to an increase in diet-related chronic diseases.

A Call to Action: While we cannot completely turn back the clock, it is clear that we need to be more mindful of what we eat and how it is produced. The key to improving our diets lies in returning to more natural, whole foods that are minimally processed. This means opting for fresh produce, wild-caught fish, grass-fed meats, and sustainably grown crops. A diet that emphasizes variety—ideally based on local and seasonal foods—can help restore balance and mitigate the health issues brought on by industrial agriculture.

Ultimately, while early agriculture had its drawbacks, it laid the foundation for modern society. The challenge now is to refine our food systems to promote better health, sustainability, and nutrition. As consumers, we have the power to demand higher-quality, more sustainable foods by supporting ethical farming practices and being conscious of the food we choose to put in our bodies.