Allison Burbach (12/4): The Tender Carnivore

Paul Shepard’s The Tender Carnivore is a fascinating take on the ills of society. The agricultural revolution is often hailed as a turning point in human history because people could settle in one area and have their food needs met, which, in turn, increased human populations. Paul Shepard, however, views agriculture as a majorly destructive invention. The rise of farming decreased the hunter-gatherer lifestyle and brought forth more structure to society that created hierarchy. I find Shepard’s perspective different than I have ever heard before. My perception of hunter-gatherers is that they struggled to continuously find food sources and the agricultural revolution made life easier and less stressful. My takeaway from this book is that I have been thinking about the history of the relationship between humans and food all wrong. I know there are systematic problems with human society but I did not think they could be traced back to the Neolithic revolution.

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