Wild New World
Mr. Skeptical looks at the title of this post and adds, “You’re doing book reviews now?”
“Yes. This book is about all the animals that have lived in the Americas.”
“Why are you writing about animals?”
“Because there’s lots of Subconscious Fat here. Not just about the animals, but about human nature as well.”
LOCAL LOVE: Simon runs and owns www.CleaverandHog.com. Every Saturday at the Farmer’s Market at Legion’s Park in Miami, he sells 100% grass-fed beef and other pasture-raised, hormone-free animal products. I get my raw milk from him, grass-fed dairy for pets. Get there early, for often there’s a long line. I love the larger duck eggs, too. Feel free to call him ‘mate’ because he’s from Australia and loves tinkering with old BMWs. 
Subconscious Fat at 30,000 feet
About 13,000 years ago, humans from northeastern Asia came across a land bridge created by the ice age, which connected Siberia to Alaska. These humans were skilled hunters and followed large herds of animals into America.
The humans encountered one significant difference in the animals of the new world: they didn’t fear humans. So they were easy prey.
Mr. Skeptical asks, “Easy prey? Why didn’t they fear humans?”
“Animals from Africa co-evolved with humans. Once our ancestors evolved enough to use fire, we could cook meat. This led to our brains growing, but also permitted the animals around us to fear us, and for good reason.”
“That’s probably why you still have elephants in Africa; they’ve learned to fear humans, but the ones in America went extinct because they never learned that behavior.”
“Exactly. Mammoths, mastodons, and giant ground sloths once roamed the continent alongside saber-toothed cats and dire wolves. These colossal creatures, along with the American lion and the short-faced bear, disappeared from the landscape around 13,000 years ago, coinciding with the arrival of humans.”
Subconscious Fat at 10,000 feet
In “Wild New World,” Dan Flores recounts the remarkable rise of the Chaco people in what is now the American Southwest. Flourishing around 900 to 1150 CE, the Chacoans developed advanced agricultural practices, creating an extensive network of farms that supported their society. They built impressive structures like the great houses of Chaco Canyon, which served as hubs of religious and political activity.
“So, their society ended before the Europeans arrived. What happened?”
“Something predictable happened. It’s what tends to happen when humans start agriculture. The author, Dan, wrote:
“Human populations skyrocketed, and crops that needed to be boiled before you could eat them meant that daily cooking fires soon reduced the piñon-juniper woodland to dessert.”
Mr. Skeptical folds his arms and pouts. “What’s the predictable thing humans do when they begin farming?”
“Well, let’s analyze the situation. The animals around you have been killed off, so you must eat stuff you can grow. This means you depend on the weather, which often means you’re going to become extremely religious, which often means a few smart individuals will realize this and create stories to sway people. These individuals will place themselves in positions of power.”
“What does all of that have to do with what happened to the Chacoans?”
“Everything. Eventually, when the religious elite’s prayers didn’t work and rain didn’t come, the poor farmers around them started smelling the bullshit. They rebelled and killed many of the religious elite.”
The book quotes:
“Isotopes comparisons of the bones of the priestly class in Chaco’s great houses with those of the farmers from the villages indicates that elites consumed for more protein from meat of dear and pronghorns. They were better fed, grew almost two inches taller, suffered less from disease, had three times the survival rate for children under five and lived longer.”
Subconscious Fat at Eye-Level
Another interesting theme in the book is how foolish many early Europeans were when they arrived in America. The first settlers never understood the concept of animal culture.
Mr. Skeptical gets up, looking irritated. “Explain what you mean by animal culture?”
“Culture means, in a broad sense, intellectual achievements that are passed on to others and future generations.”
“So, you’re saying animals have culture.”
“Yes. For example, the Native Americans would sometimes run a herd of animals off a cliff to kill them and have fatty meat. However, they knew if only one animal survived the slaughter, then that animal would pass that knowledge to others of its kind.”
Mr. Skeptical puts on a face like he smells something awful.
Ignoring his face I continue, “European settlers never understood this concept till much later. Europeans assumed that if there were no wolves in Europe, there should be no wolves or coyotes in America. Consequently, wolves and coyotes were killed off by any means possible. Poison was often used. However, the wolves and coyotes had culture. When one would see a fellow canine die from eating poisoned meat, they learned to avoid it. We ended up having some brilliant wolves and coyotes.
“When wolves were killed off, deer populations would then explode, followed by a predictable 50-70% die-off of starvation because the deer ran out of food.”
Mr. Skeptical puts a hand on his chin. “That story sounds familiar.”
“Yes, humans basically do the same thing.”
Practical Suggestions and Conclusions
Humans are evolved animals, and we evolved into larger-brained animals by eating cooked meat. And many other intelligent people agree with me, so I’m not the only crazy one to think this way.
Mr. Skeptical folds his arms and leans back in his chair. “You know, you always bring this back to your agenda, don’t you?”
“Well…yes. I help my training and online clients get on a modified carnivore diet to help them lose weight and gain muscle. However, I believe they also improve overall physical and mental health. The better I can convey these ideas by showing evidence of the past, the better results I’ll get from my clients, and they’ll be happier and healthier for it, too. It’s a win-win situation. I love win-win scenarios.
“Well, seeing how humans have killed off so many animals. I’m sure the book would make many want to be a vegetarian.”
“One can view it that way, sure. One can also view it as humans thrive on meat and let’s raise healthy, happy animals until the day they get slaughtered. As for the animals in the wild, they need to be protected to make sure they don’t go extinct.
“A book like Wild New World connects the dots for many as to why humans need fatty meat and what tends to happen if we don’t get it. It also explains why places like Hong Kong (one of the highest life spans of humans anywhere on Earth in the 80’s) also eat the most meat. It also explains why countries like India (which eat the least meat) have an average life expectancy in the 60’s.
“This also explains why smart, wealthy individuals like Mark Zuckerberg own a large farm in Hawaii, raising highly rated wagyu cattle that feed on macadamia nuts and beer.
Be aware.
PS Links in Facebook and Instagram. Full disclosure: Chat GPT was used to research and enhance this post.