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The “Eat Me” Diet© ©2004 Harold G. Kraus, Jr.
To be developed….
The basic principle of the “Eat Me” Diet is to eat plants and animals that “actually want to be eaten”[1], that is, those plants and animals that being eaten somehow improves the specie’s odds of reproduction and survival, in a non-agricultural context. The idea is that animals and plants that rely on being eaten have evolved to become nutritious to support the reproduction and survival of the animals that are doing the eating.
Almost all fruits say, “Eat me!” because they rely on animals to spread their seeds. In fact, they change colors say, “Eat me! Eat me, now!” (Note, often the colors themselves are particularly valuable nutrients.) Many nuts say, “Eat me!” because they rely on animals not only to spread their seeds, but to plant them as well. If you rely on animals to spread and plant your seeds, it pays to keep them healthy.
So, it can be something of an intellectual game to figure out which plants and animals say “Eat Me!” or “Don’t Eat Me!”
Animals that herd defensively with horns and hooves that have some defensive value say, “Eat me”. Actually they say, “Eat that one coughing and limping over there, and quickly now.” The development of defensive traits depends on the nutritional quality of the meat, does it not? Were the meat not good, the animal would not be hunted. The healthier the flesh is for the predator, the heavier the predation pressure is on the herd, and the greater the development of defensive features (herding, antlers, horns, bulk, strength, or speed).
Bambi actually does want you to eat her sick cousin. Remember the lawyer joke, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I just have to out run you!”
The more delicious you look, the more likely one of your herd mates that is slower, weaker, smaller, or sicker will be eaten, increasing your odd odds of mating and reproducing (the old bait and switch).
Thorns: Eat Me! (but eat my fruit only)
(walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, brazil nuts, acorns)
(peaches, dates, et al)
The rooting out of bulbs disturbs the ground and disperses bulblets?
Grasses “say” to herding grazers, “Hey, eat my tender, sweet nutritious leaves! What, all gone already? Might I suggest that bush over there?” Grasses grow back much faster than trees, bushes, and broadleaf plants. Herd grazing help grasses overcome most other plants.
The quick recovery (days) of grass from grazing gives grasses survival advantages over all other plants, if the plants are subject to intensive herd grazing. The pre-reproductive stage growth is the generally the most palatable stage of grass.
Wild Grasses reap no benefit from having its reproductive parts digested. Grains normally have some features that make them less digestible. The plant is least palatable as the grain develops and matures. The grain head is the least palatable part of the wild grain plant. The individual grains are hard and have tough indigestible coatings.
Note: There are some grasses such as buffalo grass that manage to “sneak” their seeds into the mouths of animals that graze on their leaves. Such seeds are indigestible so they will be spread miles away by the animal. The herd animal gets no direct nutritional benefit from eating the seed.
Domestic grains are non-perishable, high concentration sources of calories and certain proteins, vitamins, and oils. However, severe mechanical and chemical processing is required to make them even remotely digestible. This processing often removes much of the desirable nutrient, but also leaves in some of the toxic properties. But, in the end, all modern grains were developed from grasses that would just as soon have you drop dead rather than digest their seeds.
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[1] Giving credit to a phrase employed by Douglas Adams’ Arcturan Megacow in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.