The global shift to plant-based eating that is currently taking place is often presented as a revolution. And, while it is indeed revolutionary in relationship to the intensity of animal production that emerged in the 20th century – an intensity which continues to accelerate as incomes in poorer countries rise and farming becomes more technologically developed – the notion of ‘a revolution’ obscures the fact that what is taking place is in fact a return to normal. While the industrialisation and rising incomes of the 20th century allowed far more people to eat far more meat and other animal products than ever before, for most of human history, most human societies have been mostly vegan.*
The reasons for this historic fact are practical: farmed meat has always been too resource-intensive to eat freely, and traditional hunting – so easily mythologised and romanticised – is far less productive than most people imagine. Before the invention of firearms, a day of hunting was by no means a guarantee of meat at the end of the day – far more often than not, hunters would return home empty-handed (although fishing, particularly after the invention of the net, had much higher odds of success). Quite simply, plants are by far the easiest food to catch!
It is a remarkable fact of contemporary human civilisation that there is no broad consensus about what constitutes a healthy human diet (although this is largely because we don’t listen to the science). Historically, however, most human diets in most cultures have chiefly consisted of a grain-based, seed-based, or root-based starch, accompanied by a mix of vegetables and plant-based proteins such as pulses. And – on some days – a little meat. The meatbased meals that are eaten daily by middleclass people around the world would previously have been restricted to special occasions, particularly days of celebration.