My four-year-old daughter asked me the other day: "Mummy were you a vegetarian once?" I replied, "Yes," then she said "Oh, and then you turned into a human being."

Who needs quotes from the 'experts' when you got four-year-olds to tell you how it is?

From Julius Caesar's Commentary on the Gallic Wars:

The nation of the Suevi is by far the largest and the most warlike nation of all the Germans.... They do not live much on corn, but subsist for the most part on milk and flesh, and are much [engaged] in hunting; which circumstance must, by the nature of their food, and by their daily exercise and the freedom of their life (for having from boyhood been accustomed to no employment, or discipline, they do nothing at all contrary to their inclination), both promote their strength and render them men of vast stature of body. And to such a habit have they brought themselves, that even in the coldest parts they wear no clothing whatever except skins, by reason of the scantiness of which, a great portion of their body is bare, and besides they bathe in open rivers.

Their whole life is occupied in hunting and in the pursuits of the military art; from childhood they devote themselves to fatigue and hardships. Those who have remained chaste for the longest time, receive the greatest commendation among their people; they think that by this the growth is promoted, by this the physical powers are increased and the sinews are strengthened.... They do not pay much attention to agriculture, and a large portion of their food consists in milk, cheese, and flesh.

Cain and Abel The First Book of Moses, called Genesis

1. And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
2. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5. But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
6. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7. If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
8. And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
9. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
10. And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
12. When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/cain.html#genesis

Bruce Lee had some ideas about nutrition that were pretty progressive in the late 60s and early 70s. From the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee

Lee also avoided baked goods and refined flour, describing them as providing calories which did nothing for his body.

Not a quote but something in regards to grains that always seems to make people think when brought up: Why do we feed cows grain? Because it makes them FAT, QUICKLY. That should tell you something about grains.

The Corps of Discovery consumed 9 pounds of meat per person per day.

http://www.lewisandclarktrail.com/hunting.htm http://www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/LewisClark2/CorpsOfDiscovery/Preparing/Food/Food.htm http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/12/1204_031204_lewisclark.html

I want to be left alone. I want to sit in the grass. I want to ride my horse. I want to lay a woman naked in the grass on the mountainside. I want to think. I want to pray. I want to sleep. I want to look at the stars. I want what I want. I want to get and prepare my own food, with my own hands, and live that way. I want to roll my own. I want to smoke some deer meat and pack it in my saddlebag, and go away over the bluff. I want to read books. I want to write books. I’ll write books in the woods. Thoreau was was right; Jesus was right. It’s all wrong and I denounce it and it can all go to hell. I don’t believe in this society, but I believe in man, like Mann. So roll your own bones, I say.

Jack Kerouac, letter to A. Ginsberg, June 10th, 1949

Well the quote from "The Voyage of the Beagle" by Charles Darwin struck a chord with me. When I was pregnant with my fourth child I had severe morning sickness and could not keep anything down. I was on the verge of being admitted to hospital to be re-hydrated and absolutely nothing I was offered to eat or drink appealed to me.

My ex make the greasiest flour thickened soup with probably pork or bacon fat, potatoes, and other assorted vegetables and made me try a bowl of it. The surprising part of the story is that it actually stayed down. It must have been the fat.

According to the legend, a Greek runner by the name of Pheidippides ran in excess of 145 miles from Athens to Sparta in roughly 24 hours, which was quite a display of ultraendurance athleticism. Pheidippides followed up on this feat by running an additional 26 miles from Marathon to Athens to announce a great Greek victory. When he reached Athens he proclaimed either "Nike" (Victory) or "Be Happy! We have won!" Pheidippides then fell to the ground---dead.

Recall the fate of famed long distance runner, Jim Fixx, who died of a massive heart attack at age 52 after going for his routine morning run.

The scientific literature is filled with data that strongly make the case that long-distance runners are much more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, atrial fibrillation, cancer, liver and gallbladder disorders, muscle damage, kidney dysfunction, (renal abnormalities), acute microthrombosis in the vascular system, brain damage, spinal degeneration, and germ-cell cancers than are their less active counterparts.

Taken from Body by Science, Authors Doug McGuff, MD & John Little, Page 6

I linked to this a while ago. Collection of paleo quotes:

http://cavemanforum.com/miscellaneous/caveman-paleo-quotes!!/?PHPSESSID=d2d77e66c08fc05ec6077f7f1698afd9;wap2

But the fact of the matter is that all scientific evidence would show, based upon what we know about this disease, that muscle cuts - that is, the meat of the animal itself - should not cause any risk to human health. Ann Veneman

-

I'm on this diet where you're supposed to eat only fish and meat. Lasse Hallstrom

-

Primarily I'm a meat man, although once in a while I toy with a few vegetables. Nat King Cole

-

You have to kill to survive. People have been doing it forever. I eat meat, and I eat fish. If I were on a deserted island I would need that to survive. Benicio Del Toro

Sure enough, carnivorous animals never grow fat (consider wolves, jackals, birds of prey, crows, etc.). Herbivorous animals do not grow fat easily, at least until age has reduced them to a state of inactivity; but they fatten very quickly as soon as they begin to be fed on potatoes, grain, or any kind of flour. ... The second of the chief causes of obesity is the floury and starchy substances which man makes the prime ingredients of his daily nourishment. As we have said already, all animals that live on farinaceous food grow fat willy-nilly; and man is no exception to the universal law. Brillat-Savarin, Jean-Anthelme (1970). The Physiology of Taste

It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.

-Bruce Lee