“Biggie Sizing” our fast food was a brilliant marketing ploy. The profit margins on that extra dollar are huge.  Whether or not this BS is also responsible for biggie sizing our waistlines is another question.  It definitely was part of the argument against the excessive amount of fat in our diets, an argument that led food purveyors to switch to sugar and processed carbs in order to satisfy us and gain market share.

     In the meantime, in a parallel universe, diet mongers continue to chase the newest fad.  Of late, paleo is huge; it is based on the fact that cavemen ate all they wanted of anything they could find.  We know that cavemen were lean and fit – at least the ones depicted in movies and museums are  – never mind that their average lifespan was about 25 years.  The dirty little secret of the whole paleo thing is palatability.  It is easy to imagine our prehistoric forefathers having a very good day hunting and bringing home a wild boar.  Using that to justify eating a pulled-pork sandwich dripping with BBQ sauce (“found” on aisle 7) is missing the point.

     According to National Geographic, more than a fourth of the world’s people eat insects, an excellent protein source readily available to the first paleo diners.  Environmental impact is an added bonus in this day and age; crickets, for example, are 12 times as efficient as cattle for production of sustainable protein.  Nutritionists know precisely what we need for good health, and scientists know the best way to get it.  Our own cultural bias, the so-called “yuk” factor, is the biggest roadblock.  Pink slime, anyone?