Links

Here are a few links to pages I've come across, I'll be adding to this as I go along (and when I have time to go through my Bookmarks):

The Veggie / Paleo Discussion

- Human Ancestors Were Nearly All Vegetarians

A great accessible discursive piece regarding the diet of our ancestors, in relation to the evolution of human guts (including gut structures; gut bacteria; historical, species, and regional variance), and how it relates to modern diet choices.  Includes some good references/footnotes, and an interesting discussion via the comments.

This aligns with my own perception that "eating paleo" is, like most things, open to interpretation (e.g. which scientific theory regarding species evolution you follow, which ancestral period you choose to base your diet on, how closely/doggedly you try to replicate ancestral diets etc).  And that meat wasn't always the basis of our ancestors diet - it was eaten where possible (only).

- How to Follow the Paleo Diet Without Eating a Single Piece of Meat

An article providing 3 options that allow you to follow a vegetarian "paleo" diet, with further tips on how to do so in the healthiest, most nutritious way for your body.

It also includes 2 major points I strongly agree with:

1. Any modern Paleo diet is merely an approximation to the real thing.  So as vegetarians, we can (and must) approximate too.

2. If your only goal is health, eating fish or animals would certainly make getting an optimal Paleo balance of nutrients easier.  

But by the same argument, males are "built" to impregnate as many women as possible, maximising the chances of having ones genes propagate.  But most of us don't do that anymore, because as a species we're beyond that.

And that's how I feel about eating animals.  Even if its what we're "built" to do - because eating them helped us survive and thrive in the past, it's something most of us are now capable of making a choice not to do, thanks to our advancement as a civilization.

- Vegan vs Paleo: Who Do You Believe?

A really honest, informed and insightful account of the lessons learnt in one person's lifetime, moving from an [original] vegan straight edge punk to full and passionate paleo, with discussion of psychology (beliefs), food, health, environment, and ethics.  

For me as a conscious, pragmatic vegetarian, it covers a lot of the anxieties I feel about potentially turning full paleo (e.g. the feeling/perception that to do so would somehow be "selling out")

It also provides this brilliant quote:

"I express my inner punk these days by eating grass fed meats, from pastured farming operations, not Big Ag factory farming...  

You want to be punk rock?  Find your farmers market, CSA (community supported agriculture) and local Weston A Price [nutrition education, research and activism] group now.

...Where your dollar goes can tell you how punk you are...

or if you're being punked."

- Vegan to Paleo: A 30 Day Diet Experiment

Not a vegan/veggie version of paleo, but one person's transition from vegan to paleo, with lots of interesting commentary, particularly discussing/dispelling lots of "myths" and beliefs about paleo. Includes recipes and tips.

- "For Vegans": ways to make the best out of a meatless, eggless and dairyless situation

An intelligent and respectfully written outline of recommendations by a former vegetarian and vegan, self-educated in nutrition and ancestral health.  Examples, which are paleo/Challenge compliant,  include: 'Eat real food', 'Supplement with vitamin D3', and 'Go gluten free'.

The Food Processing / Paleo Discussion

One of the biggest (most popular) arguments against any "food processing" or "subbing", is that it "misses the point of paleo" - that "food is for nourishment, not enjoyment, comfort, fun, etc".  This means you should be primarily eating to stave off hunger only.

This is something I absolutely do not subscribe to.

I don't encourage eating for recreational purposes (for example) over eating for nutritional purposes.  But to me, food functions on various simultaneous levels, including nutritional, social, creative...  I aim to pursue ALL of these, and know from my experience that this is entirely possible (and a lot more fun!).

'Fat Bread': Paleo reenactment? 

This is essentially a recipe page for 'Fat Bread': bread that "not only tastes and acts like bread, but excels in terms of Paleo nutrition".  But it also contains a discussion of the issue of 'food processing' in Paleo, what the author Richard Nikoley calls 'the Paleo Slippery Slope' "i.e. the mindset in doing processed foods that are Paleo compliant or Paleoish".  Scroll down for an in-depth nutritional analysis.

From my perspective, I agree with his arguments as follows:

1. We all process food.  Braising short ribs is processing your food.  Essentially, from a Pure Paleo standpoint, everything that goes beyond eating raw or grilling over an open campfire is "processing" [see above links too]

2. Where do you draw the line?

3. Nutrition is important [for me, the end nutritional profile is more important that the method of preparation, inc "processing"]

I would also add:
4. Making, sharing and eating delicious food is important to me.  Food not only nourishes my body, but my mind and senses too. [see above]

Primal Substitutes for Non-Primal Foods

Even general Primal/paleo "god" Mark Sisson recognises that sometimes its ok to eat "Primal approximations of conventional fare".

He does of course state (and I agree):

In a perfect fat-adapted world, these urges [for conventional foods] would be non-existent.  We would all be sated on nothing but meat [not so much me], fat, vegetables, and a bit of fruit, and on a normal day I would stress the importance of desiring truly Primal foods rather than Primal approximations of high-carb, conventional fare.

...finding alternate low-carb versions of the classic high-carb foods can be just the ticket to maintaining personal healthy commitments under duress [such as an intensive health challenge].

True that, Mr Sisson, true that.