The Real Paleo: Roots Before Ribeye

The modern Paleo movement sells a seductive story: eat like our ancestors. In popular culture, that often translates to meat-heavy plates, a rejection of grains and legumes, and the belief that humans evolved on an almost all-protein diet. Some have taken it further—into full-blown carnivory—cutting out plants entirely in the name of being “true to our roots.”

But here’s the truth: we were never carnivores. Not in the past. Not now. Not ever. And the science of our own evolution proves it.

Eating Before We Were Built for It

New evidence from fossil teeth shows that 3.8 million years ago, early humans were eating starchy roots and grasses—about 700,000 years before their molars had even evolved to handle them [1].

Think about that. These foods were fibrous, gritty, and physically tough to chew—requiring grinding power our jaws hadn’t yet developed. And yet our ancestors ate them anyway. Anthropologists call this behavioral drive: human choices forcing biology to adapt, not the other way around.

By introducing carbohydrate-rich plants long before the body was “ready,” early humans unlocked a steady new energy source. That fuel likely powered one of the most important evolutionary developments in our history: the growth of bigger, more complex brains.

This was the first great dietary shift—and it was plants, embraced before our bodies were equipped for them, that propelled us forward.

Misreading the Past Is Endangering the Future

While our ancestors widened their diets to survive and thrive, some modern interpretations of “Paleo” are doing the opposite. The Wall Street Journal recently profiled parents raising so-called “carnivore babies” [2]—infants and toddlers fed almost exclusively on rib-eye, bone broth, butter, eggs, and organ meats, with little or no fruits, vegetables, or grains.

These parents, inspired by social media influencers and distrustful of mainstream nutrition advice, believe they are honoring human heritage. In reality, they are creating a diet humans never lived on and could not have survived on.

No known human population, past or present—not even the Inuit of the Arctic—has thrived without plants. Even in extreme environments, humans sought plant matter through seaweed, berries, roots, or the stomach contents of prey. Plants have always been part of the equation, even when scarce.

Pediatric nutrition experts warn that meat-heavy diets for young children can leave dangerous gaps in vitamin C, fiber, antioxidants, and polyphenols—nutrients essential for tissue health, digestion, immunity, and long-term disease prevention. And early restriction can hardwire plant avoidance, shaping health outcomes for decades and undermining the adaptability that allowed our species to survive.

From Leap to Limitation

Our ancestors pushed past their limits not to eat more meat, but to eat plants—starchy roots and grasses long before their teeth had evolved to handle them. That turn toward plant foods was risky and uncomfortable. It demanded creativity in how food was gathered, prepared, and consumed. But it expanded our nutrient base, advanced our biology, and helped build the human brain—unlocking new potential through diet.

Modern carnivore extremism flips that story upside down. It contracts our nutrient base, ignores entire categories of health-promoting compounds, and erases the very dietary flexibility that defined human success. That’s behavior driving biology in reverse—narrowing our future instead of expanding it.

Plants: Our Evolutionary Past, Our Evolutionary Future

Embracing plants once set humanity on a new course, and it could again. It wasn’t meat that drove our progress—it was our openness to new foods and the willingness to act before our bodies were fully prepared. Today, we face a similar crossroads: choosing a plant-based diet could guide us into the next great transition—for our health, for future generations, and for the planet we share.

Building diets around plants may feel like a bold shift. It challenges habits, traditions, and even identities. But our capacity to change has always defined our species. What plants did for our ancestors, they can do for us now: expand possibility, strengthen resilience, and chart the path ahead.

Contemporary science shows that plant-centered eating not only lowers the risk of chronic disease, strengthens gut health, and fuels active lives—it also safeguards the ecosystems and climate we depend on. The same adaptability that once shaped us is what will carry us forward.

We were never carnivores. We were built by plants, sustained by them, and now our future depends on them. This is the moment to embrace the next evolutionary transformation—for ourselves, for generations to come, and for the planet we call home.

References

[1] Fannin LD, Seyoum CM, Venkataraman VV, et al. “Behavior Drives Morphological Change During Human Evolution.” Science. 2025;389(6759):488. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40743340
[2] Petersen A. “Meet the Parents Raising ‘Carnivore Babies,’ Swapping Puréed Fruit for Rib-Eye.” The Wall Street Journal. August 12, 2025. https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/meet-the-parents-raising-carnivore-babies-swapping-pureed-fruit-for-rib-eye-36945d3b