Thanks to this availability of suitable wild mammals and plants, early peoples of the Fertile Crescent could quickly assemble a potent and balanced biological package for intensive food production. That package comprised three cereals, as the main carbohydrate sources; four pulses, with 20–25 percent protein, and four domestic animals, as the main protein sources, supplemented by the generous protein content of wheat; and flax as a source of fiber and oil (termed linseed oil: flax seeds are about 40 percent oil). Eventually, thousands of years after the beginnings of animal domestication and food production, the animals also began to be used for milk, wool, plowing, and transport. Thus, the crops and animals of the Fertile Crescent's first farmers came to meet humanity's basic economic needs: carbohydrate, protein, fat, clothing, traction, and transport. . Jared Diamond
About This Quote

The first thing that came to mind when I read the sentence was the importance of animal husbandry in ancient times. Before farming, humanity was forced to rely on hunting and fishing for food, which is why the importance of agriculture is so great in ancient societies. It is not until these people began farming did humans have access to the full spectrum of food needed for health and well-being.

Source: Guns, Germs, And Steel: The Fates Of Human Societies

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