Culture

Discovering Your Inner Hunter-Gatherer: Q&A with Paleo Manifesto Author John Durant

Why do so many libertarians want to eat like cavemen?

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"When I'm talking to a libertarian and I make the point that the USDA food pyramid is not god's truth, they're like, 'Oh, right, of course it isn't,' says John Durant, author of The Paleo Manifesto: Ancient Wisdom for Lifelong Health. "It doesn't require a lot of persuasion that the official guidelines on diet are wrong."

Durant's book tells the story of how he discovered his inner hunter-gatherer, and it offers practical guidelines for how to transition to the meat-heavy low-carb diet favored by our Paleolithic ancestors—and a surprising number of libertarians.

Durant, who blogs at HunterGatherer.com and is also a proponent of barefoot jogging, was interviewed by the New York Times' John Tierney on December 4, 2013 at an event held at New York City's Museum of Sex, which was sponsored by the Reason Foundation.

For a different perspective, watch Tracy Oppenheimer's interview with evolutionary biologist Marlene Zuk on "The Paleo Diet Delusion."

About 1 hour.

Shot and edited by Jim Epstein.

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