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Desperation incurred during periods of drought might lead to the temptation to slaughter and eat the work animals for short-term survival; this would damage long-term prospects by destroying the means of production. Harris argues that this situation led to the evolution of the cow as a taboo food and
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Harris also discusses the cow as a sacred animal and taboo food in Hindu culture. Unlike the Middle
Eastern civilizations, India had developed very productive forms of agriculture, requiring heavy labor. The high population densities and the periodic droughts rendered animal husbandry for food
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led to the development of strong, centralized, and despotic states to mobilize the needed manpower for construction. Despite foreign conquest or change of government, the nature of such states would remain essentially unchanged because of the unchanging need to mobilize human labor.
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were unable to effectively monopolize power and restrict the rising power of towns. The growth of towns and cities, from a combination of population growth and urban migration, would lead to early forms of
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and continue to be forbidden by Islam, suggesting that environmental rather than cultural factors were responsible for putting this food animal off-limits.
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and compete with humans for grain. In addition, pigs produce only meat, compared with cattle and goats, which also provide milk, transport, and labor.
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Harris also describes the state of the world in the late 19th century as one of approaching catastrophe as predicted by
Malthus (
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society. Harris argues that while cattle, sheep, and many other domesticated animals consume grass, pigs are poor
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and smaller reduction in fertility from nursing infants, which then led to shorter periods between pregnancies.
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began. Harris posits that this diet change resulted in more body fat, which for females led to earlier
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that were reliant on water for agriculture. The necessity of labor-intensive projects such as
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diet largely based on hunter-gatherer sources to a high-carbohydrate diet largely based on
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This led to pigs being reviled, and he argues this gave rise to the pig as a non-
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purposes impractical, and slowly led to the ending of
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