Brooke Scelza: UCLA Department of Anthropology

Australian Aborigines in the Western Desert have gone through a nutritional transition in the last 50 years; moving from a diet of mainly indigenous “bush foods” acquired during daily foraging trips to one that includes store-bought products delivered directly to community shops. Although store-bought foods are more convenient, their availability fluctuates due to poor road conditions, community budget constraints and food spoilage. Small game and certain species of widely available large game, on the other hand, require more energy to acquire, but have a relatively consistent rate of return. An evolutionary perspective on diet choice suggests that people should make choices that will optimize their daily caloric intake and respond quickly to resource depletion. In this paper I will look at the consumption of foraged and store-bought foods in one Martu Aboriginal community to better understand issues of diet choice, foraging time allocation and risk management. I will then place this case study within a broader framework to demonstrate how an evolutionary approach can illuminate new ways of thinking about human behavior related to diet and nutrition.