Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Native American diet was based on maize (corn) which was healthy, unlike the frequent European peasant diet of rye, which was often contaminated with ergot. Ergot usually caused illness and degeneration of fingers, and sometimes caused mass hallucinations and witch hunts (the ergot poison is LSD). So on this July 4 have a healthy American meal with corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, and don't forget the chocolate. This is from chapters 1 and 4 of my book Forgotten Landscapes.
Native American diet was based on maize (corn) which was healthy, unlike the frequent European peasant diet of rye, which was often contaminated with ergot. Ergot usually caused illness and degeneration of fingers, and sometimes caused mass hallucinations and witch hunts (the ergot poison is LSD). So on this July 4 have a healthy American meal with corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, and don't forget the chocolate. This is from chapters 1 and 4 of my book Forgotten Landscapes.
