# You Can Choose Three Staples **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 25, 2020, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467 "2020-02-25T01:59:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/21 "2020-02-26T13:33:17Z")
Some kind of grain. A green vegetable (broccoli) Chickens (for eggs and meat, and they can eat the grain too). ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/22 "2020-02-26T14:06:39Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Because I don’t care enough about allergy sufferers? And they don’t matter for the hypothetical, since it’s not “the only foods that will exist” > > And ~1% (for coeliac) and 0.3% (for soy) is\* in no way\* “A huge percentage of eaters”. They’ll just have to make do with all the non-staple foods they can eat…just like IRL. Any food will leave someone out. Most grains are a problem for diabetics, but we’re building a hypothetical best-fit. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/23 "2020-02-26T15:58:02Z")
Beef, potatoes, and apples. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/24 "2020-02-26T18:02:51Z")
> [@Cadae](#): > > Surprised how many are choosing at least 1 from the FDA list of top 8 major allergens: > Wheat > Soybeans > Milk > Eggs > Peanuts > Tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, pecans) > Fish (e.g., bass, flounder, cod) > Crustacean shellfish (e.g., crab, lobster, shrimp) > > which account for 90% of reactions and any of which would shut out a huge percentage of eaters I’m not too well versed in immunology, but wouldn’t the constant exposure at an early age to the only available staple foods eliminate most allergies to it? For peanut allergies, for example, most people who were allergic to peanuts were not exposed to them at an early age. Ironically, the fear of peanut allergies keeps people from letting their kids be near peanuts, which then leads to peanut allergies. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/25 "2020-02-26T23:04:14Z")
Milk, potatoes and oatmeal > **[Could I survive on nothing but potatoes and milk?](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2828/could-i-survive-on-nothing-but-potatoes-and-milk/)** ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/26 "2020-02-27T02:02:40Z")
The Three Sisters: Corn, beans, and squash. The Indians knew how to grow them together for mutual benefit. The cornstalks provided uprights for the bean vines to climb up and grow a better yield. The bean vines helped stabilize the cornstalks in the soil to keep from getting blown over by wind. The squash leaves covered the ground to hold in moisture and the prickly squash stems helped repel predators. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/27 "2020-02-27T05:34:29Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > The Three Sisters: Corn, beans, and squash. The Indians knew how to grow them together for mutual benefit. The cornstalks provided uprights for the bean vines to climb up and grow a better yield. The bean vines helped stabilize the cornstalks in the soil to keep from getting blown over by wind. The squash leaves covered the ground to hold in moisture and the prickly squash stems helped repel predators. Three Sisters agricultural methods are only really possible if you’re hand-cultivating and -harvesting. It doesn’t really scale up to industrial farming to feed a whole NewEarth. So I don’t see the relevance. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/28 "2020-02-27T09:29:58Z")
Who said anything about scaling up industrial farming? ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/29 "2020-02-27T10:30:57Z")
Beans, rice, onions. They keep well in storage ,too. But rice requires a lot more growing and processing skill than potatoes, as well as climatic restrictions… ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/30 "2020-02-27T11:06:22Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Who said anything about scaling up industrial farming? It’s how I read the OP’s “a new earth” - that you’d have to feed a whole planet’s worth of people with these staples. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/31 "2020-02-27T18:10:27Z")
Quinoa, lentils, and sunflowers. Sunflower seeds for “nuts” and oil, petals and roots for tea, and leaves can do anything kale can do. Lentils are high in protein, fiber, and minerals. They can also be eaten as sprouts for more vitamin C. Quinoa provides a lower (more human friendly) amount of starch than rice or potatoes, but provides the same combinations for total protein with lentils as rice does. Also works as sprouts. All are currently grown in hotter, dryer areas of the Earth, so without thoroughly researching it, I am thinking they will be a good bet for a wide climate tolerance. To test this combination I entered them into [cronometer.com](http://cronometer.com), which is optimized for a fairly detailed nutrition breakdown. Sunflower leaves were not available, so I substituted 1/2 cup of kale to get an approximation. The amounts I entered and calories for each (1523 Cal. total): Lentils, Boiled, 1 cup, whole pieces, 229.68 Kale, Raw, .5 cup, chopped 3.68 Sunflower Oil 2 tbsp, 240.9 Lentil Sprouts, Raw 1 cup, whole pieces 81.61 Quinoa, Cooked 1 cup 222 Sunflower Seeds, Dry Roasted, Unsalted 1 cup, whole pieces 744.98 Serious deficits and the FDA RDA achieved: Choline 50% **Omega 3 37% Vitamin C 36% Vitamin A 24% Calcium 17% Sodium 2% Vitamin D 0%** 1523 calories leaves plenty of room to increase portions to fix any level over 50%. The protein profile was even better than I expected. Lysine 71% and Tyrosine 78% were the only two below 80%. Out of 11 protein types only 5 were below 95%. Again, that’s with calories to spare in a 2000 cal diet. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/32 "2020-02-27T20:06:50Z")
Since the OP didn’t specify anything about the economic or demographic conditions being envisioned, I guess I read my pro-American Indian biases into it and you read your assumptions into it too. Depending on the conditions, my idea could turn out to be more relevant. Neither of us is fighting the hypothetical, but rather stretching it in various directions. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/33 "2020-02-28T02:01:18Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > **Maize (corn), beans, and squash**. Reputedly the three together provide a complete nutrition profile. And grown together in the same field, (bean vines growing up the corn stalks) replenish the soil and do not require rotation. Concur. The American Triad. Staples must be storable in bulk, so squash must be dried. With that caveat, I might replace squash with dried peppers for Vit.C. Consider potatoes mostly because they require little infrastructure to produce and consume. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/34 "2020-02-28T05:24:23Z")
I feel it needs restating that staples are not expected to provide \*every \*nutritional need. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/35 "2020-02-28T05:30:30Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Sunflower seeds for “nuts” and oil, petals and roots for tea, and **leaves can do anything kale can do.** This is very cool info that I did not know. Sunflower leaves are edible? How do they taste? Are their any cuisines that have dishes using them? ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/36 "2020-02-28T10:48:11Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > . . . and here I thought this was going to be a thread about office supply vendors. :smack: > > Tripler > My choice: magenta toner, a working three-hole punch, and the comfy AssMaster 6000 chair. No, you’re still thinking much too broadly. I’d go with the classic 26/6 for standard paper binding, a 13/14 for heavier duty applications, and some surgical staples for any medical procedures. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/37 "2020-02-28T12:08:55Z")
One or two people mentioned this, but if we’ve only got three staples, should we also consider (I suspect there’s a term for this) but the ability for a crop to grow across the widest range of climates, soil types, etc? It seems to me that rice is a poor choice because it needs such vast amounts of water (I think?) that many places would not be able to grow it. Corn, as much as we love to hate it, can also produce a sweetener, so that should be something worthwhile once NewEarth gets a certain level of technology I’m thinking Corn (grains, versatility); Beans (nutrition, fiber); Potatoes (ease of production, calories). Kind of a boring world, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/38 "2020-02-28T12:41:23Z")
You could make a [sweetener](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose_syrup) out of any starch, though. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/39 "2020-02-28T13:48:40Z")
Not sure about the other two, but #1 is peanuts. Because I can’t imagine life without peanut butter. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467/40 "2020-02-28T15:59:53Z")
Bourbon, single malt, and rye. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-choose-three-staples/848467.md?page=3)