The danger of starvation hovers outside the awareness of those of us who are well fed. However, affluent Westerners are exceptional within the full scope of human history when it comes to food security. For many people, including our prehistoric ancestors, the future meals of tomorrow or next year can never be taken for granted; both periodic and unpredictable interruptions in food availability have long been a fixture of human life in most places and times. Wealth provides a buffer in societies in which inequality is institutionalized, protecting the privileged few. Even where privation is shared by all within a community, some habitats are blessed with such a bountiful and diverse resource base that times of famine are few and far between. However, seldom have people anywhere had the luxury of assuming that they would eat well very far into the future.