Are Elves vegatarian?

[Alfirin]

I agree that they'd need land to grow the grain. Given that the recipie was supposedly given to them by Yavanna herself, it's tempting to think that wild wheat could be used for maximum connection to nature (and since lembas is unleavened, gluten contents don't really apply here.) But the problem is the same as the one with the chickpeas; assuming most wild plants are roughly where they are latitude wise in our world (someone once correct my question about finding bay laurels in Ithillien by pointing out that, latitude wise, Ithillien would be roughly where Tuscany is in our world) The third age elves are mostly too far north to have it. Wild einkorn and emmer (which are basically the wild ancestors of wheat, give or take some goat grass genes) are really only found in places like Turkey and Macedonia, which I keep thinking would actually put them somewhere in Mordor in ME.

[mhagain]

Originally Posted by Alfirin

I agree that they'd need land to grow the grain. Given that the recipie was supposedly given to them by Yavanna herself, it's tempting to think that wild wheat could be used for maximum connection to nature (and since lembas is unleavened, gluten contents don't really apply here.) But the problem is the same as the one with the chickpeas; assuming most wild plants are roughly where they are latitude wise in our world (someone once correct my question about finding bay laurels in Ithillien by pointing out that, latitude wise, Ithillien would be roughly where Tuscany is in our world) The third age elves are mostly too far north to have it. Wild einkorn and emmer (which are basically the wild ancestors of wheat, give or take some goat grass genes) are really only found in places like Turkey and Macedonia, which I keep thinking would actually put them somewhere in Mordor in ME.

Yeah, Turkey = Mordor seems about right; much of Mordor is a bit more northerly though, going by Letter 294 which places the mouths of Anduin and Pelargir at the latitude of Troy. Maybe Bulgaria?

Of the Darkening of Valinor has a note referring to "the fields and pastures of Yavanna, gold beneath the tall wheat of the gods" (I think this is the sole reference to "gods" in the published Silmarillion and I wonder how and why CT missed it) but we don't have any comparative latitude.

[Alfirin]

Actually that would make sense. That would mean that Turkey would me more or less over Nurn, which would allow wheat to grow there (it's Mordor'as breadbasket, after all)

And just to be a bit silly, A funny thought ocurred to me. I wonder if all of the peoples of middle earth selected thier grain strains to fit thier own views of beauty. The children of Durin presumably preferred trading for grains with long beards, while others would seek ones with short stiff ones, and of course, Gondorians would demand thier wheat and barley be beardless*. The men of Numernor would want Poulard wheat; tall and great grains for tall and great men. Hobbits on the other hand would probably most favor in club wheat; small and compact. Sauron's fields would presumably be filled with black wheats. Giant whippy Tibetan barleys for the men of Rohan, to ride thier horses through majesticly (and they are good for beer brewing). And of course Saruman, with his love of all things mechanical, must favor rivet wheat.

*The awns (those long hairy things) on the top of an ear of wheat are collectively called the beard. Some wheats/barleys have long beards, some have short beards and some have no beards.