SAMA HOOLE: Slave skeletons from Pompeii: Severe malnutrition, bone deformities, teeth ground down from grain, arthritis by 30.

Rome, 100 AD. Slaves receive daily rations calculated at minimum calories to maintain work capacity, maximum cost efficiency.

The ration: Grain ground into paste called "puls." Sometimes fava beans. Occasionally onions. Olive oil in tiny quantities. Meat scraps when an animal is… pic.twitter.com/EkqzJ6VHFY

— Sama Hoole (@SamaHoole) December 14, 2025

Rome, 100 AD. Slaves receive daily rations calculated at minimum calories to maintain work capacity, maximum cost efficiency. The ration: Grain ground into paste called "puls." Sometimes fava beans. Occasionally onions. Olive oil in tiny quantities. Meat scraps when an animal is slaughtered, maybe twice yearly. The work: Building aqueducts, roads, monuments. Dawn to dusk. Fourteen hours daily. Seven days weekly. Roman citizens eat at thermopolia serving roasted meats, sausages, fish. The wealthy feast on suckling pig, whole roasted dormice, peacock. The meal called "cena" where they'd lie down because they were too full to sit. Slaves served these meals. Then went home to eat grain paste. Slave skeletons from Pompeii: Severe malnutrition, bone deformities, teeth ground down from grain, arthritis by 30. Citizen skeletons: Taller, stronger bones, better teeth, evidence of varied diet. Roman medical texts note slaves are "naturally weaker" and "prone to illness." Presented as biology, not diet. The famous physician, Galen, recommended meat for strength. To wealthy patients. Not slaves, because slaves didn't pay and were replaceable. When Rome fell and freed slaves could hunt, their descendants grew taller within three generations. Modern version: "Plant-based diets are healthier and sustainable." Eat grains and beans. Less meat. The people saying this eat ribeye privately and plant-based publicly. Two thousand years. Same advice. Different branding.