surplus resources (mostly animal prod- 
ucts) are sold and exchanged for calorie- 
rich products from other areas. Third, 
children, who consume the least num- 
bers of calories regardless of the under- 
taking, are often assigned active tasks, 
such as herding, that would be calori- 
cally more costly for adults. Fourth, the 
tasks necessary for subsistence are orga- 
nized so that large amounts of time can 
be spent in sedentary or near-sedentary 
activities. Even in herding, up to three- 
quarters of the time may be spent in a 
stationary position. 
The potato, which was originally do- 
mesticated in the Andes, also became 
the staple among the Sherpas during the 
late nineteenth century. It constitutes 
from 30 to 44 percent of the adult diet. 
The rest is made up of cereals, such as 
buckwheat and millet, mustard greens 
in summer, Tibetan tea. and consider- 
able amounts of rice or millet beer 
called chang. About 80 percent of this 
diet is carbohydrates, and what protein 
there is comes mostly from vegetable 
sources. The result is a diet that tends to 
be calorically adequate but deficient in 
protein. Compared to the Quechuas. 
however, the Sherpas are more active 
and probably have greater caloric re- 
quirements. Herding entails continuous 
flanking movements on the steep moun- 
tain slopes to keep the skittish cattle 
from straying. In the past, long-distance 
trade meant journeys by foot over steep 
mountain passes, and at one time, teams 
of men were used to pull the plows that 
tilled the soil for buckw heat and barley. 
Today, mountaineering and trekking tax 
the strength and endurance of both men 
and women. 
One biological consequence of inad- 
equate caloric or protein intake is 
growth retardation. .Among both the 
Quechuas and the Sherpas. physical 
growth is much slower than among peo- 
ple in the United States. Skeletal 
growth and mineralization are slow, the 
growth spurt during adolescence is re- 
tarded. and maturation is delayed until 
the early to mid-twenties. Far from be- 
ing maladaptive, however, retarded 
growth and small body size can add up 
to a caloric saving. Thomas has esti- 
mated that for the Quechuas. the re- 
tarded growth at adolescence alone (be- 
tween the ages of fifteen and twenty) 
saves an average of 1 2 1 calories per day. 
or more than 44.000 calories per year. 
This saving is equivalent to planting an 
additional 100 square yards of cropland 
for each adolescent every year. 
Unfortunately, it is extremely diffi- 
cult to tell how much of the retardation 
The Loch Lomond A lonster: 
Youll Find Proof Lie Gxists. 
Loch Ness has a nice shy monster. It 
bothers no one and makes no noise. 
Loch Lomond has a totally different kind of 
monster. The men in our blending room, near 
Loch Lomond, see him regularly. His fearful 
bellows fill the air until he gets just what 
he wants. 
His name is George Shortreed. He searches 
all of Scotland to find whiskies noble enough 
to blend with those of our very own Speyside 
distilleries. His knowledge and his will are what 
make J<$uB so well respected. 
His stubborn, unswerving goal is to create a 
taste so smooth, so subtle we can say it whis- 
pers. And he’ll be as harsh as he has to, to be 
sure J&B never is. 
The men who work for him call him 
the Loch Lomond monster. But never 
when he can hear. 
When George Shortreed is around, 
the men speak in hushed tones, and the 
whisky whispers. 
JT). It whispers. 
86 Proof Blended Scotch Whisky £ 1981 The Paddington Corp NY 
