14 Jun 2017 --- A recently published Cornell University study describes how shifts in the diets of Europeans after the introduction of farming 10,000 years ago led to genetic adaptations that favored the dietary trends of the time. Before the Neolithic revolution that began around 10,000 years ago, European populations were hunter-gatherers that ate animal-based diets and some seafood. After the advent of farming in southern Europe around 8,000 years ago, European farmers switched to primarily plant-heavy diets.