Not sure how this thread morphed from Brussel Sprouts to peppers.
Note that the hot varieties of peppers grow in the hottest countries where they are often used in cooking to disguise the smell and taste of spoiled foods like meats.
How would peppers know to grow and evolve in hot tropical countries to help the inhabitants? Another great mystery of life.
Maybe because Brussel Sprouts are incidental to the story. Brussel Sprouts have only been around for the last thousand years so Neanderthals wouldn't have been able to eat them. :)