Behavior: Man as a Protein

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In a somewhat less facetious vein—but then who knows?—University of Michigan Anthropologists Stanley M. Garn and Walter D. Block examine another area of human eating habits in the current issue of the American Anthropologist journal. Excerpts:

In the many discussions on cannibalism, attention has been given to human flesh as a source of quality protein. A 50-kg. man might yield 30 kg. edible muscle mass if well and skillfully butchered, and 30 kg. edible muscle would yield about 4.5 kg. of protein. Assuming quality protein requirements as 1 gm. per kilogram of body weight, this would provide one day's protein -equirements for approximately 60-cg. adults. One man, in other words, serves 60 skimpily. Reducing the man-a-day ration to a more realistic man a week, this would barely amount to 9 gm. quality protein per day, which might still be viewed as a useful protein supplement in a one-cereal culture experiencing protein malnutrition. The nuritional value of cannibalism may therefore be viewed as questionable [and] it is doubtful that regular people-eating ever had much nutritional meaning.