Amadeus, I want to call your attention especially to this
particular facet of the Stahl article.
She mentions that chimps get only about 4% of their food from
animal sources (that's by weight, not calories). But they spend
about 38% of their food-gathering time getting this 4%. This
suggests, as Stahl also infers, that there must be something of
great importance in that animal food, for the chimps to spend
such a disproportionate amount of time securing it.
I would add that a similar observation applies to those human
populations that could, in their environment, subsist on a
vegetarian diet. But they don't; they go out of their way to get
animal foods.
Stahl thinks it's the added protein that they are seeking. I am
inclined to agree.
Todd Moody
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