On Fri, 12 May 2000, Amadeus Schmidt wrote:

> Opposed to this, i feel that meats are more of an emergency food for
> deserted areas and well suited only for specialists (predators).
> Food on the planet comes only from plants. Animals eating plants have
> the best and richest resources. Predators have a much more inefficient
> nutrition base. For a much smaller population then. Humans are many.
> Predators have to live from low-energy food
> (wild meat has much protein and few energy) and do the ugly killing
> (or if it's already dead - eat carrion).
> Somehow a lion is more a mortician than a king.

Not so.  Meat is a highly efficient source of energy,
so much so that carnivores eat only occasionally and
have a short, simple digestive track which produces
little waste.  Herbivores, however, eat almost
continuously and must move large distances to find
food (which is why most have evolved to walk on their
toes).  They also have very complex digestive systems
which involve fermentation to help break down the very
tough cell walls of plants.  Their waste is copious and
contains much undigested plant matter.

Julie