What a funny hamster article you found there.
Where does it lead to a nutrition topic?
..

On Thu, 20 Apr 2000 06:37:25 EDT, S.B. Feldman, MD <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Hamster dads make wonderful midwives:
>
>MOST mammals are lousy fathers. Those that don't eat their young do little
>to help in the birth apart from making encouraging noises.

As far as humans are concerned,it seems that a human child needs the
most intense caretaking because of the long learning phase of our brains.
Probably that's the reason why human dads prove (or proved?) to be
good dads, taking care of their babies and kids.
So eating one's young fortunately didn't have much future in humans.

>.. This article brought to mind a radio program I heard many years ago
>describing the practice somewhere in the Western US of having some very
>close friends and family over aftera healthy birth for all to share in
>eating bits and pieces of the afterbirth or placenta and associated
>membranes.

Is it that April 1st has passed already??

>.. I recall that this (Placenta) was cooked or charred or
>something and that this was viewed as an acceptable source of nutrients for
>vegetarians committed to not killing animals as a food source. The iron
>replacement value to the mother is obvious. Has anyone had experience with
>this fascinating custom?

Vegetarians eating placenta? Beeing vege-tarian should mean eating (only)
vege-tation. That doesn't apply to placenta.
However if a vegetarian's primary motive was not to kill any animal, then
for placenta no animal is killed. This applies to many other types of
carrion too. Like animals, which dropped dead falling in the mountains
e.g. yaks in tibet. This is told to be an option for buddhists in tibet.
Or old aged cattle dying a natural death? Or remainders of a killing of a
lion? Or the killing of a hawk, persuaded to kill more than for itself?

However all this carrion options were more efficient than eating placenta
because - well the mother had to eat all nutrients in the placenta
before. Nothing new is gained. We're not desert hamsters.

If it's for searching iron, as you mentioned I've made a little
list , sorted for the occurence of iron (best first):
Recommended 18mg/day for a woman, 35-50 y.o.:
 1  Pfifferling -- a dried mushroom  107.0 mg/100 g   358.5 mg/1000 kcal
 2  Blood of cattle                   49.0 mg/100 g   600.6 mg/1000 kcal
 3  Pork liver                        22.0 mg/100 g   138.3 mg/1000 kcal
 4  Pork innards                      22.0 mg/100 g   138.3 mg/1000 kcal
 5  liver-sausage                     16.5 mg/100 g    52.5 mg/1000 kcal
 6  Sesame fresh                      14.6 mg/100 g    24.6 mg/1000 kcal
 7  Morchel dried ( a mushroom)       12.3 mg/100 g    44.4 mg/1000 kcal
 8  Blood sausage                     12.3 mg/100 g    27.4 mg/1000 kcal
 9  Steinpilz - a dried mushroom      11.5 mg/100 g    42.3 mg/1000 kcal
10  pumpkin seed fresh                11.2 mg/100 g    18.3 mg/1000 kcal
11  Rotwurst (a blood-sausage)        11.0 mg/100 g    28.8 mg/1000 kcal
12  soy-protein  (TVP)                11.0 mg/100 g    47.5 mg/1000 kcal
13  veals kidney                      11.0 mg/100 g    86.9 mg/1000 kcal
14  soy-flour(entfettet) entbittert   11.0 mg/100 g    45.8 mg/1000 kcal
15  oil-seeds, fresh                  10.3 mg/100 g    20.8 mg/1000 kcal
16  wheat bran                        10.0 mg/100 g    49.1 mg/1000 kcal
17  Würzsoßen und andere Würzmittel   10.0 mg/100 g    55.0 mg/1000 kcal
18  mixed herbs                        9.8 mg/100 g    68.8 mg/1000 kcal
19  poppy seed, fresh                  9.4 mg/100 g    16.8 mg/1000 kcal
20  Soybeans, dried                    9.4 mg/100 g    20.4 mg/1000 kcal
21  pine-seed fresh                    9.2 mg/100 g    14.4 mg/1000 kcal
22  Kalbsleberwurst - a sausage        9.2 mg/100 g    20.4 mg/1000 kcal
23  Bregenwurst     - a sausage        9.1 mg/100 g    26.7 mg/1000 kcal
24  Millet whole                       9.0 mg/100 g    27.8 mg/1000 kcal
25  whear germ                         9.0 mg/100 g    24.3 mg/1000 kcal
26  chicken liver                      9.0 mg/100 g    61.6 mg/1000 kcal
27  Sojabohne geröstet                 9.0 mg/100 g    25.8 mg/1000 kcal
28  Zungenblutwurst                    8.7 mg/100 g    22.3 mg/1000 kcal
29  various  lean meats                8.5 mg/100 g    37.9 mg/1000 kcal
30  flax-seed                          8.2 mg/100 g    16.3 mg/1000 kcal
31  beans, thick, dried                8.2 mg/100 g    22.5 mg/1000 kcal
32  Veal innards                       8.0 mg/100 g    53.4 mg/1000 kcal
33  Pork Kidney                        8.0 mg/100 g    69.1 mg/1000 kcal
34  Veal liver                         8.0 mg/100 g    53.4 mg/1000 kcal
35  rumex (a nice herb)                8.0 mg/100 g   477.7 mg/1000 kcal

quite some choices besides placenta......

regards
Amadeus S.