On Fri, 1 Dec 2000 18:28:09 -0500, Todd Moody <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>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.

If they spend so much time on *hunting* then it may be that it's not the
nutrients, but the competition factor that drives them.
Just like the natives of neuguinea Jared Diamond describes. They hunt and
it's veeeeeery important and brings reputation, they talk very much about
their glorious deeds - but in the end it's not important for nutrition, due
to the very small volume.

For chimps like for hunting/gathering humans i think it can be assumed that
they have a lot of leisure time. After beeing fed adequately (on plants).
They can just fill their free time to aquire some "specialities" or goodies.
At the same time competing in the sexual/mating game.

Or, as you suggest, there is something in the animal which is of particular
importance. I've eagerly studied the references i got from list postings and
web sites what this could be (after all i conciously deviate in avoiding the
4% for myself).
So far i didn't find a striking point, provided a adequate amount and
variety of plants.

However beeing in the wild the choices may be limited.
1st of availability - in a desert like situation (like aussie outback)
animals just carry around a considerable part of the envorinment (and h/g's
aren't found in rich plant habitats today anymore).
2nd - we have many super vitamin/nutrient foods available now..
nuts without end - carrots - sunflower seed - grains - roots .
If you don't have that choice, certain vitamins could be difficult to get
other than from animal matter (particularly from liver).

>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.

Yes, in India the vegetarian tradition normally includes small amounts of
animal milk or yoghurt.
This suggests that there is something essential in animal matter.
Milk or yoghurt allows to get it while not beeing involved in animal killing
- which is important for some religious systems.
Also an option (the paleo-points against dairy are disputable).

>Stahl thinks it's the added protein that they are seeking.  I am
>inclined to agree.

I think this is possible for chimps with their rather low protein diet.
Not for !Kung as the mongongo nuts are high in protein.

If it's protein, I would think not of protein amounts, but rather protein
quality: Access to certain amino acids - like the sulphur amino acids.
Such a small part as 4% weight from animals can greatly enhance the
effectivity of some protein compositions.

Amadeus