Man as a Protein

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.

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