Limited Nutritional Value of Cannibalism
by
Stanley M. Garn and Walter D. Block
In the many discussions on cannibalism, attention has been given to human flesh as a source of quality protein, but without the necessary quantification. A few calculations are therefore in order.
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 (4500 gm) protein, or 4.0 kg protein assuming 90% digestibility.
Assuming quality protein requirements as 1 gm per kilogram of body weight, this would provide one-day's protein requirements for approximately 60 60-kilogram 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.
Less than one man per week for a group of 60 would not appear to be nutritionally worthwhile, even as a protein supplement to a cereal or tuber diet with limiting amino acids.
Considering its cost, then, the nutritional value of cannibalism may therefore be viewed as questionable, unless a group is in a position to consume its own number in a year. While human flesh may serve as an emergency source of both protein and calories, it is doubtful that regular people-eating ever had much nutritional meaning.
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