Man the Frugivore
by Mark Tassi
“To say that humans have the anatomical structure of an omnivore is an egregiously inaccurate statement.” – The great taxonomist Carolus Linnaeus, (1707-1778), a Swedish naturalist and botanist who established the modern scientific method of classifying plants and animals, classified humans not as carnivores, not as omnivores, nor even as herbivores, but as frugivores. Linnaeus writes: “Man’s structure, internal and external compared with that of the other animals, shows that fruit and succulent vegetables are his natural food.”
It is true to say that man is an ape, an anthropoid ape. All anthropoid apes are herbivores/frugivores, meaning, of course, that the diet consists of fresh, ripe, raw fruits and vegetables, in particular, tender leafy greens and shoots, with the inclusion of small amounts of unroasted nuts and seeds. This is the diet for man.
In the West, and more recently even in parts of the East, at least in so much as moving away from a plant-based diet, we have seen the results of deviating from this natural plan, this plan being an essential part of man’s true nature.
Man, more especially western man, likes to think himself an omnivore. Nothing is further from the truth. Look at any chart comparing man with the omnivore and one finds that the human animal shares virtually none of the characteristics of the omnivorous animal. It is a fact, for instance, that the disease, arteriosclerosis, can only occur in herbivores. It cannot occur and is impossible to induce in omnivores, each having their own specific diet, each having their own nature. We find that in nature, each species has its own specific diet and to deviate from that leads to various problems. The cow, for instance, is a grass-eater. Yet in the factory farm, the cow is grain fed. As a result, these natural grass-eaters become very sick. They develop severe acidosis and have to be kept alive with large doses of antibiotic until slaughter. If they weren’t slaughtered, they would die anyway, being so diseased from this forced, unnatural lifestyle. What a horrific scenario! If hell does exist, then we need look no further as we see it manifest in the factory farm.
I have heard the argument that man is different, that man has no diet specific to his species. Man, I have heard, is the exception and that is what sets him apart from the rest of natural world. Yet why should nature make an exception for man? Are we so arrogant as to think ourselves above and outside of nature? The only thing that sets man apart from the creature that roams wild is that the human animal has broken every natural law known to man and God and he’s got all the disease and suffering to prove it! If we do suffer, it is our own fault. If we do suffer, it is because we have broken the law!
Man is an anthropoid ape and all anthropoid apes are herbivores/frugivores.
Below is a chart comparing man with the anthropoid ape and the carnivore as included the book, Nutrition and Athletic Performance by Dr. Douglas Graham.
|
Anthropoid Ape |
Carnivore |
Human |
|
Walks upright |
No |
Yes |
|
Two hands |
No |
Yes |
|
Two feet |
No |
Yes |
|
Forward vision |
No |
Yes |
|
Millions of pores |
No |
Yes |
|
Smooth tongue |
No |
Yes |
|
Well-developed incisors |
No |
Yes |
|
5-1-4-1-5 dental formula |
No |
Yes |
|
Blunt molar teeth |
No |
Yes |
|
Produces salivary amylase |
No |
Yes |
|
Mammary gland on chest |
No |
Yes |
|
Only two mammary glands |
No |
Yes |
|
Disc-shaped placenta |
No |
Yes |
|
Lacking claws |
No |
Yes |
|
Flat nails |
No |
Yes |
|
Lacking a tail |
No |
Yes |
|
Flat nails |
No |
Yes |
|
Long intestines, 12x body length |
No |
Yes |
|
Stomach with duodenum |
No |
Yes |
|
Relatively weak stomach acid |
No |
Yes |
|
Convoluted colon |
No |
Yes |
|
Susceptible to cholesterol buildup |
No |
Yes |
|
Sweats through skin |
No |
Yes |
|
Cools the body via perspiration |
No |
Yes |
|
Low uric acid production |
No |
Yes |
|
Alkaline saliva |
No |
Yes |
|
Alkaline blood |
No |
Yes |
|
Alkaline urine |
No |
Yes |
|
Urine has weak odor |
No |
Yes |
|
Vertical and horizontal jaw movement |
No |
Yes |
|
Pouch-like cheeks |
No |
Yes |
|
Lips capable of manipulating food |
No |
Yes |
|
Flattened facial structure |
No |
Yes |
|
Drinks via suction |
No |
Yes |
Mark Tassi 
some interesting points 🙂
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Nice article Mark 🙂
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Not that I’m against this or anything, not at all, but “flat nails” was listed twice, and most carnivores /do/ in fact have forward facing-vision; it helps with depth perception, which is crucial to hunting.
I just discovered your site and writings. I am pleased with what I’ve read so far, I guess because it is what I have been trying to pass these ideas along for over 30 years. Swami Sri Yukteswar wrote about this also in a book named The Holy Science. What I found most interesting starts on page 61.
I never stop being amazed how humans can overlook the obvious because they can not or choose not to see passed their biases.
Thanks. I know The Holy Science well.
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In nature, true frugivores don’t follow a 100% fruit diet. They “supplement” with other foods including insects. An orangutan’s diet is around 65% fruit.
Of course.
“In nature, true frugivores don’t follow a 100% fruit diet. They “supplement” with other foods including insects. An orangutan’s diet is around 65% fruit”
So, you are eating 65% fruit, then? In nature, no herbivore eats 100% plants. They are contaminated with small bugs. And no carnivore eats 100% animals, they eat plants in the digestive tracts. What’s your point? Humans digest fruit most effectively and by extension those foods digested similarly. You’re conflating behavior with biology. You can behave as a scavenger or cannibal but that doesn’t change digestive morphology.
65% fruit would be about 95% of the calories or there abouts.