ABSTRACT
The most primal relationship between humans and other animals is that of predator and prey. The necessity to eat and avoid being eaten characterises the quest for survival in which both humans and other animals have been engaged throughout the course of evolution. As they evolved, humans became increasingly more formidable predators, capable of securing sustenance not only through consuming plant foods, but also by eating animal protein. Animal flesh was at first most likely procured by scavenging on the remains of creatures, which had either been felled by other predators, or had died a natural death. In time, hominids and their archaic human successors became skilled predators. Freshly killed animals were consumed for food, their skins used to provide warmth, their bones as the raw materials for tools and their marrow eaten for extra sustenance. Nevertheless, in spite of their hunting prowess, meat probably played only a secondary role in our ancestors’ diet. Even after they had become accomplished predators, the bulk of their nourishment was most likely derived from plant sources, insects, grubs and birds’ eggs. However, irrespective of the quantity or frequency of meat consumption, feasting on the carcasses of dead animals-whether deliberately killed or simply scavenged on-had potentially grave consequences for humans. Eating meat, particularly when raw or poorly cooked, could result in illness and mortality.1
