|
==Frugivorous animals==
The anatomy of Humans is practically identical to frugivorous animals; slight exceptions include having only prehensile hands, an upright gait, and rudimentary, blunt canines. Humans, like all other animals in their natural state, need to be equipped to easily recognize and procure food. Without grocery stores, restaurants, factory farms, slaughterhouses, weapons, tools, kitchens and appliances what and how would humans eat? Humans cannot run quickly to catch prey, nor do they have claws to tear flesh or inflict fatal wounds. They do, however, have dextrous fingers, opposable thumbs, and limbs adept for climbing, reaching and grasping. The inherent skills and anatomical abilities of the human animal must be determinate of their biological diet (“Natural Human Diet,” n.d.; Bosio, n.d.).
Senses also play a tremendous part in human instinct and attraction to their food. Humans do not salivate at the sight of a cow yet a vineyard of grapes lures them. A pig doesn’t stir human desire to pounce and devour it, yet a strawberry patch does. Colors also entice humans to come hither and partake: the red of mangos, the peach of peaches, the orange of oranges, and the bright yellow of bananas stands out amongst the greenery of trees. Carnivores see in black and white. Humans’ strong ability to sense a wide gamut of colors enables them to detect ripe fruit (which is almost always colorful) while meat eaters would not be able to detect this. Smells also attract humans to come, pick, and take a bite. Citrons are one the most fragrant of citrus fruits and when fully ripe its appeal is overpowering. In stark contrast, the smells of warm blood, rotting flesh, and open bowels is repulsive to most if not all humans but irresistible to carnivores and omnivores. Taste, inarguably, is a large contributing factor and may be the ultimate factor determining what humans would consider desirable. The tip of the human tongue contains the taste buds which primarily detect sweet, making humans natural sweet seekers repulsed by the taste of fur, feathers, blood and organs containing digesting and decaying food (feces). Based on these anatomical and physiological comparisons it seems that a frugivorous diet of sweet fruits and plants is the obvious choice for the ideal human diet. These foods not only appeal to the sense of sight, smell, and taste, but are also easy to obtain, consume and digest. God intended man to be frugivorous. “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Genesis 1:29.
Birds are a main focus of frugivory research. An article by Bette A. Loiselle and John G. Blake, "Potential Consequences of Extinction of Frugivorous Birds for Shrubs of a Tropical Wet Forest", discusses the important role frugivorous birds have on ecosystems. The conclusions of their research indicate how the extinction of seed-dispersing species could negatively affect seed removal, seed viability, and plant establishment. The article highlights the importance that seed-dispersing birds have on the deposition of plant species.<ref name="Loiselle">{{Cite book|last1=Loiselle|first1=Bette A.|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271706264|title=Seed Dispersal and Frugivory: Ecology, Evolution and Conservation|last2=Blake|first2=John G.|publisher=[[CABI Publishing]]|isbn=978-0851995250|editor-last=Levey|editor-first=Douglas J.|publication-date=February 2002|pages=397–406|chapter=Potential Consequences of Extinction of Frugivorous Birds for Shrubs of a Tropical Wet Forest|year=2002|lccn=2001035222|editor-last2=Silva|editor-first2=Wesley R.|editor-last3=Galetti|editor-first3=Mauro|editor-link3=Mauro Galetti|via=[[ResearchGate]]}}</ref>
|
