# Could a chimpanzee eat a typical omnivorous human diet and be perfectly healthy?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-chimpanzee-eat-a-typical-omnivorous-human-diet-and-be-perfectly-healthy/497375>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 23, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-chimpanzee-eat-a-typical-omnivorous-human-diet-and-be-perfectly-healthy/497375 "2009-05-23T03:49:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-chimpanzee-eat-a-typical-omnivorous-human-diet-and-be-perfectly-healthy/497375/1 "2009-05-23T03:49:40Z")

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They are such close relatives to man are, chimpanzee and human nutritional needs more of less identical?

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**Author:** ![Cagey\_Drifter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@Cagey\_Drifter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cagey_Drifter)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-chimpanzee-eat-a-typical-omnivorous-human-diet-and-be-perfectly-healthy/497375/2 "2009-05-23T04:21:19Z")

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humans can’t even eat a typical human diet and be perfectly healthy.

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**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-chimpanzee-eat-a-typical-omnivorous-human-diet-and-be-perfectly-healthy/497375/3 "2009-05-23T06:30:25Z")

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I think the major fuck off of this question, is that this assumes that a chimpanzee doesn’t have an omnivorous diet, and a long history of it. Chimps are omnivorous in most populations…including hunted meat. They are starting just like we did, surviving as our evolutionary equals. Cannabilism isn’t an oft cited evolutionary strategy, but we the apes are as bad as sharks when it comes to eating our young and weak… or just Other.

Apes can live prehistoric standard lifetimes 30 -60, is it our brethren mission to bring them along evolutioarily… treat them and medicate them to our equal… in effect, affect their evolution? Do we owe anything to our speciation?. Is it racial, or genetic?

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**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2009, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-chimpanzee-eat-a-typical-omnivorous-human-diet-and-be-perfectly-healthy/497375/4 "2009-05-23T06:45:17Z")

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Assuming you have a fairly healthful diet for a human, it will be fairly healthful for a chimp.