# Human flesh: red meat or white meat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2004, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671 "2004-05-29T12:23:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skeptico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@Skeptico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeptico)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/1 "2004-05-29T12:23:55Z")
Just wondering 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LuckySevens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@LuckySevens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LuckySevens)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/2 "2004-05-29T12:34:02Z")
read meat i believe ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/3 "2004-05-29T13:47:46Z")
Hmm, I did a quick scan through my copy of **TO SERVE MAN - a cookbook for people** (Karl Wurf, Owlswick Press) failed to find the subject or red or white adressed directly. However, Mr Wurf often compares menschfleish to pork. From this, I assume that human flesh is white meat. ---
**Author:** ![Ezstrete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ea924/32.png) [@Ezstrete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ezstrete)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/4 "2004-05-29T13:49:54Z")
> [@LuckySevens](#): > > read meat i believe Thew natives in New Guinea called it “long Pig”-------so I assume it must have be the ,“other white meat.” ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/5 "2004-05-29T15:06:05Z")
Breast, or leg? ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/6 "2004-05-29T15:59:28Z")
Pink like pigs. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/7 "2004-05-29T17:38:39Z")
Unable to choose a good red or white wine with your meal? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/8 "2004-05-29T17:43:58Z")
Heh, last I heard, human meat is _loaded_ with cholesterol, sodium, etc. I guess we really are what we eat huh? But a sick part of me wonders, if human meat is full of all this unhealthy stuff, wouldn’t that just make us taste that much _better_? I know it was a common topic in a lot of horror stories about cannibalism- people who weren’t normally cannibals but once they discovered how _delicious_ other people tasted, they went crazy go nuts and started pigging out on people. But it still makes you wonder- would dining on the abs of some couch potato be very tasty? All that well-marbled meat, probably tastes so strong you don’t even have to season it, what with all the beer and potato chips the guy probably consumed in his short life… 😉 And an even more controversial question- what would constitute human veal? A human under six years of age? Or before puberty? ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/9 "2004-05-29T17:52:41Z")
For a year, I embraced something called “Bug-Eye Vegetarianism.” Meat from mammals with big, human-type eyes (Beef, pork, lamb) was off the menu, but non-mammalian food from critters with little bug-like eyes (Seafood, poultry) was just fine. “Red meat” generally refers to the former, “white meat” to the latter. The pork industry likes to invite comparison to white meats so you’ll overlook the incredibly unhealthy content in their delicious product. For all practical purposes, human flesh would be red meat. Go with a good, thick pasta and some marinara sauce with it. _Buon appetito!_ ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/10 "2004-05-29T18:10:26Z")
Wurf’s introduction deals with what type of human is the best meal. > [@](#): > > . . . The preferred donor for the cannibal table is a man who has reached his full growth but has not yet gone to fat or dried up with age. Since even a moderate spare tire represents a ridiculous quantity of lard, a lean hard-muscled build is preferrable to mere bulk. Football linemen are best toward the end of the season, when they’ve worked off excess weight. Atheletes who have to diet down to a particular weight class, such as real (as opposed to TV) wrestlers and weightlifters, are excellent. Bodybuilders are ideal, especially in the larger sizes, although they are difficult to come by. I have heard that the meat of carnivores has an unpleasant taste. Theoretically one could attempt raise their own stock on a vegetarian diet. But, this is impractical for many reasons. Here in Philadelphia, I’d think the best specimens would be those Buddhists, Hindus, and such who don’t consume meat for religious reasons. Not only would flavor not be a problem, many such individuals will refrain from commiting violence even when faced with death. This makes slaughtering a much easier process. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/11 "2004-05-29T18:43:03Z")
It’s the other other white meat. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/12 "2004-05-29T19:23:25Z")
Depends. Muscle tissue that is more active have higher percentages of a protein called myoglobin, which stores extra oxygen for use by the muscle. Myoglobin makes meat red. No, a runner who doesn’t do a lot of ab work, the legs and possibly the arms would be red meat, but the abdominal muscles would be white (or, more likely pink) meat. Your average couch potato would be all white meat, plus a lot of fat. Someone who walks a lot, but doesn’t get much in the way of other kinds of exercise would be red meat in the legs, but probably white meat elsewhere- hip and gleuteal muscles would most likely be pink. An all-over well conditioned athlete, who did lots of cardio, free weights, strength training and ab work would probably be all red meat, with maybe a pit of pink in areas that weren’t as well worked. Hope that helps. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/13 "2004-05-29T19:31:10Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Buddhists, Hindus…many such individuals will refrain from commiting violence even when faced with death. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/14 "2004-05-29T19:51:36Z")
two cannibals eating a clown …does this meat taste funny to you…? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/15 "2004-05-29T21:54:26Z")
Two cannibals are sitting down at the dinner table when one of them heaves a big sigh. The other cannibal asks: “What’s wrong?” The first says: “Oh, I just can’t _stand_ my mother-in-law.” The other says: “So? Then just eat the vegetables.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/16 "2004-05-29T22:18:14Z")
The difference between regular people and cannibals : When a regular kid gets home, he asks : “What’s for dinner Mom ?” When a cannibal kids gets home, he asks : “What’s for dinner… Mom?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/human-flesh-red-meat-or-white-meat/247671/17 "2004-05-29T23:04:00Z")
Did you hear the one about the cannibal who dumped his girlfriend? Think about it