# Mankind consumes which vertebrate the most? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638 "2016-05-12T21:43:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/21 "2016-05-13T11:51:21Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Which fish? Every type of fish is a different animal. Cod and salmon are as distinct as pig and cow. Yes; this was my thought also. Speaking for myself, the answer would be European cisco, but that’s because I catch them myself. I probably also eat a larger number yearly of canned sardines than chickens, and most of them come from Morocco or Tunisia, so presumably all European pilchards; but other species dominate in other parts of the world. Numbers on the annual global catch of different species doesn’t give much of a clue, as a lot of the catch goes into fish meal industry (which doesn’t directly provide human food). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/22 "2016-05-13T12:07:47Z")
By my rough calculations, in 2010, some 4234600000 kg of just [Peruvian anchoveta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchovy) were caught (68.3 % of 6.2 million tons). At .045kg each (estimated average based on the weight of the same-length Japanese anchovy) gives us 94,102,222,222 (94 billion) anchovetas caught that year. That’s a bit less than double the 58 billion chickens, and waaay more than the 2.8 billion ducks or 1.3 billion pigs ([cite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_slaughter#Statistics) ). And that’s just one species of anchovy. Haven’t even looked at sardines yet… I think we can safely say “Fish” outnumber “Fowl”… ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/23 "2016-05-13T12:28:22Z")
So [Peruvian anchoveta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peruvian_anchoveta) might be the winner, even though > [@](#): > > only 1 percent of anchovy catches are used for direct human consumption and 99 percent continue to be reduced to fishmeal and oil. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/24 "2016-05-13T14:09:30Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > So [Peruvian anchoveta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peruvian_anchoveta) might be the winner, even though That’s only \*one kind \*of anchovy, though - I’m reasonably sure it all adds up. And while “direct consumption” may be 1%, “fish oil” is also used for human consumption. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/25 "2016-05-13T15:26:37Z")
Just in worcestershire sauce alone we consume millions of anchovies a year. Mammals can’t compete with small fish in this category. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/26 "2016-05-13T16:21:48Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Just in worcestershire sauce alone we consume millions of anchovies a year. Mammals can’t compete with small fish in this category. Beg you pardon, but _about how many gallons of worcestershire sauce do you consume per year_? A small bottle in my fridge has lasted for more than two years! (That’s longer than my similar-sized bottle of sriracha!) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/27 "2016-05-13T16:33:37Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > Beg you pardon, but _about how many gallons of worcestershire sauce do you consume per year_? A small bottle in my fridge has lasted for more than two years! > (That’s longer than my similar-sized bottle of sriracha!) I go through 2 or 3 bottles a year myself. [Just the people of El Salvador consume 450 tons of the stuff a year.](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB837987019746627000) ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/28 "2016-05-13T17:32:20Z")
I use a lot of worcestershire too, and I cook with anchovy paste and put them on pizza fairly regularly. I’ll easily hit 100 anchovies in a year. Heck, just look at canned sardines on crackers: I only eat them four or five times a year, but I’ll eat a dozen at a time. So there’s 160 fish without even looking at tuna, salmon, sole, etc. My family might eat 160 chickens in a year (OK, no we probably don’t), but we sure don’t each 160 cows! ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/29 "2016-05-13T17:42:32Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > By my rough calculations, in 2010, some 4234600000 kg of just [Peruvian anchoveta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchovy) were caught (68.3 % of 6.2 million tons). At .045kg each (estimated average based on the weight of the same-length Japanese anchovy) gives us 94,102,222,222 (94 billion) anchovetas caught that year. That’s a bit less than double the 58 billion chickens, and waaay more than the 2.8 billion ducks or 1.3 billion pigs ([cite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_slaughter#Statistics) ). And that’s just one species of anchovy. Haven’t even looked at sardines yet… > > I think we can safely say “Fish” outnumber “Fowl”… If you count chicken eggs as chickens, then that may top anchovies as the most species eaten - [this article](http://www.wattagnet.com/articles/25047-global-egg-consumption-to-rise-worldwide-through-2024) says it’s about 179 eggs per person (well, it says “approximately 179 eggs per person were available for consumption globally”, not sure if that’s different from “consumed”.) That’s about 1.3 trillion a year. Though if we compare all fish vs. all fowl, and we include chicken eggs as fowl, then we’d have to count fish roe as fish. In which case I’m sure “fish” wins. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/30 "2016-05-13T17:47:38Z")
If you can count an unfertilized chicken egg as a vertebrate then a sperm should also count. In that case humans might be the winner. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/31 "2016-05-13T18:24:45Z")
I initially misread the title as “Mankind consumes which vertebrae the most?” and thought “other than chicken and maybe fish, who eats vertebrae?”:smack:🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/32 "2016-05-13T18:34:07Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > If you count chicken eggs as chickens, then that may top anchovies as the most species eaten - [this article](http://www.wattagnet.com/articles/25047-global-egg-consumption-to-rise-worldwide-through-2024) says it’s about 179 eggs per person (well, it says “approximately 179 eggs per person were available for consumption globally”, not sure if that’s different from “consumed”.) That’s about 1.3 trillion a year. > > Though if we compare all fish vs. all fowl, and we include chicken eggs as fowl, then we’d have to count fish roe as fish. In which case I’m sure “fish” wins. Available for consumption would differ from actual consumption due to spoilage, waste, etc. So if someone colors eggs for Easter and then only eats half of them, that would be a difference. Or if you buy a dozen eggs and they get crushed in the bottom of your grocery bag. I imagine there’s not as much waste in eggs as there are in other food products, but it could still be substantial. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/33 "2016-05-13T18:50:55Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > If you can count an unfertilized chicken egg as a vertebrate then a sperm should also count. In that case humans might be the winner. Cannot pass without applause 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/34 "2016-05-13T20:07:59Z")
If unfertilized eggs and sperm count, my consumption alone of sardines would put the number up in the millions! ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/35 "2016-05-13T21:34:31Z")
Though Worcestershire sauce has anchovies as a minor flavorant, Asian fish sauce has a much more prominent taste of fermented anchovies, and I’m guessing it’s more widely used globally than the Lea & Perrins. In my own cooking, the “Wooster” is used more sparingly in those dishes than the fish sauce in the Asian dishes. Some of you might make a face at the thought of eating fermented fish, but in the finished dish it doesn’t taste fishy at all. It delivers _umami_, a flavor that makes other things taste better. I jokingly call Worcestershire “fish sauce for Americans.” I was told long ago that Worcestershire is correctly pronounced “Wooster.” If that’s not true, maybe some our UK Dopers can straighten it out. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/36 "2016-05-13T21:36:59Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > I was told long ago that Worcestershire is correctly pronounced “Wooster.” If that’s not true, maybe some our UK Dopers can straighten it out. Worcester is pronounced “Wooster”. Following that form the sauce would be “Wooster-sher”, but probably called “Wooster” a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/37 "2016-05-13T22:52:20Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Worcester is pronounced “Wooster”. Following that form the sauce would be “Wooster-sher”, but probably called “Wooster” a lot. More like “shir” than “sher”, but yeah it’s really common just to call the sauce “Wooster” ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/38 "2016-05-13T22:52:26Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > If you can count an unfertilized chicken egg as a vertebrate then a sperm should also count. In that case humans might be the winner. During the Lillehammer Olympics, Dave Barry and some other reporters were served a white, gelatinous substance that the waitress would not identify until all of them had eaten it. When she told them it was fish sperm, all of them cracked joked with punch lines that rhymed with “Fresident Flinton”. 😛 Mike Rowe has also eaten cod milt on “Dirty Jobs”. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/39 "2016-05-13T22:53:49Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Worcester is pronounced “Wooster”. Following that form the sauce would be “Wooster-sher”, but probably called “Wooster” a lot. How is it pronounced in Massachusetts? I recently saw a person on Facebook wearing a t-shirt that had various mispronunciatioins of that city’s name. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2016, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638/40 "2016-05-13T23:23:03Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > How is it pronounced in Massachusetts? > > I recently saw a person on Facebook wearing a t-shirt that had various mispronunciatioins of that city’s name. It’s pronounced “Wooster” in Mass., and as you say, there are a lot of ways to mispronounce it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mankind-consumes-which-vertebrate-the-most/754638.md?page=3)