# Nutrition label for a human **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 7, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutrition-label-for-a-human/407173 "2007-06-07T20:18:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutrition-label-for-a-human/407173/1 "2007-06-07T20:18:15Z")
Inspired by the “My RDA” thread, my mind jumped to what I thought the question would be. It wasn’t so I’ll make a new thread for it. If I were a product, on the shelf, boxed and shrink-wrapped, what would my nutritional label say? Obviously Contents: 1 human male Serving size: 8 oz Servings per container: 640 (I’m economy sized) but what about the vitamin A, Vitamin C, etc. stuff. Am I both delicious _AND_ nutricious? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutrition-label-for-a-human/407173/2 "2007-06-07T20:21:43Z")
Which 8 oz is in the can? It could be all brains, all muscle, all liver, all skin… Or, did you go thru a grinder and get all homogenized? ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutrition-label-for-a-human/407173/3 "2007-06-07T20:23:20Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Which 8 oz is in the can? It could be all brains, all muscle, all liver, all skin… Or, did you go thru a grinder and get all homogenized? [/QUOTE] Hmm. People sausage. Good question. Too broad an answer I guess without that assumption. _Belrix: Now Brautwurst style!_ ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutrition-label-for-a-human/407173/4 "2007-06-07T20:26:21Z")
huhuhuhuh. You said “people sausage”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutrition-label-for-a-human/407173/5 "2007-06-07T20:31:06Z")
[QUOTE=Belrix] Hmm. People sausage.\* [/QUOTE] In that case, it wouldn’t be all that different from beef sausage. Maybe a little leaner. As for the taste… well I don’t know, but I doubt it would be like chicken. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutrition-label-for-a-human/407173/6 "2007-06-07T21:23:25Z")
Don’t forget the “expiration” date. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutrition-label-for-a-human/407173/7 "2007-06-07T21:28:57Z")
If they labelled people this way, it would have totally spoiled the ending of _Soylent Green_. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutrition-label-for-a-human/407173/8 "2007-06-07T21:36:18Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] In that case, it wouldn’t be all that different from beef sausage. Maybe a little leaner. As for the taste… well I don’t know, but I doubt it would be like chicken. [/QUOTE] Pork. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutrition-label-for-a-human/407173/9 "2007-06-07T21:45:39Z")
You folks think this hasn’t actually been addressed in the research literature, don’t you? [Ha.](http://www.jstor.org/view/00027294/ap020397/02a00290/0) (via JSTOR) > [@](#): > > On the Nutritional Value of Cannibalism. Andrew Vaidya. _American Anthropologist_ 72, 1970. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutrition-label-for-a-human/407173/10 "2007-06-08T06:33:19Z")
[QUOTE=Kimstu] You folks think this hasn’t actually been addressed in the research literature, don’t you? [Ha.](http://www.jstor.org/view/00027294/ap020397/02a00290/0) (via JSTOR) [/QUOTE] For those without access to JSTOR the cited essay is about a page long and is mainly speculation if irregular consumption of human flesh by Maoris of New Zealond is never-the-less nutritionally significant. It is written in response to a paper by Stanley M. Garn and Walter D. Block entitled “On the Limited Nutritional Value of Cannibalism” (American Anthropologist Vol 72 p106). Referring to THAT paper, in turn, gives us the following: > [@](#): > > “A 50 kg man might yield 30 kg edible muscle mass if well and skillfully butchered, and 30 kg edible muscle would yield about 4.5 kg (4500 gm protein), or 4.0 kg protein assuming 90% digestibility. Assuming quality protein requirements as 1 gm per kilogram of body weight, this would provide one-day’s protein requirements for approximately 60 60-kilogram adults. One man, in other words serves 60, skimpily.” No other nutritional information (or speculation) is offered that I could see. … That’s not only not useful but also seems to be entirely pulled out of somebody’s ass, since none of the references Block and Garn cite at the end actually deal with physiology of humans or skillful butchering thereof. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutrition-label-for-a-human/407173/11 "2007-06-08T07:53:18Z")
'May contain bones" ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nutrition-label-for-a-human/407173/12 "2007-06-08T12:58:20Z")
Allergy warning: May contain nuts