# Re serving man would a sedentary, obese person be tastier and more tender than a muscular athlete? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 18, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204 "2015-08-18T18:49:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/21 "2015-08-19T04:10:19Z")
Belive it or not, Smithsonian magazine has an authoritative article on this subject: > **[Human Flesh Looks Like Beef, But the Taste Is More Elusive](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/human-flesh-looks-beef-taste-more-elusive-180949562/?no-ist)** > > It's like pork. Or maybe veal \*"Both serial killers and Polynesian cannibals have described human as being most akin to pork. But not all cannibals agree with this description. William Seabrook, an author and journalist, traveled to West Africa in the 1920s and later described an encounter with man-flesh in great detail in his book, Jungle Ways. Human, he said, in fact tastes like veal. Here’s Seabrook’s description: It was like good, fully developed veal, not young, but not yet beef. It was very definitely like that, and it was not like any other meat I had ever tasted. It was so nearly like good, fully developed veal that I think no person with a palate of ordinary, normal sensitiveness could distinguish it from veal. It was mild, good meat with no other sharply defined or highly characteristic taste such as for instance, goat, high game, and pork have. The steak was slightly tougher than prime veal, a little stringy, but not too tough or stringy to be agreeably edible. The roast, from which I cut and ate a central slice, was tender, and in color, texture, smell as well as taste, strengthened my certainty that of all the meats we habitually know, veal is the one meat to which this meat is accurately comparable."\* ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/22 "2015-08-19T04:10:49Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > In World War II, Japanese ate the leg of an American POW with soy sauce. “It was very healthy”. The Andean plane crash survivors said it resembled beef. I couldn’t eat beef for a while after I read that. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/23 "2015-08-19T04:26:12Z")
I am partial to the kidneys and sweetbreads. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/24 "2015-08-19T05:51:58Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > I’m not overweight, I’m “marbled”. 😃 Oh dude, you got served! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/25 "2015-08-19T10:58:23Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > The Andean plane crash survivors said it resembled beef. > > I couldn’t eat beef for a while after I read that. Some of George Bush’s companions were eaten. I wonder if that is why he was ill at a Japanese dinner party. ---
**Author:** ![Toy\_varen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Toy\_varen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toy_varen)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/26 "2015-08-19T12:04:50Z")
I don’t see why this is even an issue if you have A-1 or ranch dressing. If you have to resort to cannibalism, you’re not going to be sitting there with tiny forks trying to figure out which part tastes the best. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/27 "2015-08-19T23:10:56Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Belive it or not, Smithsonian magazine has an authoritative article on this subject: > > [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/human-flesh-looks-beef-taste-more-elusive-180949562/?no-ist](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/human-flesh-looks-beef-taste-more-elusive-180949562/?no-ist) > > \*"Both serial killers and Polynesian cannibals have described human as being most akin to pork. But not all cannibals agree with this description. William Seabrook, an author and journalist, traveled to West Africa in the 1920s and later described an encounter with man-flesh in great detail in his book, Jungle Ways. Human, he said, in fact tastes like veal. Here’s Seabrook’s description: > > It was like good, fully developed veal, not young, but not yet beef. It was very definitely like that, and it was not like any other meat I had ever tasted. It was so nearly like good, fully developed veal that I think no person with a palate of ordinary, normal sensitiveness could distinguish it from veal. It was mild, good meat with no other sharply defined or highly characteristic taste such as for instance, goat, high game, and pork have. The steak was slightly tougher than prime veal, a little stringy, but not too tough or stringy to be agreeably edible. The roast, from which I cut and ate a central slice, was tender, and in color, texture, smell as well as taste, strengthened my certainty that of all the meats we habitually know, veal is the one meat to which this meat is accurately comparable."\* This makes me hunger for Humeat (patent pending) ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/28 "2015-08-19T23:43:21Z")
_Garçon! I want the Chateaubriand cut of Rosie O’Donnell, black & blue, with asparagus tips marinated in snake urine…and a Twinkie for desert._ ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/29 "2015-08-19T23:46:02Z")
_The Pirate of Panama_ ordered asparagus tips. I do not recall snake urine. Don’t they excrete fecal matter and urine together? ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/30 "2015-08-20T00:25:13Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > _The Pirate of Panama_ ordered asparagus tips. I do not recall snake urine. Don’t they excrete fecal matter and urine together? Oh, you haven’t lived if you haven’t tried [snake urine soup](https://books.google.com/books?id=77ZqNbU_Y74C&pg=PA125&lpg=PA125&dq=snake+urine+soup&source=bl&ots=5o1ww0FsUY&sig=msjVHHxImQCTJBM34ecGuLp47u8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAmoVChMIrKiNtbC2xwIVytWACh0HoAza#v=onepage&q=snake%20urine%20soup&f=false). ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/31 "2015-08-20T00:35:20Z")
Don’t give the 1% any ideas. They cannibalize our money, don’t make them think they can eat us too. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/32 "2015-08-20T00:49:36Z")
> [@Marion\_Wormer](#): > > Don’t give the 1% any ideas. They cannibalize our money, don’t make them think they can eat us too. Aren’t we already supposed to modestly eat babies? ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/33 "2015-08-20T00:54:26Z")
> [@Marion\_Wormer](#): > > Don’t give the 1% any ideas. They cannibalize our money, don’t make them think they can eat us too. Tell me, **Marion** , do you consider yourself a well-marbled kind of gal? Do you like snakes? Are you open to the idea of meeting a new friend who is willing to pay for one-way airfare to meet him? Can you bring asparagus with you? ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/34 "2015-08-20T01:18:44Z")
> [@Marion\_Wormer](#): > > Don’t give the 1% any ideas. They cannibalize our money, don’t make them think they can eat us too. Their replacement organs don’t come from other rich people. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/35 "2015-08-20T02:07:39Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > Oh, you haven’t lived if you haven’t tried [snake urine soup](https://books.google.com/books?id=77ZqNbU_Y74C&pg=PA125&lpg=PA125&dq=snake+urine+soup&source=bl&ots=5o1ww0FsUY&sig=msjVHHxImQCTJBM34ecGuLp47u8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAmoVChMIrKiNtbC2xwIVytWACh0HoAza#v=onepage&q=snake%20urine%20soup&f=false). [Eat shit.](https://www.google.com/search?q=snake+urine&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/36 "2015-08-20T02:15:24Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > I’m not overweight, I’m “marbled”. I’m not sure a fat person’s flesh would be “marbled.” There would be a layer of lean meat, covered over by a layer of fat. Like a lean lamb chop with a thick piece of fat on the edge that you would carve off so it didn’t melt and ignite a grease fire on the grill. To get your meat properly marbled, we would have to massage your gut gently over a period of weeks to work the fat into your flesh, before we butchered you. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/37 "2015-08-20T02:16:28Z")
Now I’m all hungry. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/38 "2015-08-20T02:32:00Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I’m not sure a fat person’s flesh would be “marbled.” > > There would be a layer of lean meat, covered over by a layer of fat. Like a lean lamb chop with a thick piece of fat on the edge that you would carve off so it didn’t melt and ignite a grease fire on the grill. > > To get your meat properly marbled, we would have to massage your gut gently over a period of weeks to work the fat into your flesh, before we butchered you. Is that how cows get marbled? I never really thought about the marbling process and now realize I have no idea about any of it. And yes, also now very very hungry. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/39 "2015-08-20T06:20:20Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Now I’m all hungry. > **[Idle's ongoing mission to try many things at Taco Bell (complete with...](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=765514)** > > \[Formerly “Suggest something from Taco Bell for someone who hasn’t been there for awhile”\] Okay, so I like Mexican food and, yes, I know that the argument could be made that Taco Bell isn’t really “Mexican” food, but you get what I mean. 😛 It’s... > **[What is the weirdest thing you've seen someone eat?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=765542)** > > I’m not looking for you went to Mongolia and watched someone eat sheep eyes here. What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen someone eat, of their own volition, out of common household ingredients? No bets, dares, or your brother made it for you. ... [![](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/A1XY1Nkyh5L._SX425_.jpg) ](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/A1XY1Nkyh5L._SX425_.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204/40 "2015-08-20T14:02:54Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Is that how cows get marbled? I understand that it’s the method in Japan for getting even marbling in Kobe beef. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-serving-man-would-a-sedentary-obese-person-be-tastier-and-more-tender-than-a-muscular-athlete/728204.md?page=3)