# Why is eating grass not good for humans?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 24, 2020, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905 "2020-08-24T18:06:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2020, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/1 "2020-08-24T18:06:28Z")
Hello Everyone,
Watching our horses and donkeys this morning munching on grass in the pasture got me thinking, why is it bad for humans to consume grass?
I mean yeah, it taste terrible (I was hungry as a kid! ) but I always heard it’ll make you sick. Just wondering why horses, donkeys, goats, cows, etc. can consume it, yet we shouldn’t.
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### Author:  [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2020, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/2 "2020-08-24T18:14:58Z")
Grass is mostly cellulose, and we’re not evolved to digest it. Other animals like cows and sheep have multiple stomachs, symbiotic bacteria, etc… that allow them to digest this sort of plant matter.
I would imagine that if it does make you sick, it’s because there’s something in that particular species of grass that makes you sick, not some sort of inherent poisonousness in grass.
Seems like at the very best, it would be a good source of insoluble fiber.
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### Author:  [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/3 "2020-08-24T18:56:55Z")
> [@obbn](#):
>
> Hello Everyone,
> Watching our horses and donkeys this morning munching on grass in the pasture got me thinking, why is it bad for humans to consume grass?
>
> I mean yeah, it taste terrible (I was hungry as a kid! ) but I always heard it’ll make you sick. Just wondering why horses, donkeys, goats, cows, etc. can consume it, yet we shouldn’t.
You just have to make sure you’re eating [_puffed_ grass.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJIt371wjXQ&feature=youtu.be&t=109)
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### Author:  [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2020, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/4 "2020-08-24T19:45:13Z")
aka ABV
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### Author:  [@Skunkdog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skunkdog)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2020, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/5 "2020-08-24T19:59:14Z")
I remember years ago when a young man was admitted to my hospital with gastrointestinal issues. He was Indonesian and his family used grass from a local park in their cooking. We removed a three foot tapeworm from his stomach which we think he got from the grass.
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### Author:  [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2020, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/6 "2020-08-24T20:01:52Z")
Aside from not getting much nutritional benefit because of our different digestive systems, we have another issue with eating grass. We also have different teeth. Grass is high in silica making it relatively abrasive. Eat enough of it and it wears away the enamel on our teeth. That is not a problem for the ruminants with teeth that continue to grow throughout their life. ([Cite](https://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/digestive/why-humans-dont-eat-grass.htm))
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### Author:  [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/7 "2020-08-24T20:06:28Z")
Lawn, park, etc. grass sometimes has chemicals applied to it that wouldn’t be allowed for a food crop, under the presumption that nobody’s going to be eating it.
Grass from a pasture, dog park, etc. may have shit on it, which may be carrying pathogens.
Other than that, it’s mostly not digestible by humans. A few blades won’t hurt you, they’ll just pass on through. We used to chew on grass blades sometimes as kids (I think it tastes mildly good; though this may well depend on the species of grass, as well as on personal taste.)
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### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2020, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/8 "2020-08-25T01:17:44Z")
[Why Can’t You Digest Grass? - Scishow Youtube.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-z-0f5GnSs)
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2020, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/9 "2020-08-25T01:52:10Z")
because we can’t extract much from it. grass-eating animals (ruminants, coprophages) have mechanisms to extract nutrition from grasses that we don’t, Ruminants chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, swallow, chew, chew chew, grass so that the bacteria in their gut can help break it down. coprophages like guinea pigs and rabbits eat some of their droppings to re-digest them.
you willing to do that?
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2020, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/10 "2020-08-25T04:26:15Z")
So, short answer: The human body is not designed for eating and digesting it.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2020, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/11 "2020-08-25T04:56:06Z")
In general, we don’t eat the leaves of that many plants because the ratio of nutrients to cellulose is usually poor, and unlike animals with specialized digestive systems we can’t break down cellulose to a usable form. Cabbage, spinach, lettuce are used, but aren’t that nutritious compared to other plant foods. Most plant foods are fruits, seeds (including grains), tubers (potatoes), roots (turnips), or other storage organs that have a high ratio of nutrients to cellulose.
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### Author:  [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2020, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/12 "2020-08-25T05:10:37Z")
I do eat grass, just not raw. I let it get processed into bacon or rib-eye first.
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### Author:  [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2020, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/13 "2020-08-25T08:14:58Z")
> [@DinoR](#):
>
> Grass is high in silica making it relatively abrasive. Eat enough of it and it wears away the enamel on our teeth. That is not a problem for the ruminants with teeth that continue to grow throughout their life. ([Cite](https://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/digestive/why-humans-dont-eat-grass.htm))
I don’t think this is true: [cite](https://www.drovers.com/article/teeth-condition-can-reveal-cow-age-aid-culling-decisions) and [cite](http://www.sheep101.info/sheepbasics.html).
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2020, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/14 "2020-08-25T12:32:06Z")
> [@Colibri](#):
>
> In general, we don’t eat the leaves of that many plants because the ratio of nutrients to cellulose is usually poor, and unlike animals with specialized digestive systems we can’t break down cellulose to a usable form. Cabbage, spinach, lettuce are used, but aren’t that nutritious compared to other plant foods. Most plant foods are fruits, seeds (including grains), tubers (potatoes), roots (turnips), or other storage organs that have a high ratio of nutrients to cellulose.
micronutrients vs. macronutrients (calories.) Potatoes, grains, etc. have plenty of calories but not all that much in vitamins and minerals. leafy greens are loaded with vitamins and minerals but almost zero calories. and some of them (e.g. collards) make it hard to get those micronutrients w/o cooking the hell out of them .
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### Author:  [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/15 "2020-08-25T17:33:48Z")
> [@Colibri](#):
>
> Cabbage, spinach, lettuce are used, but aren’t that nutritious compared to other plant foods
Which is sort of their draw … I balance the calories from carbs with the fiber to get my net to do my insulin if I opt for a carby sort of day [like a piece of birthday cake would take a pop of insulin, but if I can do salad instead of pasta I can do less insulin]
And I hate being diabetic and randomly discussing a menu and having some random passer by making comments on something like - Oh, one of those Atkins fools … though it is great to pull out a full syringe and say that I just need to know how much insulin my meal is going to make me need Or a nasty comment about fake gluten allergy when I comment about wanting a veg instead of pasta or bread as a side.
> [@PoppaSan](#):
>
> I do eat grass, just not raw. I let it get processed into bacon or rib-eye first.
yum =)
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### Author:  [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/16 "2020-08-25T17:47:51Z")
And just to be that guy… humanity actually gets the majority of its calories from grass. We just eat the seeds rather than the stalks, for all the reasons mentioned upthread. And we process them first, too (cooking, grinding, etc.)
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### Author:  [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2020, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/17 "2020-08-25T17:54:58Z")
> [@Skunkdog](#):
>
> I remember years ago when a young man was admitted to my hospital with gastrointestinal issues. He was Indonesian and his family used grass from a local park in their cooking. We removed a three foot tapeworm from his stomach which we think he got from the grass.
Yes, grass is a harbor for worms, ticks, botflies, etc.
Growing up on a horse farm, we took regular efforts to reduce such parasites on our pastures. Like rotating pastures during the year, harrowing & raking regularly, etc. You will see any good, successful herd farm putting a fair amount of effort into sanitizing their pastures.
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### Author:  [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2020, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/18 "2020-08-25T18:00:10Z")
How about the “fleshy” centers? I haven’t even thought about eating grass in decades, but when I was a kid, I found that if you pulled apart long stalks of grass, the inside would often have a more pulpy, less fibrous texture.
That seemed more consumable, anyway.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2020, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/19 "2020-08-25T18:35:53Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#):
>
> How about the “fleshy” centers? I haven’t even thought about eating grass in decades, but when I was a kid, I found that if you pulled apart long stalks of grass, the inside would often have a more pulpy, less fibrous texture.
When we do eat leaves, it’s generally the young growth, before the plant has toughened up the leaf by adding cellulose to make it more difficult to eat. What you were eating there was probably the base of a new young leaf before it had pushed out of the sheath.
And we do eat some grass leaves: bamboo shoots, used in Chinese cooking. These are just the tips of the new stems of bamboo as they are sprouting. Of course it is impossible to eat bamboo, either leaves or stems, once it has toughened up.
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### Author:  [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2020, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-eating-grass-not-good-for-humans/918905/20 "2020-08-25T19:01:16Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#):
>
> How about the “fleshy” centers? I haven’t even thought about eating grass in decades, but when I was a kid, I found that if you pulled apart long stalks of grass, the inside would often have a more pulpy, less fibrous texture
Yes – I remember not pulling them apart with my hands, but chewing on and squeezing that pith out of the stalk with my teeth.
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