Genius, Creativity and (Not) Eating Meat

Abstract

A major hypothesis argues that the dietary shifts of the proto-humans towards animal proteins enabled humans to develop large brains as well as build planning, cooperating, socializing, exploring and creative skills, related to food techniques, including using fire, cooking, fermentation, agriculture and animal domestication. Many million years later, human population has drastically increased and livestock has grown even faster creating unprecedented global environmental, climate change and health challenges. This chapter asks whether animal meat continues to be essential for human nutrition. It refers to prominent people in human history considered geniuses because of their creative and intellectual abilities. It explores whether there is a link between genius, creativity and eating meat and answers this in the negative based on well-known geniuses who have negated the meat-eating diet. Social marketing can anchor some of its techniques in using such personalities as role models for changing the current high dependence on meat.