[extropy-chat] what is the upside / advantage of meat ?

[Ensel Sharon]

On Fri, 22 Sep 2006, The Avantguardian wrote:

> Since by the time eating red meat kills you, you will
> probably have had whatever children you are going to
> have, natural selection does not penalize this
> behavior. Instead it rewards it with greater
> reproductive success since eating meat in your youth,
> makes you strong enough to escape predators, beat up
> your banana-eating rivals, and mate at an earlier age
> than otherwise. 


Great - this is the idea I was getting at.  You say "(eating meat) rewards
it with greater reproductive success since eating meat in your youth makes
you strong enough to escape predators, beat up your banana-eating rivals,
and mate at an earlier age", and I don't know whether that is true or not,
and that is essentially what I am trying to find out.

Do you, in fact, agree with that statement you made, or was it just Devils
Advocate ?  If you do agree with it, can you conjecture as to how that is
possible ?  What is the basis of the benefits you speak of ?

(or to repeat my original question, what is the upside of eating meat ? :)