WHATEVER makes Edward Sanderson (ViewPoints, October 19) think we are herbivores? Clearly we are not and neither are we carnivores, because, like our nearest relatives the chimpanzee, we are omnivores. To be a herbivore you need a special stomach, or stomachs to convert starch into the proteins that are essential to life and, what is more, you have to eat almost continuously to obtain all the nutrients required. On the other hand, omnivores can eat almost anything and switch from fruit and vegetables to meat, as and when it is available.

It’s pretty clear that when we were hunter gatherers, we were, almost certainly, predominantly meat eaters. Archaeologists tell us that these hunter gatherers were a lot fitter than the farmers that followed them.

There is an argument that, with little meat to eat during the War, we were fitter than now but the cause for that may be down to other reasons. One thing is certain and that is that we are becoming very wasteful, whether it is in the supermarket, the restaurant or the home, with hundreds of tons of food being thrown away each year.

Then there is the case of people becoming overweight. These are the problems created by today’s society but whether we can get people to change their habits is another matter.

DERRICK HOLT

Fortnam Close

Headington

Oxford