Ask Us Anything: Could A Lion Live Off Veggie Burgers?
Jason SchneiderFake meat, as a rule, garners more complaints than compliments from people. Vegetables lack the complete proteins found in meat, and tend to be a poor substitute for its melange of muscles, tendons, blood, and other tissues--each of which confers a different texture and flavor.For cats, it goes beyond mere preference. Felines evolved to be obligate carnivores; in the wild, they must eat meat to survive. Even in a zoo, feeding a lion veggie burgers just won’t work, says Barbara Toddes, nutrition program director at the Philadelphia Zoo: “It’s like putting gasoline in a diesel engine.” Lions’ teeth are made to slice through flesh, not grind up grains and plant cellulose. Their stomachs mainly use enzymes to break down fats and proteins; they lack the gut microbes necessary to digest carbohydrates.Domestic cats, on the other hand, can learn to consume veggie kibble if it has...