Mermaids and Seafood

[ImaginMertrix]

Hehe, considering my own personal idea of what Mermaids are like, they're pretty individual, so while the majority would live on an omnivore diet, it wouldn't be strange for one to be vegetarian/vegan, much like humans are. Everyone's different after all! I was just reading through some threads and a lot of Mers were commenting on the horrors of humans consuming their fishy friends and was interested to know if that was common here.

[Shaylee Moon]

Yeah, I think thats what I would think too. It all depends in the mer

[Blondie]

I totally thing mermaids would eat fish. I mean fish eat fish. They're not all friends. It's just the food chain.

[SeaGlass Siren]

Some fish are vegetarian lol! Dory from finding nemo... Her species are vegetarians. I know because I have the DVD with special features :P "my names dory, and here's my story, I'm from the reef and I don't eat beef"

[Merman Dan]

Hobson: Yes, bathing is a lonely business.
Arthur: Except for fish.
Hobson: I beg your pardon? Did you say "except for fish"?
Arthur: Yes... fish all bathe together. Although they do tend to eat one another. I often think... fish must get awfully tired of seafood.

[pullyorkshire]

we better start throwing some bread in the ocean before they get hungry...

[tealmermaid]

Fish are food, not friends. And if you pick up some lunch near the kelp fields, hey, sashimi waiting to happen.

Mermaids eat lots of sashimi, I'm sure of it.

[Mermaid Adriel]

Like ImaginMertrix, I also think mermaids would be omnivorous, or vegetarian, just like humans xD

[Mermaid Kalliope]

Personally, I can barely stand the taste of fish. I think it is gross and disgusting. I only make the exception when I catch perch from the pier and cook it m'self. Or halibut. I like halibut. :3 Though, I looooooove crustaceans. Gimme some crab, shrimp or lobster and I'm a happy mer!

I also do like smoked kelp. :3 Yum yum and I love salty foods. ><

I did, however, try and eat tuna the other day.... blech. Only after making a homemade sauce could I eat it. SO GROSS. I only try to eat fish because I don't get the omgea-3 in my diet enough. :-(

Also, for the whole "there are plenty of vegetarian options for protien" thing, there are many people who would say that most of those are things our bodies can't digest. Our bodies evolved to eat fruits, veggies and meat, not grains like wheat and rice or legumes. They actually can be argues that they are bad for you.

And another thing, I have to eat meat. My body will not feel right if I try to get protein from anything but meat.

SO what I'm trying to say is:

No one is right. Some people's bodies can't digest meat and thrive on a vegetation/vegan, while others need to have meat in their diet and do just fine and are healthy. So, going around and telling people that humans aren't able to digest this and that is a load of malarky.

I have been told that humans can't digest the following:
Meat
Potatoes (varying types)
Starch
Legumes (beans, peanuts, soy beans, tofu (soybean based), etc...)
Rice
Grains (bread, pasta, granola, oats, etc... )
Milk (cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc... )
Corn
Uhmm.... other things. (I'm tired and this has gotten long.)


All in all, I think it would vary species to species of mermaid. Just as all the creatures in the sea eat different things, so would merfolk.

OKAY I'M DONE.

[Echidna]

No one is right. So, going around and telling people that humans aren't able to digest this and that is a load of malarky.

Not quite.
You mentioned milk and milk products, those can indeed only be digested by people who had cattle herders as their ancestors, and thus developed a lactose-splitting enzyme.
Folks who lack said enzyme will get bad stomach ache, diarrhea, and so on.

Leeloo already made an informative post about why people don't have to eat meat.
Just take a look at your teeth.
Do they look like a carnivores', long and sharp?
If yes, then you need meat.
If no, you are just someone who won't admit eating no meat would probably be better for them

[Mermaid Momo]

fun fact! Starch can indeed be digested! The saliva in our mouths have an enzyme just for digesting and breaking down starch and fat before it even starts down the digestive track

Personally I love seafood! Nothing better than fried catfish (I know it doesn't come from the sea but its a fish lol) and a crab boil! and baked tilapia, yum! I've been trying to convince my parents to let me set up an aquaponics thing in our backyard so we can have more fresh seafood. But since I'll be leaving next fall and I doubt anyone will take care of it, I just gave up lol (on that and the laying hen I wanted and mini cow)

[Mermaid Octavia]

omg I LOVE seafood NOMNOMNOMNOMNOM

But I agree with others that have said they believe merfolk would be omnivorous - I think so too! They would probably eat whatever they could catch and consume without much processing, maybe using bone or rock tools to cut the meat/seaweed/plants/what-have-you. Personally I love eating seafood so much, I could not be a vegan/vegetarian mermaid in the slightest. XD

Regarding the lactose thing, I used to be able to eat all the dairy I wanted (minus cheese, I think cheese is totally gross) until recently. Maybe a month or so ago, I started to get extremely sick. After eliminating things systematically from my diet, turns out the culprit is... lactose. :C And I love me some milk and yogurt but it's now just wrecking me internally. I haven't gotten the guts to try yogurt again but one small glass of milk will ruin me for a full 24 hours. Sadness! Sudden-Onset Lactose Intolerance?

[Shaylee Moon]

I also got a recent case of lactose intolerance. Well, not really that recent anymore. xD
I use to drink a lot of milk when I was younger though and then one day... Bam! I'm lactose intolerant.

[SeaGlass Siren]

Ong same here Bonny! I LOVED milk. What happened? ;-;

[Shaylee Moon]

Thats exactly what I wonder! It was just really sudden and now theres no milk for me :c
Well sometimes mom buys lactaid but its not as good and my dad always drinks it all before I even get the chance to drink any!
But yeah, it seems like the sudden case of lactose intolerance is really common!

[Mermaid Momo]

for all of you wondering what happened: every mammal has lactase in their digestive system when they're born (or it's normal to) Lactase changes the lactose into glucose and galactose. most mammals normally cease to produce lactase after weaning (which makes them lactose intolerant) though the amount in which it's stopped being produced is mostly determined by natural selection that's better for people who live in places where dairy is available as a food choice (which is why most people don't have the symptoms of lactose intolerance now a days when drinking or eating dairy products because it's now readily available as a food.)

[SeaGlass Siren]

See this is why I fail at biology :P I only got to far learning about maltose and sucrose and fructose

So... How to get rid of it..?

[leeloo]

Our bodies evolved to take advantage of a variety of food sources, including plants and meat. That doesn’t mean we need to eat meat, just that we can. In addition, humans are more scavengers than true carnivores. Certain people have a hard time digesting certain foods, this is true. Lactose, as others have said is actually a very common intolerance. The majority of humans are lactose intolerant. Only after developing a mutated gene have some humans been able to digest lactose past infancy. There may be rare cases where some individuals require meat/animal products in their diets (such as serious inability to digest plant foods), but the vast majority of humans don’t need meat. Many chose to, and if eaten sparingly can still be quite healthy, but again, we do not require protein or any other nutrient from a specific source.

[Kumori Kitsune]

mermaids would eat fish most likely sea plants wouldnt hold enough extra nutrition to survive. you need fats and curtain minerals. If your vigin then you are but I'm talking biologically.
Like the food you do I could eat seafood all day. I love it so much but every one has their thoughts. there re animals that would eat mermaids too. is a giant circle.

[Echidna]

Lactose intolerance can develop at any time, but mostly in younger years.
That's because babies still have the enzyme to digest mother's milk (just like any mammal), which disappears in later life, when they should start eating something real.

Anyway, on topic:
with animals, you can tell from their mouth position/shape, and from the shape of their teeth, what their diet is.
(this might, or might not be the same for humans)
So, I imagine several types of merfolk to exist (which is backed by myth):

1) the carnivorous, aggressive type.
Having lots of small, sharp teeth (think Gollum), they might resemble piranha in their hunting pattern and behaviour.
They would prey on anything they find, including the occasional human.
(There are loads of stories about dangerous water fairies who drown and kill humans after all!)

2) the herbivorous, placid type.
These would have many flat molars, be fairly docile, friendly to humans, and live off seaweed and kelp.
There are stories about such merfolk too.
It's mentioned they are hunted by large toothed whales, which is why they will sometimes tell whalers where to find those.

3) the omnivorous type.
These could have any type of appearance, and they would probably be neutral towards humans, unless they are angered or hungry.