[1] National Prime Rib Day is April 27th (photo © Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar).

[2] National Crown Roast Of Pork Day is March 7th (photo © Harry & David).

[3] Want something simpler? National Meatball Day is March 9th (photo © Il Ritorno | St. Petersburg).

[4] After you’ve paid your taxes, you may have enough left to celebrate National Spiral Ham Day, April 15th (photo © Smithfield Foods).

[5] National Duckling Month, May, was created to celebrate all the delicious duckling dishes. In the photo is cassoulet, a classic French confit of duck with beans (photo © Bar Boulud | NYC).

[6] Hoping to drum up turkey business after the holidays, June is Turkey Lovers’ Month and the third Sunday is national Turkey Lovers’ Day (photo © Gelson’s Market).

[7] July is National Hot Dog Month, and the 3rd Wednesday is National Hot Dog Day. The all-American hot dog was inspired by a German sausage (photo © Applegate Farms).

[8] National Filet Mignon Day is August 13, celebrating the most tender cut of beef (photo © Ruth’s Chris Steak House).

[9] September is National Chicken Month (photo © Corto Olive | Facebook).

[10] A mincemeat pie (a.k.a. mince pie) is filled with spiced minced meat and other ingredients. National Mincemeat Day is October 26th; the pie is especially popular for Thanksgiving and Christmas (photo © Pillsbury).

April 27th is National Prime Rib Day, which got us to thinking about meat, the American diet, and our ancestors—not Great Grandma and Great Grandpa, but way, way back to the primates from whom we descend.

(You can skip to the meat holidays,below.)

Why, we asked, are some primates herbivores while others—like us—are omnivores (eating both plant and animal foods)?

So we did what anybody sitting at a computer would do: We looked it up. Specifically, we asked our great editorial assistant, Claude.ai.

He reminded us that Homo sapiens (modern humans‡) are the most common and widespread species of primate—and the last surviving species of the genus Homo.

 
And that’s why we eat meat.

 
Human meat-eating likely evolved for several reasons:

 
With the growing emphasis on the longevity benefits of vegetarianism, animal rights, and the impact of raising food animals on the environment, we personally try to eat like a chimp: more plant foods and less animal-based foods.

But our world is an omnivore world, and here are all the meat holidays to prove it:
 

 
 
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*Orthodox Meatfare Sunday is the last day Orthodox Christians can eat meat until ‘Pascha’ or Easter.

**What is Mincemeat? It’s a spiced meat primarily used in pies but also in other preparations, such as cakes, muffins, tarts, and even as a topping for ice cream and porridge. It arose in the 15th century, when meat was preserved with fruits and spices—particularly cinnamon, cloves, and mace—wine and vinegar (later, brandy and other distilled spirits). Chopped nuts were also added to the minced meat. In England, mince pie became a traditional Yuletide treat.

By the 19th century, raisins, apples, and candied lemon peel were added to the recipe. In the 20th century, any similar recipe, including vegetarian versions, came to be referred to as mincemeat. During the 20th century, mincemeat pie (mince pie) was added to the Thanksgiving table, where can be served with cheese (like apple pie). If the combination sounds strange to you (i.e., mince pie filling or mince pie with cheese), try it: It’s quite tasty!

†Isn’t “Eat an Animal for PETA” an oxymoron? Yes, on purpose: The holiday was established by people who disdained the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). They found harm in their aggressive ad campaigns (one likened killing animals to the Holocaust). Hypocritical in their operations, PETA animal shelters have a very high rate of euthanizing the animals in care care. So on this day, participants are encouraged to eat eating animal products for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

††World Farm Animals Day supports quality treatment of animals so that our meat supply and related products can be obtained from healthy and well-treated animals.

†††Eat Flexitarian Day encourages the incorporation of more plant-based protein into one’s diets without eliminating the option to eat meat. The difference between vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, and other food practices.

‡Our first ancestor to walk upright, Homo erectus, appeared about 1.9-1.8 million years, with advanced toolmaking and controlled use of fire. The older, first member of the Homo genus is Homo habilis, emerging around 2.4-1.5 million years ago. They were among the first known makers of simple stone tools. Homo erectus appeared about 2 million years ago and spread throughout Africa. Homo sapiens, anatomically modern humans, emerged 300,000 to 200,000 years ago in Africa. Homo neanderthalensis, Neanderthals, emerged around the same time in Europe and Western Asia. To go way back, our chimp and bonobo ancestors diverged around 5.7–11 million years from the hominin lineage (all species that existed prior to this split are extinct). Here’s more about our predecessors, who are known as archaic humans.
 
 
 

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