Human

=== Diet ===
{{Main|Human nutrition}}
[[File:Preparing The Feast.jpg|thumb|right|Humans living in [[Bali]], [[Indonesia]], preparing a meal]]Humans are [[omnivorous]], capable of consuming a wide variety of plant and animal material.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Haenel H | title = Phylogenesis and nutrition | journal = Die Nahrung | volume = 33 | issue = 9 | pages = 867–887 | year = 1989 | pmid = 2697806 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | veditors = Ungar PS |year=2007 | vauthors = Cordain L |title=Evolution of the human diet: the known, the unknown and the unknowable |chapter=Implications of Plio-pleistocene diets for modern humans |quote=Since the evolutionary split between hominins and [[pongids]] approximately 7 million years ago, the available evidence shows that all species of hominins ate an omnivorous diet composed of minimally processed, wild-plant, and animal foods. |pages=264–265}}</ref> Human groups have adopted a range of diets from purely [[vegan]] to primarily [[carnivorous]]. In some cases, dietary restrictions in humans can lead to [[deficiency diseases]]; however, stable human groups have adapted to many dietary patterns through both genetic specialization and cultural conventions to use nutritionally balanced food sources.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada: Vegetarian diets | journal = Journal of the American Dietetic Association | volume = 103 | issue = 6 | pages = 748–765 | date = June 2003 | pmid = 12778049 | doi = 10.1053/jada.2003.50142 | author1 = American Dietetic Association }}</ref> The human diet is prominently reflected in human culture and has led to the development of [[food science]].<ref name="Crittenden-2017">{{cite journal| vauthors = Crittenden AN, Schnorr SL |date=2017|title=Current views on hunter-gatherer nutrition and the evolution of the human diet |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=162 |issue=S63 |pages=84–109 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.23148 |pmid=28105723|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Until the development of agriculture, ''Homo sapiens'' employed a hunter-gatherer method as their sole means of food collection.<ref name="Crittenden-2017" /> This involved combining stationary food sources (such as fruits, grains, tubers, and mushrooms, insect larvae and aquatic mollusks) with [[Game (food)|wild game]], which must be hunted and captured in order to be consumed.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Cordain L, Eaton SB, Sebastian A, Mann N, Lindeberg S, Watkins BA, O'Keefe JH, Brand-Miller J | display-authors = 6 | title = Origins and evolution of the Western diet: health implications for the 21st century | journal = The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition | volume = 81 | issue = 2 | pages = 341–354 | date = February 2005 | pmid = 15699220 | doi = 10.1093/ajcn.81.2.341 | name-list-style = vanc | doi-access = free }}</ref> It has been proposed that humans have used fire to prepare and [[cooking|cook]] food since the time of ''[[Homo erectus]]''.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ulijaszek SJ | title = Human eating behaviour in an evolutionary ecological context | journal = The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society | volume = 61 | issue = 4 | pages = 517–526 | date = November 2002 | pmid = 12691181 | doi = 10.1079/PNS2002180 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Human [[domestication]] of wild plants began about 11,700 years ago, leading to the [[History of agriculture|development of agriculture]],<ref>{{cite journal|title=Unearthing the origins of agriculture|author=John Carey|doi=10.1073/pnas.2304407120|journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]]|volume=120|issue=15|date=2023|pages=e2304407120 |doi-access=free|pmid=37018195 |pmc=10104519|bibcode=2023PNAS..12004407C }}</ref> a gradual process called the [[Neolithic Revolution]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Can models of evolutionary transition clarify the debates over the Neolithic Revolution?|author1=Ayelet Shavit|author2=Gonen Sharon|journal=[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B]]|date=2023|volume=378|issue=1872|doi=10.1098/rstb.2021.0413 |pmid=36688395 |pmc=9869441 }}}</ref> These dietary changes may also have altered human biology; the spread of [[dairy farming]] provided a new and rich source of food, leading to the evolution of the ability to digest [[lactose]] in some adults.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Krebs JR | title = The gourmet ape: evolution and human food preferences | journal = The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition | volume = 90 | issue = 3 | pages = 707S–711S | date = September 2009 | pmid = 19656837 | doi = 10.3945/ajcn.2009.27462B | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Holden C, Mace R | title = Phylogenetic analysis of the evolution of lactose digestion in adults | journal = Human Biology | volume = 69 | issue = 5 | pages = 605–628 | date = October 1997 | pmid = 9299882 }}</ref> The types of food consumed, and how they are prepared, have varied widely by time, location, and culture.<ref>{{cite web|vauthors=Gibbons A|title=The Evolution of Diet|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/evolution-of-diet/|access-date=18 April 2021|website=National Geographic|archive-date=18 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140818204010/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/evolution-of-diet/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Ritchie H, Roser M|date=20 August 2017|title=Diet Compositions|url=https://ourworldindata.org/diet-compositions|journal=Our World in Data|access-date=30 July 2022|archive-date=25 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210825210934/https://ourworldindata.org/diet-compositions|url-status=live}}</ref>

In general, humans can survive for up to eight weeks without food, depending on stored body fat.<ref>{{cite web|vauthors=Lieberson AD|date=2004|title=How Long Can a Person Survive without Food?|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-long-can-a-person-survive-without-food/|access-date=18 April 2021|website=Scientific American|language=en|archive-date=14 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214012729/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-long-can-a-person-survive-without-food/|url-status=live}}</ref> Survival without water is usually limited to three or four days, with a maximum of one week.<ref>{{cite web|vauthors=Spector D|date=9 March 2018|title=Here's how many days a person can survive without water|url=https://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-many-days-can-you-survive-without-water-2014-5|access-date=18 April 2021|website=Business Insider Australia|language=en|archive-date=26 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626030756/https://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-many-days-can-you-survive-without-water-2014-5|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2020 it is estimated 9 million humans die every year from causes directly or indirectly related to [[starvation]].<ref>{{cite web|vauthors=Holmes J|title=Losing 25,000 to Hunger Every Day|url=https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/losing-25000-hunger-every-day|access-date=18 April 2021|website=United Nations|language=en|archive-date=27 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527235650/https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/losing-25000-hunger-every-day|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|vauthors=Mai HJ|date=2020|title=U.N. Warns Number Of People Starving To Death Could Double Amid Pandemic|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/05/850470436/u-n-warns-number-of-people-starving-to-death-could-double-amid-pandemic|access-date=18 April 2021|website=NPR |language=en|archive-date=28 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628090826/https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/05/850470436/u-n-warns-number-of-people-starving-to-death-could-double-amid-pandemic|url-status=live}}</ref> Childhood malnutrition is also common and contributes to the [[Disease burden|global burden of disease]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Murray CJ, Lopez AD | title = Global mortality, disability, and the contribution of risk factors: Global Burden of Disease Study | journal = Lancet | volume = 349 | issue = 9063 | pages = 1436–1442 | date = May 1997 | pmid = 9164317 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(96)07495-8 | s2cid = 2569153 }}</ref> However, global food distribution is not even, and [[obesity]] among some human populations has increased rapidly, leading to health complications and increased mortality in some [[developed country|developed]] and a few [[developing countries]]. Worldwide, over one billion people are obese,<ref name=Haslam>{{cite journal | vauthors = Haslam DW, James WP | title = Obesity | journal = Lancet | volume = 366 | issue = 9492 | pages = 1197–1209 | date = October 2005 | pmid = 16198769 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67483-1 | s2cid = 208791491 }}</ref> while in the United States 35% of people are obese, leading to this being described as an "[[Epidemiology of obesity|obesity epidemic]]."<ref name=Catenacci>{{cite journal | vauthors = Catenacci VA, Hill JO, Wyatt HR | title = The obesity epidemic | journal = Clinics in Chest Medicine | volume = 30 | issue = 3 | pages = 415–444, vii | date = September 2009 | pmid = 19700042 | doi = 10.1016/j.ccm.2009.05.001 }}</ref> Obesity is caused by consuming more [[calorie]]s than are expended, so excessive weight gain is usually caused by an energy-dense diet.<ref name=Haslam />