EATING APES

This articulate study maintains that the increasing human consumption of apes and other primates in Central and Western Africa poses a serious threat to biodiversity, public health and sustainable development, as well as raising a considerable moral question: is it right to eat animals who share between 96% and 99% of our DNA? It's worth noting that Peterson, who has written extensively on primates, is neither a simple conservationist nor an animal rights advocate. "People hunt and eat wild animals for protein all over the globe," he acknowledges. "So there is nothing special about the fact that people living in and near forests of West and Central Africa happen to eat wild animal meat." Peterson (Storyville, USA) is sincerely curious about all aspects of "ape-eating," interviewing hunters, butchers and consumers to learn about hunting, transporting and slaughtering techniques, as well as preparation and taste. Readers learn, for example, how to make a good gorilla plantain and that "[g]orilla meat is sweet, very sweet." This information is presented with compelling evidence indicating that some human blood viruses, including HIV-1, were likely caused by ape blood coming into human contact; that the tropical logging industry, feeding Asian and European demand, is directly responsible for the tremendous increase in demand for bushmeat and the destruction of primates' natural habitat; and that apes are drawing closer to extinction. Peterson is never shrill, and rarely does his tone become emotional; he does not overwhelm readers with evidence, yet his evidence is extensive. Ammann's chilling photographs (e.g., "Gorilla head in a kitchen") contribute vastly to this equally distressing and thought-provoking survey. (May)