While wild orangutans in the rainforests of Borneo feed on a remarkable variety of plant life, they also endure unpredictable cycles of feast and famine. Erin Vogel of Rutgers University explains how research on these primates’ diet and health may help us to better understand the evolution of early human diets, as well as provide insight into today’s global obesity epidemic. This SciCafe took place on June 6, 2018.

To watch a video version of this lecture, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tforcdqDWIg

For a full transcript of this podcast, visit: https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/podcasts/podcast-scicafe-orangutans-obesity-and-human-evolution-with-erin-vogel

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The SciCafe series is proudly sponsored by Judy and Josh Weston.

This SciCafe event is presented in collaboration witht The Leakey Foundation.

SciCafe: Primate Palate: Orangutans, Obesity, and Human Evolution, and related activities are generously supported by the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program of the National Institute of Health (NIH).