The first aspect is a founding paradox, at the physiological, behavioural and cognitive levels,
which has been presented in a particularly stimulating way by Rozin (1976). It results from the
fact that man is an omnivore, a condition which implies a fundamental ambivalence.
Omnivorousness first implies autonomy, freedom, adaptability. Unlike specialized eaters, an
omnivore has the invaluable ability to thrive on a multitude of different foodstuffs and diets, and
so to adapt to changes in its environment. To confirm this, one only has to consider the
remarkable diversity of human diets, from that of the Inuits ("Eskimos"), consisting almost
exclusively of meat and fats, to that of the peasant farmers of South-East Asia, which contains
almost no animal proteins (Stini, 1980). In all cases, the human omnivore is able to live on the
available foods. He can survive the disappearance of the species on which he previously fed; he
can move about, change his ecosystem.