Well, fruits and veg make up ~3/4 of a parrot's diet, which already makes it substantially better than the standard American diet. The rest is split between bird feed and nuts & seeds (20% and 5% respectively. The big problem I see is lack of iron and b12. 5% nuts is not enough volume to deliver enough iron in order to prevent deficiency. Similarly, there is nothing in a parrot's diet that contains substantial amounts of b12. I also have concerns about the level of fat content in a parrot's diet. It's probably not enough for a human.

B12 is essential for human life. Iron is pretty necessary too.

@jeremiahsamroo Naive calculation for fat content:

Assuming an average fat content of 20% from bird feed, 1% from fruits, 55% from nuts, and further assuming a 2000 calorie diet (for convenience), that leaves us with 150 (7.5%) calories as fat, or only 17 grams. An adult needs a minimum of 3 grams of fat per kilogram of body weight in order to be healthy--40-50 grams per day for most people. Doesn't seem like enough fat either.

@jeremiahsamroo I forgot insects, but they don't have any substantial fat content eithe.r

https://www.animalwised.com/what-foods-do-parrots-eat-typical-parrot-diet-3482.html

@jeremiahsamroo

I think this analysis is spot on. Far too little fat in most species diets for humans, many would be protein deficient for human thriving, and too little B12 and iron. If a diet makes you sick, its unlikely to make you healthier than another diet.

closes 10000

this fucked up my javascript code, thank you

What about the stochastic parrot diet where you eat only tokens? I heard you end up looking like a model.

I mean it can hardly be worse, wild parrots can’t get McBondald’s