Can you survive by growing and eating your clothes?

On Blue Planet 2: The Deep (at least, that is the title in the US version), there is discussion of crabs that grow bacteria on themselves as a food source. In the show, they kind of looked like they were wearing sheets of thin material, 'clothes' if you will. These are called yeti crabs (Kiwa hirsuta). They have long hairs on their fore-claws on which bacteria grow. They may, although it is not confirmed, eat these bacteria.

Is it possible for a human-sized creature, with sufficient metabolic activity to develop and use tools, to grow enough bacteria on their own body to use as a food source?

Considerations:

• The body can be modified, as the yeti crab's is, with hairs or other things that would increase the surface area for growing food.
• It doesn't have to be bacteria if fungus or algae or something were better.
• It doesn't have to be a deep-sea hydrothermal vent, if some other conditions would be better for growing food.

posted about 5 years ago

kingledion‭

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