1 of 2 Although some historians and anthropologists say that man is historically omnivorous, our anatomical equipment * teeth, jaws, and digestive system favors a fleshless diet. The American Dietetic Association notes that "most of mankind for most of human history has lived on vegetarian or near-vegetarian diets." And much of the world still lives that way. Even on most industrialized countries, the love affair with meat is less than a hundred years old. It started with the refrigerator car and the twentieth-century consumer society. But even with the twentieth century, man's body hasn't adapted to eating meat. The prominent Swedish scientist Karl von Linne states, "Man's structure, external and internal, compared with that of the other animals, shows that fruit and succulent vegetables constitute his natural food." The chart below compares the anatomy of man with that of carnivorous and herbivorous animals. When you look at the comparison between herbivores and humans, we compare much more closely to herbivores than meat eating animals. Humans are clearly not designed to digest and ingest meat. Meat-eaters: have claws Herbivores: no claws Humans: no claws Meat-eaters: have no skin pores and perspire through the tongue Herbivores: perspire through skin pores Humans: perspire through skin pores Meat-eaters: have sharp front teeth for tearing, with no flat molar teeth for grinding Herbivores: no sharp front teeth, but flat rear molars for grinding Humans: no sharp front teeth, but flat rear molars for grinding Meat-eaters: have intestinal tract that is only 3 times their body length so that rapidly decaying meat can pass through quickly Herbivores: have intestinal tract 10-12 times their body length. Humans: have intestinal tract 10-12 times their body length. Meat-eaters: have strong hydrochloric acid in stomach to digest meat Herbivores: have stomach acid that is 20 times weaker than that of a meat-eater Humans: have stomach acid that is 20 times weaker than that of a meat-eater Meat-eaters: salivary glands in mouth not needed to pre-digest grains and fruits. Herbivores: well-developed salivary glands which are necessary to pre-digest grains and fruits Humans: well-developed salivary glands, which are necessary to pre-digest, grains and fruits Meat-eaters: have acid saliva with no enzyme ptyalin to pre-digest grains Herbivores: have alkaline saliva with ptyalin to pre-digest grains Humans: have alkaline saliva with ptyalin to pre-digest grains Based on a chart by A.D. Andrews, Fit Food for Men, (Chicago: American Hygiene Society, 1970) Clearly if humans were meant to eat meat we wouldn't have so many crucial ingestive/digestive similarities with animals that are herbivores. Many people ask me, "If we weren't supposed to eat meat than why do we?". It is because we are conditioned to eat meat. Also, the ADA (American Dietetic Association) tells us that "most of mankind for most of human history has lived on a vegetarian or Lacto-ovo vegetarian diet." A popular statement that meat eaters say is; "In the wild, animals kill other animals for food. It's a part of nature." First of all, we are not in the wild. Secondly, we can easily live without eating meat and killing. We all would be healthier this way. Finally, as I have already shown, we weren't meant to eat meat. Meat putrefies within 4 hours after consumption and the remnants cling to the walls of the intestines for 14-21 days. If a person is suffering from constipation the rotting meat can stay in the intestines for months or years. Furthermore, the saliva in humans is more alkaline, whereas in the case of flesh-eating or preying animals, it is clearly acidic. The alkaline saliva does not act properly on meat. The final point I would like to make on how we as humans were not meant to eat meat is this; all omnivorous and carnivorous animals eat their meat raw. When a lion kills an herbivore for food, it tears right into the stomach area to eat the organs that are filled with blood (nutrients). While eating the stomach, liver, intestine, etc., the lion laps the blood in the process of eating the dead animal's flesh. Even bears that are omnivores eat salmon raw. However, eating raw bloody meat disgust us as humans. This is why we must cook it and season it to buffer the taste of the flesh. If a deer is burned in a forest fire a carnivorous animal will NOT eat its flesh. Even circus lions have to be feed raw meat so that they will not starve to death. If humans were truly meant to eat meat then we would eat all of our meat raw and bloody. The thought of eating such meat makes one’s stomach turn. This is my point on how we as humans are conditioned to believe that animal flesh is good for us and that we were meant to consume it for survival and health purposes. If we are true carnivores or omnivores we would eat animal flesh raw and bloody. Cooking our meat and seasoning it with salt, ketchup, mayo, mustard or tabasco sauce disguise the awful taste of flesh. This is the only way we as humans would eat meat because we refuse to eat it raw and bloody like real carnivores.
2 of 2 Overall advantages of vegetarianism You can reap a lot of benefits by being a vegetarian and people have become more aware of the health benefits of being a vegetarian. Animal rights issues is only one of the reasons why people decide to go on a vegetarian diet. People are beginning to care more about the environment. However, the main reason why most people go on vegetarian diet is due to the health benefits. Meat is not good for you as it clogs your thinking. This is especially true if you eat red meat; white meat has less fat compared to red meat. Excessive intake of fats into your body can result in having a high level of cholesterol. If you think that not eating meat is going to make you look scrawny or unhealthy please think again. Just imagine that cows, goats, gorillas, elephants, rhinoceroses and so on are all vegetarians (herbivores) but look at how tough these animals are. They also have a longer life span compared to the carnivores (meat eating animals). If you look at the chicken and vulture (carnivores), these animals eat just about everything and notice how unhealthy these animals look. The Chinese believe that the chi or life force in your body is less when you consume meat and so do the Indians with their ancient yogic principles [their life force was called prana]. The great Tai Chi masters of China were adept at preserving their chi. Even though some of the masters were not vegetarians they still had a balanced diet. It has now been scientifically proven that a balanced vegetarian diet is better compared to a diet that is taken with meat. There are a lot of misconceptions about being a vegetarian; protein is one of the main topics of debate as a lot of people think that you can only get protein from meat. Vegetarians get a lot of protein when they eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes. What vegetarians don't get is the excess protein of the traditional American diet. This type of diet leads to liver toxicity, kidney overload and mineral deficiency diseases. A lot of people also think that a vegetarian diet is not a balanced diet. Vegetarian diets have a proportion of three macro nutrients which are complex carbohydrates, protein and fat. Vegetarian food sources (plants) tend to be higher sources of most micro nutrients. Another myth that needs to be clarified is the so-called lack of calcium among vegetarians. Many vegetables especially green leafy ones have a good supply of calcium. The truth is that vegetarians suffer less from osteoporosis (a deficiency of calcium that leads to weak bones). It is not my intention to force people to become vegetarians. However, vegetarianism is my answer to complete health and wellness. The three issues to consider in regard to vegetarianism are: spiritual, mental and physical (nutritional). The spiritually aspiring person attempts to work on his/her self. The purpose of spiritual growth is to move away from the animal nature into the more human nature that God intended for us to have. Meat eating inhibits this. The same science that attempts to ignore the existence of a force higher than man also proved that aggression levels are much higher in meat eaters than non-meat eaters! The animal instincts become more powerful every time you eat meat. Another spiritual aspect of being a meat eater is when one must question the necessity and method of killing animals. However, everyone has their own morals to which they must determine for themselves. It is not the purpose of my dissertation to force a specific moral behavior on anyone. Most spiritual people believe in auras. Kirilian photography shows us that a force field still remains around dead or amputated flesh. You adopt that animal aura when you eat it's dead flesh. Fruits and vegetables have a higher vibration al aura than animal products. “You are what you eat”, is a slogan that I love to use to show the mental aspect of vegetarianism. When animals are slaughtered, fear and aggression enzymes are shot into their muscle tissue. They remain in the meat until the consumer ingests the flesh and adapts the same emotions. Fruits and vegetables do not have emotions; therefore, when they are picked they do not release any emotional cells prior to digestion. The enzymes within fruits and vegetables supply the body with sufficient nutrients that will always uphold a healthy state of mind. Fruits and vegetables are high in nutrients; the very thing the body needs to live a long disease and pain free life. The same cannot be said for meat. Nutritionally, the alkaline-based digestive system of humans will not properly break down substantial acid substances of meat. Colon cancer is rampant! This is caused by the slow evacuation and putrefaction of meat in the colon. Lifelong vegetarians never suffer from such an illness. Many meat eaters believe that meat is the sole source of protein. However, the quality of this protein is so poor that little of it can ever be utilized by humans. This is due to its incomplete combination of amino acids [the building blocks of protein]. Studies show that the average American gets five times the amount of protein needed. It is a common medical fact that excess protein is dangerous. The prime danger of excess meat consumption is uric acid (the waste product produced in the process of digesting protein). Uric acid attacks the kidneys and breaks down the kidney cells called nephrons. This condition is called nephritis; the prime cause of it is overburdening the kidneys. More usable protein is found in one tablespoon of tofu or soybeans than the average serving of meat! Have you ever seen what happens to a piece of meat that stays in the sun for three days? Meat can stay in the warmth of the intestine for at least four to five days until it is digested. It does nothing but wait for passage. Often, it usually stays there for much longer. Medical doctors have found traces of undigested meat remaining in the colon for up to several months. Colonic therapists always see meat passing through people who have been vegetarians for several years, thus indicating that meat remains undigested there for a long time. Occasionally this has been documented in twenty-year vegetarians! Some vegetarians claim they are more satisfied after they eat. The reason for this is that there are fewer ketones (protein-digestive substances) formed when vegetable protein is digested. For many, ketones cause a trace amount of nausea which one normally interprets as a decreased desire for food due to this uncomfortable and slight degree of queasiness. Although the body calls for more food, the taste buds tolerate less. This is the danger of the popular high-protein diet substances on the market. This abnormally high level of ketones is called ketosis and refers to the state of starvation that the body incurs due to the inability of the appetite to call for nutrition. Most Americans who eat the wrong type of carbohydrates never recognize the high amount of complex carbohydrates required to overthrow this condition. Keep in mind that when the blood ketone level are too high it results in abnormally acidic blood called acidosis. Tigers or lions who eat meat have an acid-based digestive systems. Our Hydrochloric Acid isn’t strong enough to fully digest meat. Also, their intestines measures about five feet long, not twisted and turned, layer over layer, compacted into a small area like the human intestine [which is twenty feet long]. Meats are frozen for a long period of times. Some meats (especially poultry) are frozen up to two years. Cold temperatures do not kill all species of bacteria. Worse than this, as it is shipped and stored, most frozen meat is thawed and refrozen many times. This is almost unavoidable. Meat eaters suffer more frequently from various types of food poisoning than vegetarian. Statistics show that every American has had food poisoning at least once. When you've felt ill, had diarrhea or were just a little sick to your stomach, no doubt you had not the slightest idea that you had been poisoned by scavengers living off the dead carcass you just ate. Meat is costly and it is the most wasteful source of resources. When one removes meat from his or her diet a whole new world of eating opens up. Cooking and preparing vegetarian style is no more time consuming than cooking meat. It costs less than half as much to eat vegetarian as it does to eat meat. There are excellent, nutritious, and easy to prepare vegetarian dishes that are Italian, Chinese, Indian, Mid-Eastern, French, Spanish, etc. Additionally, one can enjoy many other foods that he or she has never tasted because of the meat craze. Most consumers have eaten no more than five or six varieties of beans and legumes. This is less than 10% of what is available. In my opinion, there are far more benefits to becoming a vegetarian then there are staying a meat eater. Due to the fact that I was raised on meat, I have experienced both worlds. As a meat eater I was constantly sick, tired, and overweight. As a vegetarian, I am healthy, full of energy and maintaining a perfect weight. I love being a vegetarian and it shows. Because I wish the best for myself, it’s just second nature to want the best for others. From my past experience and research, going vegetarian is the best thing anyone can do for their mind, body and spirit.
3 of 4 The most common arguments that meat eaters use. "Humans have canine teeth. End of story." The truth is our so-called "canine teeth" are canine in name only. Humans' "canine teeth" are unlike the canine teeth of actual canines, which are really long and really pointed. Our teeth are absolutely not like theirs. In fact, other vegetarian animals (like gorillas, horses, hippos, and chimpanzees) possess the same so-called "canine" teeth, which are often used for defensive purposes rather than for eating. Check out the chimpanzee picture at right, and consider that chimps' diets are up to 99% vegetarian (and what litle non-vegetarian food they eat usually isn't meat, it's termites). And remember that we're most similar to chimps than to any other animal. John A. McDougall, M.D., has a good take on this: Our dentition evolved for processing starches, fruits, and vegetables, not tearing and masticating flesh. Our oft-cited "canine" teeth are not at all comparable to the sharp teeth of true carnivores. I lecture to over 10,000 dentists, dental hygienists, and oral specialists every year, and I always ask them to show me the “canine” teeth in a person’s mouth – those that resemble a cat’s or dog’s teeth – I am still waiting to be shown the first example of a sharply pointed canine tooth. If you have any doubt of the truth of this observation then go look in the mirror right now – you may have learned to call your 4 corner front teeth, “canine teeth” – but in no way do they resemble the sharp, jagged, blades of a true carnivore – your corner teeth are short, blunted, and flat on top (or slightly rounded at most). Nor do they ever function in the manner of true canine teeth. Have you ever observed someone purposely favoring these teeth while tearing off a piece of steak or chewing it? Nor have I. The lower jaw of a meat-eating animal has very little side-to-side motion – it is fixed to open and close, which adds strength and stability to its powerful bite. Like other plant-eating animals our jaw can move forwards and backwards, and side-to-side, as well as open and close, for biting off pieces of plant matter, and then grinding them into smaller pieces with our flat molars. I love the canine argument because the people who make it place so much importance on it, insisting that humans having canines immediately wins the whole argument, all by itself, case closed! But when they discover that they were wrong, then suddenly the canine issue really wasn't so important to them after all, and they simply move on to their next misconception, as though their previous argument never happened. That really lays their motivations bare: They were never really interested in evaluating the evidence, they were only interested in being right. But really, if someone thinks that canine teeth are the be-all and end-all of the herbivore vs. omnivore debate, then when they find out that they're wrong about teeth, that ought to tell them something. But does it ever? Nope. If you want an evidence of bias, there you have it. "Humans have always eaten meat." No, we haven't. Just because we assume that humans have always eaten meat doesn't make it true. I'll provide evidence for this shortly. But what's more important is that unlike other animals, humans can act outside of instinct. That means that if early humans did eat meat, they were simply making an interesting choice, not doing what their biology favors. We really have to look at our digestive system to get the best evidence for what we're optimized for eating, not what some humans chose to eat. Otherwise, thousands of years from now anthropologists might conclude that eating McDonald's is natural because humans circa 2011 used to eat a lot of it. I'll cover the early human diet in more detail momentarily. "We're capable of eating meat, therefore we're omnivores. Case closed." Okay, fine, then cats are omnivores, too. ("Case closed.") Commercial cat foods, both wet and dry, contain things like rice, corn, and wheat. In fact, some people feed their cats a pure vegan diet with no meat at all. But of course, cats are true carnivores. We don't call them omnivores just because they'll eat things contrary to what nature intended. That would be silly. No one makes that argument for cats. But they make it for humans, enthusiastically. However, they can't have it both ways: Either we don't assume humans are omnivores just because we can eat meat, or we apply the same standard to other animals and conclude that cats are omnivores, too. Which is it? "Humans are omnivores." Then what exactly is an omnivore? If it's an animal that is capable of eating both plants and animals, and ever does so, then sure, we're omnivores, but then again, so are cats. (See above.) A true omnivore would have a body optimized for eating both plants and animals. With non-humans we can look at what they eat in the wild to figure out their preferred diets, but humans lost our instincts long ago, so we can look only at our anatomy and digestive systems. And that evidence is compelling. I'll cover the omnivore issue in more detail below. "You're not a doctor, therefore you must be wrong. Yay, I win!" It's funny, the people making this charge aren't doctors either, but somehow they don't feel that being a doctor is neccessary to advance their positions. In any event, bona-fide doctors say the same kinds of things I say in this article. For example, here's an article by Dr. John McDougall and one by Dr. Milton R. Mills (both M.D.'s). I wonder whether the people who send me hate mail about this article and tell me I'm an idiot would feel just as confident in telling these two doctors that the doctors are idiots, too? "Vitamin B12. End of story." I'm not joking when I tack on "End of story" to the sample counter-arguments. People actually make them that way, literally. B12 isn't made by animals, it's made by bacteria. It's found where things are unclean. (And meat is dirty.) This easily explains why historically it's been easy to get B12, because until recently we didn't live in a sanitized environment. Plants pulled from the ground and not washed scrupulously have B12 from the surrounding soil. Vegans should take a B12 supplement, not because veganism is unnatural, but because the modern diet is too clean to contain reliable natural sources of dirty B12. B12 is also found in lakes, before the water is sanitized. Also, consider that chimpanzees' main non-plant food is termites, and termites are loaded with B12. Incidentally, our need for B12 is tiny -- 3 micrograms a day. Not milligrams, micrograms. The amount of B12 you need for your entire life is smaller than four grains of rice. (More on Vitamin B12 from John McDougall, M.D) "Other primates eat meat." Hardly. Various sources (below) say that a chimp's diet is 95-99% plant foods, and the primary non-plant food isn't meat, it's termites. We also have to remember that primates are intelligent and can make choices outside of instinct, just like humans do, so the tiny amount of meat they might eat could simply be due to choice, not instinct. The idea that primates are a good example for why humans should eat meat evidently didn't impress the most famous primate researcher of all time, Jane Goodall. Goodall is a vegetarian. I cover the primate diet in more detail bolew. "You're not considering evolution." Of course I'm not. Humans' hunting skills are relatively recent in our history but evolution takes place over a much longer period of time. In short, we haven't been hunting for long enough for our anatomy to favor a mixed plant-animal diet.
4 of 4 Human performance on meat-free diets Not only do vegetarians and vegans easily build muscle, they often excel as athletes too, winning Olympic gold medals and world championships. In fact, some of the most famous bodybuilders in history were vegetarian. Here's a short list of vegan and vegetarian athletes. Vegan Kenneth G. Williams (bodybuilder) 3rd place at 2004 Natural Olympia Bill Mannetti (powerlifter) 1st place, Connecticut State Powerlifting Championship Robert Cheeke (bodybuilder) Joy Bush (powerlifter) 1st place, Connecticut State Powerlifting Championship Jon Hinds (bodybuilder, personal trainer) Charlie Abel (bodybuilder) Mike Mahler (strength coach) ""Becoming a vegan had a profound effect on my training. … [M]y bench press excelled past 315 pounds...and I put on 10 pounds of lean muscle in a few months." Mac Danzig (martial arts) MMA record 19-7-1 (as of 4-2010) Tony Gonzalez (Atlanta Falcons tight end) Scott Jurek (ultramarathoner) 7 consecutive wins at Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, numerous other first place finishes and records Tim VanOrden (runner) Numerous 1st place finishes Fiona Oakes (runner) 1st place woman and 2nd overall in a 2011 marathon Ruth Heidrich, (triathlete and marathoner) More than 900 first-place trophies and set several performance records. Named One of the 10 Fittest Women in North America. Dave Scott (triathlete) Six-time Ironman champion Brendan Brazier (triathlete). Won the National 50km Ultra Marathon Championships Carl Lewis (track) Numerous gold medals (2 as a vegan) Salim Stoudamire (basketball). Atlanta Hawks Christine Vardaros (cycling) Vegetarian Bill Pearl (bodybuilder) Mr. Universe (3 times), World's Best Built Man, Mr. America, Mr. California, numerous Halls of Fame Roy Hilligenn (bodybuilder) Mr. South Africa (4x), Mr. America, Olympic lifter Ricky Williams (football) Miami Dolphins The research on veg vs. non-veg athletes is fairly sparse, but what does exist has failed to show any clear performance benefit for meat-eaters. (See my separate article, Protein and Strength.)
Nickolas, I'm a happy omivore, so of course I'll take issue with all sorts of stuff in your looooong posts:rofl: To be honest, I only skimmed them, but there seemed to be all sorts of fallacies. Here's just one: Chickens aren't carnivores; like you say, the things'll eat pretty much anything and are most emphatically omnivorous. Pedantic, but if you want to convince people that your point of view is worthwhile, you have to argue logically. I haven't seen a real vulture, so I can't comment, but have you ever seen a real chicken? The free-range chooks I've met have all looked extremely healthy. Actually, I'm going to stop now; I think arguing will probably be pointless.
There's so much wrong with this my head is hurting. The information and presentation are so cherry picked 'propaganda' is pretty close to what this is. There are great reasons to being vegetarian, but there are definite advantages to being omnivorous. Humans have been eating meat longer than we've been involved in any sort of agriculture (including permaculture), what a facile point.
Chimps hunt and eat meat https://www.janegoodall.org/blogs/janes-first-big-discovery-chimps-eat-meat Pretty sure the fossil records show evidence of butchering meat about 2 to 2.5 million years ago. Im sure man ate meat because we liked the taste and it helped us survive. Evolution would only kick in if eating meat killed us before we bred, so therefore we would have to adapt to breed as omnivores or die out because of it.
Hi Nickolas, You have clearly given this a lot of thought, certainly a lot more than I have. I'm not against vegetarianism and have eaten and enjoyed veggie meals myself. I choose to eat meat however. While I don't think I could come up with an argument that could convince you to eat meat (and I wouldn't try to change anyone’s life choices) I think some of your arguments are unsound. Many modern health issues are due to processed foods, chemicals used in agriculture and manufacture and modern lifestyle IMHO. People have been eating meat for thousands of years and unlike smoking, drinking and drugs I don't think meat or any other foods eaten in moderation is a killer. On the other hand an excess of just about anything is unhealthy. I do agree that humans have much more in common with herbivores than carnivores, as we have most likely evolved from herbivores. I think we have evolved into a new species and are no longer herbivores. If we were, nobody would be inclined to eat meat anymore than we are currently inclined to go into a paddock and graze. If you are a veggie or a vegan and are happy with your choice of lifestyle then I am happy for you. I think I will keep my options open for meat and vegetables for now.
Hi, I thought your posts were well presented and enjoyed reading your viewpoint. I feel like starting a 'carnivors annonomous',lol. I havent been eating much meat in the last few months but every now and then I see something I just have to sink my teeth into and have no objection what so ever in eating raw bloody meat-sometimes I crave this and will eat an embarrassing amount which I put down to an iron deficiency. The Innuit, as I understand things, never ate vegetables and thrived on a fish,meat and blubber diet before Europeans came along and messed things up for them. From my studies of different cultures and timeframes,the peasants were the ones who lived mostly on vegetable and grain diets while the richer types had the more meat diets.-this includes the Indian sub continent where the Brahmans used the mongols excessive meat diet to turn the population against them and cause them to be thrown out. I still consider myself to be an omnivour but am leaning more towards less and less meat meals. I will continue to eat whatever is put infront of me even if I do decide to become vegetarian as I consider it impolite to expect a host/ess to change their meals to accomodate me.
Wow, hope you got relief from that monster sitting on your gut or conscience or chest or feet or all of the above. True herbivore ruminants have no upper incisors or canines and cut grass/herbage/foliage by a combination of tongue and lower incisor knife action, they have a diastema between the lower incisors and their pre/molars. Cellulose and other complex carbo is broken down by a farm of rumen micro organisms, cutting to the chase they farm micro orgs in their rumen to digest later on in the gut as protein to be able to survive on a high complex carb , lower protein diet. Ruminants low in calcium and phosphorous from pastures low in these nutrients readily consume carrion to chew the bones, thus readily contracting and dying from botulism unless vaccinated. All ruminants to my knowledge consume and digest the afterbirth which used to be the placenta after giving birth. A less efficient herbivore is the caecum or appendix digester, notably the horse, rabbit and hippo where microorg digestion occurs in the large blind extension of the large intestine and the large intestine itself. Only male horses develop wolf or canine teeth as adults, largely used used in fighting other males. Rabbits practice coprophagy where they eat greens during the evening, return to their burrow during the day, defaecate and then eat these day faeces then redigest and shit them out as night faeces in their set above ground, otherwise they would not get the full amount of nutrients and moisture from their food. Stabled horses if allowed will regularly consume thier own shit and redigest. Horses in a pasture situation are very poor food converters and consume about 5 times the raw food than do ruminants of similar body mass. Pigs have similar dentition to primates and are opportunistic feeders and rabidly consume carcasses if available and rapidly learn to kill and eat newborn lambs and their mothers at birth and have a wide and varied diet. Their incisors are used for cutting and are sharp as are ours with the upper incisors neatly sharpening the lower by closing just forward of the lower incisors, the canines are massively developed as a defence weapon and are not used as a digestive aid, with the majority of primary mastication completed by the molars and premolars as in strict herbivores. Given a choice a pig will eat meat over milk, grains or greens every time. The tails are removed off commercial pigs in intensive raising farms largely so the others don't eat them off and continue. Chickens feather peck until blood is drawn and will at times continue until they have pecked and eaten a big hole in another bird and killed it. Hens will vigorously eat others eggs even in a free range situation once they have learnt how good they are. I think that the questions lie with the individual human, eat to your conscience as a civilised person with the in-gut guidence of your animalian appetites and be tolerant of others who treat diet as a religion. Bon appetit. Steve
Humans do indeed have claws, not good ones any more but we do, grow your nails out. Also, I do indeed have sharp teeth for biting, and tearing meat, which is something I relish. Also, did this take into account that in most countries (like China, and lots of South America) being a vegetarian means you don't eat red meat, but Chicken & fish are ok. I've tried being a vegan, can't & won't do it again, it was not good for my body by any means.
Has there ever been a whole culture that has been truely vegan. As I see it, its a relatively new phenomenon by mostly a cosmopolitan crowd. I remember reading about how meat gave us the energy to start organising ourselves back in early evolution of the Homo species, giving us time to concentrate on honing other skills, but it was the cultivation of grain and the complex carbohydrates that allowed our species to flourish... and over populate. Does that make us omnivorous? The telling thing for me is the B12 requirement, sure we can get it from miso, tempeh and dirt, but in unreliable quantities. My vegan mates reckon fortified soy milk is fairly reliable source. God love em!
Fortified, yeah, yeah it is. But Soy milk itself doesn't have to be, and can be very nutritious. In fact it is very easy to make. ((I omit sugar & add pure real vanilla only))
While this is a thought provoking thread, it would be nice if the "author" of these posts would have been honest enough to provide the links from which he copied and pasted this information. My fiancee, a "vegetarian" (she eats eggs, fish, and consumes dairy products), showed me the first post last year. Not entirely convincing. That said, we eat "vegetarian" together and I will only on occasion buy meat. I try to reduce my intake because I personally feel more energetic and do not have enough money to purchase what I believe to be ethically raised animals. This is one of those subjects where converting others is nearly impossible.
Googling a piece of the first post brings up lots of hits :-( Pak, I know, but how many vegheads to you know who make their own soy milk ;-) (and I think there are health issues associated with eating alot of unfermented soy).
How long has man eaten legumes ? (enough to provide his/her protein requirement) Most beans existed in the Americas, but wasn't introduced to the rest of the world till after Columbus/Cortez.(about 500 years ago) Lentils have been found dating back 8,000 years,(domestication maybe 6,000 years) soya 2,000 years Intuits live on predominately meat diet. Its a long bow to suggest we are made to be vegetarians. Its more of a lifestyle choice than a survival necessity.
a lot of "vegetarians" are generally so miserable that they feel better if they put meat eaters on some guilt trip to kind of justify their misery. if meat is so bad then why do we eat more and more of it and yet we are living longer than humans ever did? wasn't too long ago that 50 was considered on ones last legs, then it was 60. then 70 & 80, today it's 90, tommorow will be 100 and on it goes. eat meat if you can afford to, 1 billion people in india living on lentils would happily give them the boot if they could have a nice roasted leg of lamb or some chops on the barbie.
A lot of vegetarians get the third degree even when they mention they dont eat meat, apparently meat eaters have to defend their ways and heaven for bid think about where their food comes from. You do realise that alot of Indians are practising hindus and dont eat meat? As for living longer, I think its more to do with the advances in science and medicine rather than whats in our diets, especially as nutrients are being lost in foods as the chemicals destroy the soil.
Hindus eat meat. they may not eat cow but they eat meat so no argument their. I didn't say people live longer because they eat meat, they just do so meat has no affect.
