Why do some vegers say it's "not natural" to eat meat?!
Before somebody says our teeth can't cut through hide and all that silliness please realize we know you can't eat beans without cooking them first either. Also, please don't single out any particular kind of meat in your answer because the people who the question is referring to don't do that either.
I want to understand this.
So why is it "not natural" to eat meat?
Answers: It's not natural to eat plexi-glass. Eating things that give us the nutrients we need is totally natural. It's the exact singular point of eating!!
Before somebody says our teeth can't cut through hide and all that silliness please realize we know you can't eat beans without cooking them first either. Also, please don't single out any particular kind of meat in your answer because the people who the question is referring to don't do that either.
I want to understand this.
So why is it "not natural" to eat meat?
Good afternoon, Snowy Me. There are several reasons.
While many meaters point to incisors as proof that we were meant to eat meat, it seems a little disingenuous to suggest that they are meant to tear through flesh, since they can't do that until it's been tenderized and cooked.
Also, there is a lot of evidence that points to our digestive tracts being too long to properly digest meat, they are not short like other omnivores.
Then there is the fact that most cultures cannot eat raw meat without becoming ill.
All of that being said, my personal view (which is shared by many) is that humans were originally herbivores, then evolved the ability to digest meat in times of hardships. That is a survival trait that is no longer necessary for the developed world.
EDIT: True, it doesn't make it less natural. I was just suggesting that it was unnatural at one time, but now we have the ability. Just one more note: I gave most of the arguments I did not because I am a staunch supporter of the "meat is unnatural" cause, but just to show the other side of the coin. I don't have sufficient data/scientific background to tell anyone what our species was "meant" to do, I can only say that the way meat is produced now is one of the most unnatural things on the planet.
Look at your teeth. If we were meant to eat meat they would be sharp and crazy looking.
Well I know it was natural many many years ago as a survival method and we as humans have since evolved with the enzyme to support digesting meat.
Lifestyle choice I suppose.
I was raised somewhat vegie and appreciate as an adult, but I hated it as a young teen.
I personally cannot stand to see an animal killed but still prefer my meat in a package from the store when I do eat it.
edit- if you wanted to "understand" this than why are you insulting and ranting!!
eating meat is totaly "natural." those teath at the front of your mouth (incisors and canines, ask a dentist) are ment for tearing flesh (cause that's what meat is.) The teeth at the back of yr mouth (molars) are ment for grinding plant matter.
Humans are naturally omnivores, and becoming a vegetarian is a choice.
One huge objection is to the way meat is now produced. Animals are bred by the millions (sometimes billions), mutilated, crammed in cages and sheds, fed hormones and antibiotics and denied everything that makes them an individual being. So there is something VERY unnatural about what is done to provide people meat these days. It's the same with milk--the cows are pumped up wtih hormones, which get into the milk, which people drink.
There really are no "nutrients" in meat that you cannot get from vegetarian sources. And one of the big nutrients we need, fiber, is completely absent in animal products. Our digestive tracts are very long, as opposed to the carnivore's short digestive tract. Our stomach acid is far weaker than that of a carnivore. Our jaws can move side to side, as well as up and down, where as a carnivores can only move up and down.
If you want to eat the stuff, fine. But leave us alone. I doubt you want to "understand" us at all; you just want to keep hassling us until we say, My gosh, you're absolutely right, and go back to eating dead animals' flesh. Well, don't hold your breath.
Because they don't know the history of evolution. We are omnivores - evolved to eat both meat and plants. We have molars for grinding plant matter and incisors for tearing and biting flesh.
they say that? im a vegetarian and ive never said that!well maybe becuz you dont need meat to live. u can get the protein from eggs,peanut butter, peanuts, beans and a lot more.
They claim it's unnatural because that gives their opinion more weight, theoretically. If they say it's wrong or immoral, you can just say you don't share their beliefs. But "unnatural", that's hard to argue with. At least it would be if it was true. And too many people that argue the whole "we don't have the teeth for meat" are confusing eating meat with killing prey. We don't have a mouth full of long sharp canines because we don't kill prey with our mouths. Also, we don't eat only meat, so we have a wide variety of teeth to process all kinds of food.
It is natural to eat meat. But because they don't believe in it, they feel it's unnatural, mostly to justify their attitude.
Human beings have both kind if teeth, we have sharper canines for meat and we have molars for vegetables, we also have a mix between monocular and binocular vision, meaning we can be herbavores, carnivores and omnivores. However vertain kinds of meat, such as beef, are harder for humans to digest. So it is "natural" to eat certain meat, but not as much as we do overall as a culture. I think most vegetarians are just against the fact of how the animals are raised and killed, as apposed to a long time ago when eating meat was a more rare occasion and they had to go hunt, keeping the population down. Also not eating meat or any animal products helps the enviroment
= ]
For me, it was a simple realization that we, as humans, are better suited for gathering from the garden than we are for hunting, killing (without the use of tools) and consuming an animal. With our imposable thumbs, we are better designed for picking fruits and veggies than for chasing down wild creatures. Granted, DRIED beans have to be cooked first, but if you picked them fresh, they could be eaten raw, as can most fruits and vegetables. I dont believe our two, tiny little "canine" incisor teeth are meant to be ripping the flesh of animals, nor do I think our digestive system is equiped to digest decaying animal flesh without effort. As for the "nutrients" we get from meat, we only get them when the animal has been fed food that is "enriched" with the nutrients humans need-they don't produce B12, iron, and other stores of vitamins naturally, any more than humans do-its added to their feed. You can get all of the protein, vitamins, minerals, and nutrients from a plant based diet, so whats the point of meat? Meat is only as good as the flavorings, spices, and condiments used on it anyway. Very few people would enjoy a piece of meat or poultry just boiled without seasoning. If those same seasonings can be put on something "natural" such as a mushroom, and cooked to have a taste similar to meat, then why sacrafice and animal just for the sake of it? I always think that if people had to hunt, butcher, kill, and preserve their own meat, there would be more vegetarians in the world. Most people eat it only because its so readily available, and its what they were raised on. It was only after I became a grown up that I realized I was capable of making my own food choices, and I choose not to eat dead animals. My body thanks me for the choice. I do believe you ARE WHAT YOU EAT, and I don't envision myself as rotting cow.....I think the gift of milk from cows, and eggs from chickens is enough of a sacrafice on their part-no need for them to bleed and die just to satisfy my greedy appetite. You lose the taste for meat once you give it up...and it sure does make your digestive system function better.
(I already know you're going to hate my answer, just remember to read my reply again after you bash me in your additional details later.)
But, there is truth in the first answer. The shape of a humans teeth are not designed for eating flesh. If you compare them to carnivores & herbivores, our teeth closely resemble an herbivores.
Also, carnivores have a short digestive tract (about 3 times their length) and after eating flesh, it decays very rapidly, and the products of this decay quickly poison the bloodstream if they remain too long in the body. Which is quite detrimental to humans since we have a long digestive tract (about 12 times our height.) The human digestive system, tooth and jaw structure and bodily functions are completely different from carnivorous animals. Humans are not carnivores by physiology.
If we were carnivores by nature, we would have no problem in eating meat raw off the bone, but instead we have to bake or fry or roast or what have you to disguise it from it's original state.
In such, the human body is not designed to consume meat, which makes it unnatural because we are doing something to our bodies that nature has NOT intended us to do. Making it "not natural" for us to eat meat. If you were a tried and true carnivore, you would be eating meat in it's raw state. I have yet to see a lion use a frying pan.
I know you're going to bash this reply with ever fiber, but you have to admit it's true. Ask your doctor. You don't have to be a vegetarian. I can see by yout previous questions your hatred runs high for them, but can you try to have just a little shred of respect for them.
Darkwolf... just because you eat a burger rare doesn't make you a true carnivore. If you catch a fish and just gnaw right into without scaling or cleaning it or you go and rip right into a cow's bloody guts & all (true rare) then you can say you are a carnivore. It is not natural for humans to eat that way. Our meat has to be processed beforehand before we can consume it. A true carnivores doesn't.
Once again... lion using a frying pan. Not gonna happen.
And Darkwolf just proved my point in that we have to send animal flesh through some sort of process before we can consume it.
As far as my time here, that's really no concern.I just notice you are taking a lot of steps to show vegetarians the error of their ways and I don't understand why you can't just live & let live? I'm not even a vegetarian.
How is my opinion of a carnivore not fact? A carnivore eats meat in it's original form. When have you seen wild animals using the George Forman grill?
I do agree with you on one point, no animal does eat shells of clams or oysters, but I have no clue where you were going with that little tidbit of misinformation. That otter thing was odd. You eat the inside of a pineapple, not the outside. Same goes for corn, artichokes, bananas. But they don't need to be prep'd in any way. An otter is meant to eat shelfish.
Humans HAVE to "prepare our meat the way we want it" because humans CAN NOT eat it in it's original state. In such, proving we are not carnivores, we are not meat eaters by nature.
A carnivore is a animal that eats flesh. I don't know how else to say it.
You're trying to compare yourself to an animal that eats meat, but you want don't to eat meat like the animal does. And your only example are otters and monkeys. You're not out chasing down a gazelle in the African plain. You're at Costco buying a T-bone, and you had no hand in the process that went into it before you bought it and you are not going to eat it right out the pack. Go ahead and have the potatoes & salad with it.
--
"mys----so what you're saying is that it isn't natural to eat anything from a grocery store, produce included?
Let's get passed your carnivore issue first though."
No, I'm not saying it's unnatural if you eat things from a grocery store. I'm saying it's wrong to say that humans are natural meat eaters when they can NOT eat meat the way animals do. Which is what carnivores do.
I don't know what my carnivore issue is. Please enlighten me.
It IS natural to eat meat. Our bodies require the nutrients that are almost always found in meat. If a vegetarian diet is so natural, why to such extraordinary lengths (such as combining foods and taking supplements) have to be taken to ensure proper nutrition?
Someone posted that we were "designed" to pick fruit. That is bullsh*t. For starters you forget than man evolved using tools and because of intelligence and social practices, humans are very efficient hunters thanks to tools, communication and teamwork.
Humans are not the fastest runners and we don't have big claws and teeth, but humans are excellent distance runners and use tools so those evolutionary adaptations are unnecessary. I've read of one group of people that hunt by essentially running after an animal - for hours if it takes. The prey animal collapses from exhaustion and the hunters move in for the kill.
I think that vegans and vegetarians are more often idealists than rationalists - something I can sympathize with. I think that vegetarians and vegans don't want to admit that man is a hunter and a killer and must cause some suffering to survive and thrive.
PS. Humans CAN and DO eat ray meat and we can digest it. American Indians prized the raw liver of the Buffalo and the Inuit following their traditional lifestyle eat high fat raw meat almost exclusively with no problems. People eat raw fish all the time. We are just squeamish about what we aren't used to.
Vegetables, on the other hand, usually have to be processed and cooked to be edible.
Mys_phyt forgets a very important fact in his answer.
Plenty of humans eat raw meat.
for instance, I eat raw fish Sushi.
I eat my steaks and burgers rare (when given the choice). the center of a rare burger or steak is actually raw but warmed, and therefore as close as I can get to raw meat until I catch the squirrels in my neighborhood or have a chance to go hunting.
It is natural to eat meat, and it is natural to eat vegetables. and it is a personal choice, which some of the posters in this question seem to forget.
Mys-you're obviously can't be bothered to critically examine my post. I was going to respond to you, but then I realized that.
Why do some meat eaters say its not natural to eat just veggies, legumes, grains, and fruits?
I get the feeling you're not looking for an answer. I think no matter what I put here, you're going to insist that it's wrong.
If a lion kills an animal and its it raw, will it get sick? No. Does it sound desirable to you, to kill an animal with your hands and teeth, and then eat it right then and there? I think our lives have changed to allow a meat centered diet, but I don't think humans were meant to depend on it.
The peta propaganda sites have brainwashed the majority of the V&V fanitics. If you pay attention every "fact" they quote comes from peta.
I hate your term veger. It sounds stupid.
Human beings eat anything that we've found tastes good to us. We don't get the nutrients we need from cake, but I'd still say it's natural to eat it because it tastes good. The same thing goes for meat, if it tastes good to us it's natural for us to want to eat it.
They are wasting their time and breath on futile arguments.
The only argument for vegerism is respect for animals.
There shouldn't even EVER be any arguing. Our goal should not be to win arguments.
It just makes someone less open to the idea of a more compassionate lifestyle.
Instincts...to get all your vitamins and nutrients to maintain good health doesn't mean you can't PICK which food sources they come from. We have the ability to choose now.......we may have not had that abilty to pick and choose when we HAD to hunt for our food yes. We do have the ability to pick and choose now though....so therefore we should adjust our thinking a bit of what's natural and whats not.
It's also natural for most men to want to go have sex alot in order to procreate and continue thier genes by doing so. That's is an all natural thing/instict like. BUT most men...most men have adjusted their thinking to go with the times..yes...............it has now become natural to wait it out to have children. The instinct is still there..think condoms....but most men have adjusted that instinct to go with the times. People should also think about doing the same with their food choices....is all I'm saying. You don't have to hunt for it anymore....you can get ALL your vitamins and nutrients from plant sources so...so what's the reason for still staying in caveman type times? That's why I consider eating meat no longer a natural thing......not that it may not have been at one time or another.....but since most people buy their meat at the grocery store...is it still a natural thing? Not to me.
That was meant with total respect....very good question too. You were very nice...most aren't around here. Thanx.
When I see a little bunny hopping through the bushes the last thing my instincts tell me to do is pounce on it sink my teeth into it's cute little fuzzy bunny butt.
There have been many great points made here.
I can't believe you haven't seen the links I've posted before regarding this topic, but I'll post the info again, just for fun:
http://www.celestialhealing.net/physical...
http://www.all-creatures.org/mhvs/nl-200...
The information there is very compelling to me. When I sit and think about them it makes sense to me that we are meant to get our nutrients from plant foods. Because we are such advanced creatures we are, fortunately, able to survive on animal flesh if we need to, but clearly, knowing what we do about what happens to our health when we eat a lot of meat and other animal products, we are not meant to live on them for extended periods of time. Not without repercussions anyway. It also seems very barbaric and primitive to me. Even if there was a time that we had to rely on animals to survive, we have advanced far beyond needing to do that. To continue to eat animals and to even have turned it into such a gross and cruel industry goes against what I think an advanced society should be.
P.S. I also hate the term "vegers".
EDIT: You may not share my sympathies, but do we share "logic"? What about the logic that was presented in those links? How come no one ever wants to address those points?
EDIT: The points in my links are pretty basic, ME, and common knowledge. You can't just dismiss something as propoganda and ignore what's being said. These aren't biased studies; they're lists of attributes. Can you seriously tell me that those things aren't compelling, even if you throw out any that you think can't be proven and are just "propoganda"? You can't just ignore our physiology.
I'm a vegan and I don't argue that eating meat isn't natural, or that veganism is natural.
I don't doubt that we evolved eating meat to a greater or lesser degree.
But now it's a question of choice, not nature. Just as we don't need to live in caves any more, or kill animals to use their skins as clothing, so we don't NEED to kill animals (or have them killed on our behalf) for food any more.
Somebody will post pointing out to me that it isn't a choice for everyone in the world, and they will be right.
Why do YOU care? Eat meat if you want to and don't worry about what others do. This question is retarded! No matter what any "veger" says, you will argue with it. Get a life duder.
If you eat meat you are immoral. However, if you ask a question like this you are very immoral. If you do both you are too far lost to save. However, I can send you some info to try and push a little morality into your body.
I don't have a bunny to brush. That would be immoral.