Humans are omnivores, so why do people think we can live without animal protein in our diets?!
Studies have linked veganism to schizophrenia. Humans require animal protein to complete protein strands that are necessary for healthy cell growth and regeneration. Without the animal protein, how is it possible to form these healthy protein strands? Muscles and the brain are the first to suffer from no new formation of protein strands.
It is true that the average American consumes far too much meat. I believe about 3 servings of meat are what are considered to be what a human requires to be healthy, not 3 servings a day.
Answers:
Studies can link everything to something with positive correlation. I've seen studies that can link global warming to the decline of pirates. Correlation does not equal causation. Until you can show me a rash of vegans going schizophrenic, I don't believe it. I'm sorry about your relative, but there could be a million confounding factors there and just because her doctor believed it was diet related doesn't make it so.
I think others have refuted your argument pretty well, but I've been vegetarian since I was eight, twelve years, and my muscles and brain have not hurt any.
Humans have eye teeth to tear at food, but not necessarily meat. Our eye teeth are also handy when cracking nuts and grains.
Humans' digestive tracts are very long and bumpy (like tripe, which is a sheep's stomach lining) to allow for absorbtion of vitamins and minerals from plant foods. Omnivores (actually carnivores) have very short smooth digestive tracts and very strong digestive juices in order to get the nutrients out of meat as quickly as possible before it starts to rot in their digestive system.
A web search for "veganism" and "schizophrenia" yielded only your question. To what studies are you referring, exactly?
The International Pilot Study of Schizophrenia (World Health Organization, 1979) and the Determinants of Outcome of Severe Mental Disorders study (Jablensky et al, 1992) found a correlation between schizophrenia and consumption of alcohol, meat, and eggs.
Meat is not the only way to get protein.
Yup, I'mma lookin'......no fangs there.
Hey, dearest, Indians don't eat animal protein- a huge proportion of them do not, they are healthy as can be.
The Hunzas in Pakistan- vegan, etc etc.
PLease tell me:
1) what wild animal eats cooked meat? (cooked animal protein can't even be leeched!)
2) What you're doing comparing humans to meat eaters like lions and dogs- WHO DON'T EAT VEGETABLES!
3) WHy we have the SAME digestive sytem- length ( long) and type ( ribbed, pocked) , water and vitamin absorbing- like that of other herbivores??? Elephants, monkeys, giraffes, cows, have the same digestive sytem as we do.
4) Why we have starch =breaking enzymes in our saliva, and meat eating animals like lions and dogs DO NOT. They do not have any starch digesting enzymes in their saliva. We do- we need it for carbs and starches in plant foods.
5) Why out human jaws are wide-set- and meat eaters, lions and dogs, are pointed. They have toothpicks for teeth, we have flat teeth, like horses, chimps, monkeys.
WHy do cows not need animal protein? WHy do chimps and monkeys, able to communicate like humans, with pointing, words, numbers and pictures, not require animal protein?
Why do you say we're omnivores, when the only animals that are really omnivres are tiny animals, and some birds- squirrels, rodents with bears being the one exception- debatable as they would happily live off meat alone in perfect sitautions. Humans do that, they die, bears do it, they are healthy.
friendofchip, where do you get your information from? Indians are as healthy as can be?
UN statistics on longevity shows Japan, the largest consumption of meat (fish/seafood) per capita is the healthiest society (out of 194) on earth. India on the other hand, with approximately 35-50% of the population being vegan/vegetarian ranks 134th. The US, with its "typical unhealthy diet" ranks 23rd. By the way, also in India, the number one killer in rural areas, where you would find the highest density of plant based diet because of poverty, is cardiovascular disease. Even more ironic, India has one of the highest diabetic cases in Asia. Vegan healthier? No, definitely not.
Humans also can and do eat raw meat.
Actually chimps hunt meat on a regular basis.
Thats just the way they believe. I don't agree with it at all because as you pointed out we are omnivores and therefor need to act as such but hey its there lives. i live by the peta code:
People
Eating
Tasty
Animals
*but like penelope i dont think its dumb to eat vegan foods either i just think its very dumb to eat only that*
i work in a vegan restaurant and all i can say is that you can tell a vegetarian from a meat eater.
seems that vegetarians have poor skin and are usually slim with very little mass to their bodies. If it doesn't affect anything why would you look like that?
you need animals. no one is saying that you cant eat soy and vegan food. i do.