Why do people believe we were born carnivors and meant to eat meat?

If our stomachs werent made to digest meat then why do I digest meat just fine?

Vegetarians can have stomach related probelms too you know.

And we were born OMNIVORES not carnivors. Carnivors are people who just eat meat and thats it. We eat veggies and meat so that makes us omnivores.

Our teeth werent ment to eat plants they were made to eat what we wanted to eat! Plus have you seen your canines? There sharp. To eat MEAT

How do you think cave men survived? You think they ate grass all day? No, they didnt

They hunted for there food(meat) and they ate any moving animal they could eat really.

If you think that then fine, its your opinion.

But don't go around stuffing your views down our throats..

We don't keep making posts about vegetarians being stupid because they don't eat meat.

x-ta: If you want to go the biblical route, it is important to note that Adam and Eve were vegetarians before the whole forbidden fruit debacle With regards to Cain and Abel, Abel raised the plants, Cain the animals. When they made an offering to God, He only took Abel's offering. Also, a reading of Genesis can and does lend itself to the notion that, while the Bible places humans high on the terrestrial hierarchy, ideally humans are meant as guardians of the earth and its inhabitants, and are not just meant to blindly conquer and control. When humans mess up, the earth and its inhabitants are also affected. After Adam and Eve eat the fruit, God not only curses man, woman, and snake, but the ground too. In Lev 17 and Deut 12, If you want to sacrifice an animal, you have to take it to the central altar (Lev17). If not it means “that man has spilled blood”. This is the phrase used when someone murders a human. If you want to eat an animal, you have to show reverence to the life of the animal.

What you say is partially true, but your wording make it seem like you would like to think that man has absolute dictatorship over animals, whereas a reading of the Old Testament reveals that it is more of a responsible ruler ideal. The sole purpose of animals is not just for human food and enjoyment; from a biblical perspective, man definitely has responsibility for animals and the earth.

Its well and good to say that biblically, that humans were definitely allowed to eat meat after the Flood, and that humans are regarded as a special species. But people tend to simplify the issue and make silly comments that evoke a tone of dominion rather than responsibility and compassion

It all comes down to biology.

On the contrary, our stomachs ARE designed to eat meat. Meat is more efficiently digested than most plant matter. People who are still living as hunter-gatherers get most of their food from animal sources and are healthier than most modern humans. The Inuit traditionally eat a diet that is over 90% meat (and very fatty meat at that and usually raw meat) and do not get hypertension, diabetes and other "diseases of civilization".

Our teeth are designed to eat meat. The fact that our canine teeth aren't as big as other predators means nothing because we evolved to use tools. You don't need to run fast and have very sharp teeth if you you can make a spear, a stone knife and can communicate and work as a group to bring down big game.

Also note that people who are on strict vegetarian diets often have to take supplements to be healthy.

Think about what humans ate for most of our existence. Pretty much the diet that we see hunter-gatherers eat. Lots of meat, fish, eggs, fruit, nuts and some root vegetables. It is a meat heavy, though stil omnivorous, diet.

As for digestive problems, legumes often cause gastrointestinal distress and are usually poisonous if not cooked. Allergies to grain are common such as celiac disease. Grains also often block the absorbtion of nutrients in human beings.

I've never heard about anyone who had a beef allergy.

Check out the links below.

To Abby J:

Abel was the one who raised animals and Cain was the one who raised plant. You have it mixed up.

And since God seems to have preferred animal sacrifices since the beginning until the destruction of the temple, it would appear that God is carnivorous.

Who told you we are carnivores? They are wrong. Humans are Omnivores. We are able to catch, chew and digest meat as well as veg. Our teeth are made for duel purposes. To bite and chew and tear apart meat, whereas the flat ones at the back are for grinding vegetation.Our digestive system can extract nutrients from both plants and animals. Originally we were pack animals and hunted as such. No, one man could not catch and bring down a big animal, but lots of men working as a team could, and did. At some stage of evolution early man would have eaten his meat raw. But after the discovery of how to make fire, he learned that it was nicer and easier to eat if it were cooked. Over time Im talking hundreds if not thousands of years) his front teeth became blunter as he no longer had to eat thru raw flesh and his stomach became less able to digest raw meat as it no longer needed to. The nutrients gleaned from eating meat enabled his brain to become more and more complex and he became more intelligent. Its quite ironic, dont you think that if our ancestors hadnt eaten meat, our brains wouldnt have developed to the stage where you are able to form the opinion that eating meat is bad.

If you are in any doubt that man is, was and has always been omnivorous since before he could walk upright, there is a little piece of reference that you can go and see with your own eyes. Its called The Fossil Record

I have found that discussing eating habits can be as dangerous as discussing politics or religion. I am a very picky eater, and have realized that it's better not to talk about it if you can avoid it. Everyone has different view points. I for one believe that God put animals on earth for us, not vice versa. I believe everything in moderation. I believe that the reason many of us can't digest meat is because of our health- stress levels can and do mess with your digestion. Many vegetables can cause us to have uncomfortable gas. That doesn't mean they are bad for us.

That's just my opinion. You should do what you want and don't worry what other people think. But you might want to avoid the subject if it makes you this upset. It's not healthy. Best of luck to you!

There are many reasons people might believe that. Maybe it's because everyone in their whole family, back a million generations, have all eaten meat. Maybe they've been told that in a high school science class, maybe they just really like meat, so it seems right, maybe they just want an argument against veg*nism.

The real question is: WHO CARES? If you are a veg*n, you probably have other reasons for not wanting to eat meat that have nothing to do with whether we were "meant" to eat it or not. What if you found out, conclusively, that we were meant to eat meat? Would you drop all of your convictions and chow down? No, so why does it matter what evolution wanted us to do? We also evolved to want to make as many babies as possible to further the species, does that make any sense in this modern world? No.

So, please, for the sake of all veg*ns, drop this line of reasoning, as you only make us sound desperate and (by posting this question in the way you did) preachy.

We were not born carnivores. We are in fact born omnivores.

Stomachs are made to digest meat, as well as fish and plants.

Stomach and digestive related health problems are normally a result of alcohol abuse, disease, or a plain simple bad diet (like trying to be a carnivores).

We aren´t vegetarians as well, as we need animal proteins that, as the name says, don´t exist em plants (in a high enough concentration for them to be a substitute for meat eating). The same applies to fish.

Hope my anwser is what your looking for.

people are not carnivors or herbavors, they are omnivorous. they have teeth for eating meats as well as teeth for grinding plants. people who eat a well balanced diet including all of the food groups (of which meats are included) tend to have the better health and live longer lives.

I (on the other hand) probably eat too much meats and will probably pay for it when I am older if I don't change my ways soon.

Based on our teeth, I'd say that humans were meant to be omnivores- those who eat both plant AND animal matter. We have both sharp (canine) and flat (molar) teeth. Each one serves a different purpose. If we were only meant to eat meat or plants, then we would only have flat or sharp teeth.

Nobody was ever born a carnivore, they really could not survive on meat only. inuits do, sure, but thier lifespan is 53. I wonder why Mike didn't mention that ? Does that tell you something ?

Statements like "Also note that people who are on strict vegetarian diets often have to take supplements to be healthy." are simply not true. People state them as if its fact, its pure misinformation from people who have not practiced a decent vegetarian diet for any meaningful period of time.

And its bizarre that someone would want to quote a diet that emulates a 2 million year old diet as if thats a good thing ! I'm pleased to count myself as one of the people thats evolved away from the stone age. Once again, thier lifespan is convenienty left off. If you read through the forum via the wiki URL you will see question on health problems, taking supplements etc.

All humans are Omnivores.

Vegetarians are omnivores that choose to exclude meat products.

Many people look for excuses to justify thier decision to eat meat. I don't know why they will not just say " I dont' care about animals, I'm going to eat them". They use things like the bible, teeth, peer pressure, protein ( thats a funny one ) etc. as if the decision is not in thier control.

who cares what are bodies are designed to do. They are designed for many things. Most people can father and birth young at 12 years old. Is that right ? Just because our body is designed to do something doesn't make it right.

Some meateaters go on about the biology of our bodies using the "its natural "arguement but completely ignore tht fact that there is nothing natural about the way they animals are reared, the way they process, packed and buy meat off the shelf and cook it.

If they stalked thier prey in the forest, caught it with thier bare hands and ripped the flesh apart and ate it raw they might have an arguement.

Grae: "if we were designed just to eat vegetables and fruits, then why do almost all vegetarians need some kind of dietary supplement?" Evidence please ??? Show me FACTS that almost all veggies need supplements.....To be honest, that just seems like another random meaty throw-away comment without any backup whatsoever.