Are humans designed to eat meat or not?

[mothhawk]

Over the years we have become tolerant to meat and dairy true....

It is believed that mammals have been around for two hundred million years, so to say we have become tolerant to milk "over the years" is a little bit of an understatement there, I think, Shaun.

[snohare]

This question is a no-brainer to me. We have canines, as has been pointed out, but also we have a gut which is intermediate in length between other mammals that are purely vegetarian (although there is evidence now that suggests when short of a nutrient such as calcium, this may change even in herbivores - they will eat chicks etc) and purely carnivorous mammals. When we look at primates and study their eating habits and guts, it becomes pretty obvious from context that we evolved to eat fruit and leaves, with meat when we could get it - opportunistic carnivores.
As for hunting, actually humans are fleet enough of foot to catch large prey. Why ? Because in the African savannah and other hot climates, large animals while running overheat faster than a running human. (Surface area to volume ratio rules the world. ) It's not necessary to catch an animal straight away - just stampede the herd and keep them running until they are too hot to run. (If you don't believe me, try running with a dog on a hot day. In two miles it will have to stop. ) Plus, catching fish in small pools and streams is relatively simple.
Of course, as humanity spread to temperate climes - or to be more precise, as the savannah cooled and turned to grassland, and apes began to walk upright - hunting would have become a bit more difficult. At this point, gene mutations that caused large changes in cranial anatomy and possibly vocal cords, may have helped speed up our adaptation to different lifestyles; the large muscles that give gibbons and chimpanzees their formidable jawpower became weaker in humans, allowing the skull to expand as the infants grew. It's thought that this is around the time that the first signs of campfires began.(About a million years ago.) So perhaps cooking and growing started at the same time...
Then when we ended up in an Ice Age, we had to fight for use of caves with other animals looking for shelter. Cave bears up to twenty feet tall, and hyenas the size of horses. It would have been natural to fight them using fire - you don't explore caves without it - and if you won, there would have been scorched meat...which wildfires would undoubtedly have told you was edible and yummy. (Thinking of these battles, it strikes me as no wonder that we have such a primal, fearful fascination of dark, labyrinthine places with lurking predators - think of any sci-fi or thriller movie...) Around this time, in more than one location, dogs became domesticated; a hunting partnership began.
Then when we started farming grains - well, that was a very useful mistake...hello diabetes.
Myself, I know that eating mainly vegetables is much better for my bad stomach than eating red meat or wheat which can trigger ulcers, but fish is definitely a real boost to me when I am using a lot of musclepower. Omnivore ? I wish !

[Potstubsdustbins]

2Sheds did you miss the line of my post that said your decision should be respected?

If I were a vegi I would find it intolerable for someone to try and sneak meat in my food. Its nothing less than a gross insult and should be treated as such.

Colin

[Tomato Head]

I am a committed carnivore. I love veggies but they are garnish to me I eat them because they taste nice and they add colour and texture to a meal.

I believe in eating a paleo diet - it's what we survived on for more than 2 million years and that's good enough for me. I also eat a high fat diet as fat is essential for health. I don't bother with many carbs. I do like veg and, ironically, it's reducing the amount of veg I eat that has actually been responsible for getting me interested in growing my own. Now that I no longer feel any obligation to eat 5 portions of fruit/veg a day, I concentrate on quality rather than quantity. I was a vegan in my 20's and early 30's and whilst I felt ok at the time, I realise now it was responsible for a lot of health problems over time, and would never be veggie or vegan again.

I don't criticise anyone for being vegetarian (each to their own), but I am now convinced that the human body does best with high fat, moderate protein and restricted carbs. I know mine does. I used to have IBS, hypoglycaemia, candida overgrowth, poor skin and weight gain but not anymore Now I eat liver, sardines, belly pork (yum), lots and lots of eggs and a few veg And not forgetting the best food of all - 100% chocolate!

[taff]

you really need to sort out your argument, not for anyone, but yourself.

People say that you can't get enough nutrients from been a veggie how ever 90% of dinosaurs were veggies and they we as big a a house

Have you seen any people that are vegetarian and as big as a house? ou're comparing two totally different species.

the biggest primate on the planet is the gorilla and is a veggie!

yes, and the biggest mammal is a blue whale and isn't...

We are self aware so we have the ability to choose weather we eat meat or not even tho we technically poison ourselves every time you chomp down on a banging sirloin=]

Lots of foods are technically poisonous...

But, I can see you've had a bit of an epiphany, and your enthusiasm is hard to fault

[Tomato Head]

Talking of gorillas - Barry Groves has an intersting article on his website comparing the digestive systems of herbivores and carnivores - pointing out that gorillas might eat lots of leaves, but they can convert them into fats due to the high volume of bacteria in their colon and caecum

Should all animals eat a high-fat, low-carb diet? - Part One: The Basis for a High-fat Diet

Not trying to stir, just find it intersting myself. I like Barry Groves a lot, and his book "Trick and Treat: how healthy eating is making us ill" is a good read.

[Thelma Sanders]

I have been veggie for a few years in the past ( I had a veggie partner at the time) but personally, I feel healthier when I eat some animal protein, but still not every day

I tend to eat a lot of veggies with it, and try to avoid eating too much wheat, because that's what disagrees with my stomach

There is some research that suggests that the part of the world you originated from (which shows in your genes) gives you different intolerances to dairy/wheat etc. That just confirms that we are all different, so eat what your body tells you is good for you- not a load of junk food, that's good for nothing except McDs shareholders

[piskieinboots]

I am a committed carnivore. ...
I believe in eating a paleo diet ...
I used to have IBS, hypoglycaemia, candida overgrowth, poor skin and weight gain but not anymore Now I eat liver, sardines, belly pork (yum), lots and lots of eggs and a few veg And not forgetting the best food of all - 100% chocolate!

We are out of the same stable

[tamsin]

The only reason we started to eat meat is because we developed tools to kill. We are no way fast enough, nimble enough or have sharp fangs or claws to catch prey or the digestive system to eat raw meat!

That only makes sense if you think prey equals large, fast, dangerous animals. There are plenty of slow moving animals that don't require those skills - nice juicy maggots anyone? Some frogs legs?

Look at chimp diets, and compare carnivore teeth and herbivore teeth - we've got some of each.

[Lisamcflisa]

I definitely agree with those that have said growing your own veg encourages eating more vegetables, I would say i was more a MEAT and the occasional Veg, now i'm more pork or chicken and love my veg.... I cant stand the smell of beef cooking anymore, and increasing my veg intake and reducing red meat and bread has helped me health wise....

I think irrelevant of whether we started off as vegetarians, carnivores or whatever, evolution of our eating tackle now shows more omnivorous tendencies, but I think pure meat eaters, pure veggies or a mixture of the 2 its what suits you health and happiness wise.... *Lisa whistles and swings her legs whilst perching firmly on that fence*

[Glutton4...]

Oh gawd - not this old chestnut again...

[veggiechicken]

Oh gawd - not this old chestnut again...

Mmm Chestnuts with brussels sprouts and baby onions, a dash of redwine and a sprinkling of sugar to glaze them and a few sprigs of thyme - you can't beat old chestnuts

[Pinfold Plotter]

Mmm Chestnuts with brussels sprouts and baby onions, a dash of redwine and a sprinkling of sugar to glaze them and a few sprigs of thyme - you can't beat old chestnuts

Add some pancetta and you we are in business

As people have pointed out, we have evolved to eat meat, we have the physiological adaptations to digest it. However, whilst we have an ancient gut we have modern food sources. We have evolved to crave sugar and fat as these are important, but are relatively scarce when you had to go and hunt/forage for them yourself, once you found a source you would gorge because it could be weeks or months before you would find another. So therefore I blame my palaeolithic ancestors for my chocolate addiction, and excessive bacon intake

[shaunbrook]

I can't believe the amount of interest this has generated=] It's very interesting to see what people think of this subject! I am no way denying that we have canine teeth, and cooking meat does help digest meat easier along with all the other signs that we have been eating meat for a very long time! I was focusing on the very beginning when we didn't have fire and tools=] I eat meat and I eat a vast amount of veggies so I'm on both sides of the debate, however me and the other half only buy meat once every 1-2 weeks and has to be the best free range local bought meat around=] I'm glad people out there do think about what they are eating, working as a chef all my work mates laugh when I suggest a veggie dish for the days specials Thanks to everyone's replies any way guys.

[Thelma Sanders]

Modern humans have evolved to be completely different to the kind of hominids that were around before fire and tools - you just shouldn't compare the two