Meat lovers vs. Vegetarians

[Stragomagus]

I can show completely biased sources too as well as logic xvillexvalox............

 

 

 

[hide=]http://membrane.com/synapse/library/health/diet/research/humans_are_omnivores.html (most biased with little or no evidence)[/hide]

 

 

 

[hide=]http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/omni.htm

 

 

 

Omnivorism

 

 

 

The key category in the discussion of human diet is omnivores, which are defined as generalized feeders, with neither carnivore nor herbivore specializations for acquiring or processing food, and who are capable of consuming and do consume both animal protein and vegetation. They are basically *opportunistic* feeders (survive by eating what is available) with more generalized anatomical and physiological traits, especially the dentition (teeth). All the available evidence indicates that the natural human diet is omnivorous and would include meat. We are not, however, required to consume animal protein. We have a choice.

 

 

 

Jaws

 

 

 

Although evidence on the structure and function of human hands and jaws, behavior, and evolutionary history also either support an omnivorous diet or fail to support strict vegetarianism, the best evidence comes from our teeth.

 

 

 

The short canines in humans are a functional consequence of the enlarged cranium and associated reduction of the size of the jaws. In primates, canines function as both defense weapons and visual threat devices. Interestingly, the primates with the largest canines (gorillas and gelada baboons) both have basically vegetarian diets. In archeological sites, broken human molars are most often confused with broken premolars and molars of pigs, a classic omnivore. On the other hand, some herbivores have well-developed incisors that are often mistaken for those of human teeth when found in archeological excavations.

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[hide=]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human#Diet

 

 

 

Diet

 

 

 

For hundreds of thousands of years Homo sapiens employed (and some tribes still do depend on) a h

 

unter-gatherer method as their primary means of food collection, involving combining stationary plant and fungal food sources (such as fruits, grains, tubers, and mushrooms) with wild game, which must be hunted and killed in order to be consumed. It is believed that humans have used fire to prepare and cook food prior to eating since the time of their divergence from Homo erectus.[citation needed]

 

 

 

Humans are omnivorous, capable of consuming both plant and animal products. A view of humans as omnivores is supported by the evidence that either a pure animal or a pure vegetable diet can lead to deficiency diseases in humans. A pure animal diet, for instance, may lead to scurvy, a vitamin C deficiency, while a pure plant diet may lead to vitamin B12 deficiency.[50] However, properly planned vegetarian and vegan diets, often in conjunction with B12 supplements, have been found to completely satisfy nutritional needs in every stage of life.[51]

 

 

 

The human diet is prominently reflected in human culture, and has led to the development of food science. In general, humans can survive for two to eight weeks without food, depending on stored body fat. Survival without water is usually limited to three or four days. Lack of food remains a serious problem, with about 300,000 people starving to death every year.[52] Childhood malnutrition is also common and contributes to the global burden of disease.[53] However global food distribution is not even, and obesity among some human populations has increased to almost epidemic proportions, leading to health complications and increased mortality in some developed, and a few developing countries. The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) state that 32% of American adults over the age of 20 are obese, while 66.5% are obese or overweight. Obesity is caused by consuming more calories than are expended, with many attributing excessive weight gain to a combination of overeating and insufficient exercise.

 

 

 

At least ten thousand years ago, humans developed agriculture,[54] which has substantially altered the kind of food people eat. This has led to increased populations, the development of cities, and because of increased population density, the wider spread of infectious diseases. The types of food consumed, and the way in which they are prepared, has varied widely by time, location, and culture.

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Now for my opinion on the matter. Xvillexvalox, I will now use your own words against you on this matter.

 

 

 

When you get hungry you don't think about killing a cow and eating it. You think about that steak that was butchered, cut, and wrapped before you even saw it, being able to digest meat doesn't mean you have instinct to kill for it. Otherwise a rabbit wouldn't be able to go on your front lawn while you're hungry, you'd have an urge to eat it.

 

 

 

Xvillexvalox, you are really only using the past couple hundred years or so, based upon current technology, to disprove a fact that humans are indeed omnivores and have been for the past one to two million years and will continue to be until our digestinal tracts are incapable of digesting meat in the slightest, such as the cellulose in plants. We, as a species, mainly foraged on plant matter when hunting parties failed to bring back any significant amount of meat and upto about 10,000-20,000 years ago did we begin farming, in any amount that would lead to survival at least. Not only that, but you are also forgetting that due to modern technology many people are gradually, but surely, losing the instinct to survive in the wild as the generations go by.

 

 

 

Generally, and boy did I hate watching that video toward the middle, a balanced meal of both meat, which is quite high in protein in a more concentrated form, as well a nice serving of vegetables on the side can keep a person going far longer than a strictly one sided diet. In addition, due to the nature of "we humans" the diet from person to person will greatly vary.

 

 

 

I though have chosen to eat based upon the stew diet and therefore just mix my vegetables along with my meat into one soup so as I do not gag.

[Agunimon979]

I'm just saying humans are not hunters anymore. Maybe only half of people have ever killed an animal for its meat. The rest of us have just bought it from the store.

[doomy]

I'm just saying humans are not hunters anymore. Maybe only half of people have ever killed an animal for its meat. The rest of us have just bought it from the store.

 

Yeah but most people also buy their veggies from the store.

[Agunimon979]

But people don't "hunt" vegetables.

 

 

 

Also, being a vegetarian doesn't mean eating vegetables all the time. We eat regular stuff like pasta, macaroni, cheese pizza, cake etc.

[pureprayer]

This thread is too serious.

 

 

 

Meat is also too good to be wasted.

[Dizzle229]

We were meant to eat meat. Just look at our teeth. We have incisors, to shred food. K9's, to hold meat. We have teeth for both. We are omnivores. Early humans WERE still humans, as we are. So as Zierro has explained countless times, the only reason we don't hunt is because we don't have to.

[Lenticular_J]

But people don't "hunt" vegetables.

 

 

 

Also, being a vegetarian doesn't mean eating vegetables all the time. We eat regular stuff like pasta, macaroni, cheese pizza, cake etc.

 

Extreme vegans won't eat a lot of that. If it touches an animal, they probably won't eat it. But you're missing the point, anyways. We don't have instincts to grab whatever food we find on a tree if we get hungry, either. Because we know better - there could be bugs in it (although I just say more protein), maybe something bit it and left a nasty little parasite inside.

 

 

 

On another note, when did you become a serious poster? Your old posts were never serious.

[mrpez]

god there are a lot of fools on this thread. let me make this clear:

 

 

 

just because a majority of humans do not kill an animal and eat it on the spot does not mean that humans are not predators. saying that we get our food from restaurants doesnt imply that the meat just appears in the restaurant. humans designed slaughterhouses to kill the animals to make that meat. although the animals' death was not directly caused by a human, the cause of death is indirectly related to humans because we built the damn machine and herded the animals inside.

 

 

 

also who said humans dont have instinct? what the hell. that has to be the stupidest thing i have ever heard.

[xvillexvalox]

Carnivores, real meat-eaters, predators, whatever, they all share a hunger for actual flesh, eating any part of an animal, humans don't. Even your little pet dog has that, it will attack smaller animals and eat them if it's not trained well, (My Maltese has caught a rabbit before and chased a squirrel like 2 blocks. :shock: )

[Powman3]

i dont mind vegetarians at all. i just dont like the ones that marry animals and protest people that like to eat meat. get a job hippie.

 

 

 

Same. Except the hippy thing.

 

 

 

Your terminology is bad, mate. Hippies don't marry animals.

 

 

 

PETA Members marry animals! (I hope at least one person gets this reference).

[Rebdragon]

Carnivores, real meat-eaters, predators, whatever, they all share a hunger for actual flesh, eating any part of an animal, humans don't. Even your little pet dog has that, it will attack smaller animals and eat them if it's not trained well, (My Maltese has caught a rabbit before and chased a squirrel like 2 blocks. :shock: )

 

It probably as something to do with the whole our-brains-are-more-advanced-and-better-suited-for-making-rational-decisions-making-us-less-driven-by-instincts thing buddeh.

 

 

 

I.e., we're omnivores, damnit.

[warri0r45]

What does it matter whether we were "meant to" eat meat or not. We weren't actually "meant to" dig iron oxide out of the ground, mix it in a smelter with carbon and do this with it:

 

 

 

 

 

 

But we did, because we could. What is the point people are making by saying we weren't meant to eat meat? That we shouldn't? If so, I say that's nonsense.

[Rebdragon]

I can't see the image, but if I had to guess, is it a CD?

 

 

 

Damnit, bad guess. Smelter, carbon, duh it's steel #-o .

[warri0r45]

Hmm. Not working for some reason. Anyway, people are smart enough. I'm sure they can use their imagination and get the point.

[tripsis]

 

2. How is it hypocritical to eat vegetarian food that is in the shape of another food that contains meat?

 

 

 

Because, if you are trying to back away from meat, why would you eat something in a shape of meat?

 

Because you're still not eating meat...? The shape of the food has nothing to do with whether or not it contains meat. As long as you're not eating meat you're not being hypocritical. Vegetarians don't advocate against meat-SHAPED products, they advocate against meat itself. So if they're not eating meat, they're not doing anything wrong.

[assassin_696]

As much as I like meat, all this macho crap about eating meat to justify your manliness gets a bit pathetic after a while. I enjoy meat, but I know that it's probably not particularly morally justifiable, I just don't have the strength of character to give it up for ethical reasons.

[doomy]

Carnivores, real meat-eaters, predators, whatever, they all share a hunger for actual flesh, eating any part of an animal, humans don't. Even your little pet dog has that, it will attack smaller animals and eat them if it's not trained well, (My Maltese has caught a rabbit before and chased a squirrel like 2 blocks. :shock: )

 

Well, we arn't carnivores, real-meat eaters or predators..

 

We're omnivores, and our minds also don't work in the same way as your little pet dog....

[sibmaster]

I love eating meat, all kinds, couldnt live with out it :

 

But i can understand why quite a lot of people dont want to eat any form of meat, or in some cases any food that comes from an animal. My best mate is vegan, and he has very strong beliefs about animal rights ect. I totally agree with him, but i make sure that the meat i eat came from an animal that had a good life and was killed humanely.

[oegly41]

Taking a stand is like setting a marker on a line and calling everything to the left of the marker white, and call everything on the right side black, in other words, making everything in the world either black or white.

 

 

 

___|_______________

 

 

 

For instance: I don't drink alcohol for fun. Therefore, I say that drinking alcohol by accident or for medical use is white*, while drinking alcohol for any other reason is black*. It is the same thing about eating organisms. Most vegetarians say that eating anything with a brain(not counting emergencies) is black, while eating something else is white. Meat-eaters usually say that eating another human being(not counting emergencies) is black, while eating something else is white. And about hypocrisy, it is mostly found amongst the meat-eaters.

 

 

 

• 
   
  [*:2ovqw2jd] Most of the people I know would never eat an animal they just saw get slaughtered.
   
  [*:2ovqw2jd] Quite a few people refuse eating 'cute' animals, because they have a right to live and continue being 'cute'.
   
  [*:2ovqw2jd] Hardly any meat-eater would eat another human being. A human has a brain and a nervous system just like animals. Saying that we are superior is hypocrisy.

 

 

 

* If you try to get something racist out of this, I must say that you are extremely silly. As far as I know, there are people no people who are black or white. This is a common confusion; a person's skin might have a certain colour, but not the person itself. And by the way, the colour of people's skin go from grey-pink-yellow-ish to dark brown. (If I am not horribly wrong, which occurs once in a while. Nevertheless, I am rather sure that no people have skin which is completely white or black. Not even albinos.) And don't continue a discussion about this, it is far off topic.

[doomy]

But the thing is, humans are superior to other animals...

 

Hardly any meat-eater would eat another human being. A human has a brain and a nervous system just like animals. Saying that we are superior is hypocrisy.

 

We have a brain just like other animals, sure, but our brain is alot more advanced then most animals...

 

 

 

If we wern't superior we wouldn't be at the top of the food chain, or have done anything more spectacular then an everage monkey has done in a day...We've achieved and developed alot more then other animals so I guess we are superior.

[oegly41]

We've achieved and developed a lot more then other animals so I guess we are superior.

 

Define 'developing'.

 

 

 

Many animals have established extraordinary cultures, without harming the planet in any way. Just because they don't fit into our society, it doesn't make us superior.

[Lenticular_J]

I don't see Simba building a statue.

[benar]

Well honestly, meat is delicious... BUT that's not why I eat it..

 

 

 

Listen, I don't generally share this, but I'm a lay (not an ordained monk) Ma[racist term]a Buddhist and I eat meat every day. This is because I know how essential it is to good nutrition, and because I was born a meat-eater, not a buddhist.

 

 

 

You may think that vegetarians are being extremely healthy with their bouts amongst the vegetables (and they are), but more important parts of their health do suffer. Why? The lack of protein of course! A stalk of asparagus and a leaf of lettuce isn't going to give you the protein you need. Without that, and especially if you're an avid athlete, you'll find yourself not building muscle, your bones will become weaker, and you'll probably become tired a lot quicker!

 

 

 

Vegetarians do have their supplements for protein like protein shakes and power bars... but those are unnatural, and don't give you enough of what you need.

[BlueLancer]

I like meat, nearly love it, and I realize 100% it's a weaker moral standing than being a vegetarian.

 

 

 

You're decieving yourself or trying to justify a lie if you think it's morally OK to eat meat. Especially chicken animals get abused to hell with steroids and imprisonment in a small cage with 50 other chickens in it while being in "production" instead of living normally.

 

 

 

But I eat it because I'm probably an 'addict'. It's hard for some people to just give up meat. I'll go crazy if I can't get proper, quality meat for 2 weeks, & I'm probably not the only one in the world either.

 

 

 

If I was to teach my children how to have a healthy diet, it'd have much more vegetables and salad, fish, less red meat and chicken. They would have an easier time learning it from scratch than someone who's eaten flesh all his life.

[Rebdragon]

• 
   
  [*:20y09l9r] Most of the people I know would never eat an animal they just saw get slaughtered.
   
  [*:20y09l9r] Quite a few people refuse eating 'cute' animals, because they have a right to live and continue being 'cute'.
   
  [*:20y09l9r] Hardly any meat-eater would eat another human being. A human has a brain and a nervous system just like animals. Saying that we are superior is hypocrisy.

 

Dude, human tastes like crap. Know anything about shark attacks?

 

 

 

[sn]