If eating meat is forbidden?

Question

Why do we have canine and carnassial teeth and a small stomach?

I understand certain religions have restrictions on what types of meat are acceptable, but who can honestly say humans are herbivores?

ok we don't have carnassal teeth, but we do have canine teeth. Thanks for pointing that out

Answer 1

Our canine teeth are so poorly developed from an evolutionary standpoint that they are much more like herbivore teeth. Look at a dog's teeth and then yours - there is extremely little resemblance. And do you use the "canines" to chew your steak anyway - no, you use your molars! So what do teeth have to do with it?

Our stomachs are perfectly adapted for eating vegetables. And our intestinal tracts only make sense with a high-fiber diet, which meat does not provide.

It's obviously possible to eat meat and derive some nutritional value from it - millions of people do. But it's also possible to get along perfectly well without meat - and face a lower probability of certain cancers, heart disease, and several other unpleasant health consequences associated with meat-eating. If your diet of dead animals is that important to you, I would never say you are "forbidden" to continue it. Just better off not doing so, but it's your call.

Answer 2

Flavia wrote-
" humans aren't herbivores, are omnivores , that's why we have different kind of teeth and why if you eat meat don't feel bad...
if you was just an herbivore, if you eat meat you feel bad or die because aren't able to digest it... in reality humans needs meat because they need some particular amino acids that are found in meat and pulses(and our body cannot produce), but you have to eat many pulses to cover the same amount of a.a. given by a steak !
so...you cannot eat meat but MUST eat lots pulses...it is very important to live good and safe! "

-Really Flavia? If that's the case then why must we cook our meat unlike any other animal that eats it? The amino acids you speak of are just as easily found in plant products. The aren't just present in pulses. In reality the reason you eat meat has not a thing to do with amino acids, and everything to do with culture. Also, I'm very skeptical of a "researcher" who can't even construct simple sentences.

Don't buy into this propaganda people. You don't need meat. You can choose to eat it cooked. But you don't have to eat it by any means.


P.S. I found this later and added it on as a postscript.

Andy B Wrote-
"And stop reading PETA, the implication that a veggie diet is better is the product of research that has not taken into account that veggies eat a wider range of fruit and veg, are more health conscious and rarely drink, smoke or eat junk food in comparison to your average meat eater. Studies which take these variables into account show little difference between meat eaters and veggies in terms of cancer, coronary diseases, etc. "

Why should the research take into account to lower regard for health that a meat eater shows? I think it's incredibly significant the differences in lifestyle between the two. Why shouldn’t it be? It is a lifestyle change is it not? Also of the things the research does not take into account, according to you, only one of those, smoking, was unrelated to diet! And even smoking has been proven to have a lower impact on your health wile eating a vegetarian diet as proven in a study conducted with Japanese smokers. You said it yourself and I quote, "the implication that a veggie diet is better is the product of research that has not taken into account that veggies eat a wider range of fruit and veg...." There is plenty of research, real world and lab studies, which back up the diet choice of vegetarians. Read The China Study by: Dr. T Colin Campbell PhD or any of Dr. Dean Ornish's books.

Answer 3

Man is an omnivore by nature, which is why we have both canine teeth and grinding teeth. Vegetarians choose that lifestyle either for ethical or religious reasons. Religous reasons can be because of a respect for life or it can be based on ancient hygiene laws (ie Jews and Muslims don't eat pork, etc).

Answer 4

You are questioning the ethical reasoning for becoming vegetarian. Vegetarians believe that, as humans are omnivores, we have the choice to, or to not, end animal suffering. We also believe that carnivores have full rights to eating other animals, as they are not lucky enough to have this choice. Our teeth and stomach have developed as early humans both ate plants and hunted. They did not understand animal suffering as much as we do. They did not understand that they had a choice. We keep these characteristics because they were the characteristics of our meat-eating, ignorant ancestors. They are reminders that we have the choice to keep on making animals suffer, but that we chose not to.


This is my own personal opinion and I am sorry if it conflicts with yours.

Answer 5

It's a personal decision. Some of us eat meat and some of us do not. There is food for both carnivores and herbivores. I am not a vegetarian, but I do like vegetables and have found a number of good ideas here.

Answer 6

Eating meat is strictly based on religions. Eating certain types of meat is different. Some religions allow all meats except cow and bull.
They both provide milk and help with farming. also beef contains certain things that is NOT good for the human body.

Answer 7

Who could honestly say we were ment to eat only meat? We wern't built for hunting (i mean that until we developed tools, hominids most likley scavanged any meat in there diets) and while we do have canine's, they're not near as pronounced as in predatory animals.

I simply view it as a personal choice. I CHOOSE not to eat the flesh of warm blooded animals. All i ask is that my choice be respected and in return, i'll respect others choice to continue eating meat. I have no drive to convert the entire world to eating like me.

Answer 8

OK, an answerer said:

"Our canine teeth are so poorly developed from an evolutionary standpoint that they are much more like herbivore teeth. Look at a dog's teeth and then yours - there is extremely little resemblance. And do you use the "canines" to chew your steak anyway - no, you use your molars! So what do teeth have to do with it?"

Well, we eat plants so we need grinding teeth, dogs do not, but our teeth are still perfectly well adapted to eat meat. Maybe not as adept as, say, a dog, but fine nonetheless. No, we don't use canines to chew meat, neither does any animal alive. Canines are for ripping meat, obviously if you eat with a knife and fork they are irrelevant, but they're used to grip, say, a chicken drumstick.

"Our stomachs are perfectly adapted for eating vegetables. And our intestinal tracts only make sense with a high-fiber diet, which meat does not provide."

Now, why don't you go away and look up the word 'omnivore' in a dictionary. Then come back and explain why that we are adapted to eat veggies does not imply we are not adapted to eat meat.
Our intestinal tracts are longer, in terms of body size, than a carnivore's but shorter than a herbivore's. They can deal with meat perfectly well, that they are also adapted for plant matter makes no difference.
Now, Humans create enzymes to split meat proteins, and hydrochloric acid, neither of which herbivores do but are needed for eating meat. If we aren't adapted for meat eating simply explain why this, and all the other ways are body has adapted to eat meat, is thus.

"It's obviously possible to eat meat and derive some nutritional value from it - millions of people do. But it's also possible to get along perfectly well without meat - and face a lower probability of certain cancers, heart disease, and several other unpleasant health consequences associated with meat-eating. If your diet of dead animals is that important to you, I would never say you are "forbidden" to continue it. Just better off not doing so, but it's your call."

And here comes the conclusive argument as to why we are adapted to eat meat. Yes, nowadays you can survive without meat, but that was untrue until very recently. Now that you can import a variety of vegetables, with different nutritional values, from all over the world and manufacture supplements it is possible, but before we could do that, when humans had to eat what food there was in their area, it was impossible. EVen now without supplements, the vitally important vitamin, vitamin B12, cannot be got without animal products, and without it we would die. Surely this proves that we evolved to eat meat.
As for 'some nutritional value', pound for pound meat is more nutritious than ANY other foodstuff available for us in terms of amount and range of nutrients.
And stop reading PETA, the implication that a veggie diet is better is the product of research that has not taken into account that veggies eat a wider range of fruit and veg, are more health conscious and rarely drink, smoke or eat junk food in comparison to your average meat eater. Studies which take these variables into account show little difference between meat eaters and veggies in terms of cancer, coronary diseases, etc.

Answer 9

as quickly as the Jesus replaced into born, each little thing replaced. we are below a clean regulation. yet I Timothy 4:3-5 explains that we are allowed to eat regardless of, in however the OT says to no longer. 4:3-"Commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be won with thanksgiving of them that have self belief and know the actuality. 4:4 for each creature of God is robust, and not something to be refused, if it rather is won with thanksgiving: 4:5 For it is sanctified by using the be conscious of God and prayer. So subsequently, we are in a position to eat regardless of because of the fact we are saying our grace, and that's sanctified. we could continuously recieve it in thanksgiving type God. So subsequently it rather is not any longer forbidden for us to eat beef.

Answer 10

humans aren't herbivores, are omnivores , that's why we have different kind of teeth and why if you eat meat don't feel bad...
if you was just an herbivore, if you eat meat you feel bad or die because aren't able to digest it... in reality humans needs meat because they need some particular amino acids that are found in meat and pulses(and our body cannot produce), but you have to eat many pulses to cover the same amount of a.a. given by a steak !
so...you cannot eat meat but MUST eat lots pulses...it is very important to live good and safe!