why go veg when our bodies were made to digest meat, animal activist please do not respond?

Question

if you answered for health reasons i disagree, there is plenty of healthy meats, fish for example, you can abuse any diet especially a vegan diet

drocks you gotta be kidden me right, there is some nutrients that our body needs that you can only get from meat, for example vitamin b-12, copper and some others

our bodies were made to digest meat otherwise we would have stomachs like a cow

do you think we would be here if our ancestors just ate plants, i dont think so, they would starve to death

Answer 1

You are correct the human diet has not been entirely herbivorous (like cows). It has for the most part (with the exception of the Inuit) been omnivorous with the major part of the diet coming from plants and a smaller portion coming from animal products.
The problem with the current American diet is that proportionally to many of the calories come from animal products. While the human intestine is not similar to that of a cow it is also not similar to the intestine of carnivorous animals either. The intestines of carnivores are short to expel rapidly decaying meats whereas primarily herbivorous animals (like us) have much longer intestines and rely heavily on fiber to maintain normal function.
So the short answer to your question is, yes your body is made to digest meat but it is not good to make it the main source of your diet. Enjoy your steak but don't pass up on the veggies!

Answer 2

Biology 101, although I haven’t taken the class, my wife has. First, all herbivores are not like cows, which are ruminants. Humans are most like what other animals? Apes, of course, which are primates. They do not live on grass alone, and neither do humans or any other ape-like animal. Fruit best suits our digestive functions, but so does living in a warm climate since we lack fur to keep us warm. We can live on fruit alone, but if times are tough and there are no easy fruit around, we can eat other things and still survive, as can everything else eat outside of their best diet, but the further one moves away from the easiest food to digest, the harder on the system it is. Sure we can eat meat and get away with it, but it won’t be easy on our digestive system or our body. We can also live up north, but it’s not easy on us either; we need clothes. Fresh still warm from the kill raw meat digests best, but cook it first, and you have something that will make any animal, carnivore included, very sickly. Can an unaided human eat meat? Well, not without tools to both kill and cut up an animal. Otherwise, we’re more likely to eat leftovers, which would be putrid by the time the other animal had done with it. So, we are left again with using tools to access bone marrow, something we would not be able to access otherwise. Carnivores do not exclusively eat meat. The wild carnivores where I live, I often see such identifiable things as blueberries in their feces, so they are not on a 100% meat diet.

Regarding nutrients which humans need that are only available from meat, this is of course is not true. Vitamin B12 for example is almost everywhere. See, science works in absolutes, which is a totally flawed method. A scientist tests 100 apples and only finds a significant amount of B12 on the skin of 20 of them, the scientist will thus conclude that B12 is an unreliable source on apples and then go ahead and tell the public that B12 is not found on apples. B12 is found in our mouth, in our intestines, in water, in dirt, … it’s all over the place. Reliable scientifically reliable sources are found in fermented products as B12 is a product of fermentation – the poo poo of bacteria. Anyway, you will find science to be highly flawed when humans operate the testing methods and round numbers off, dumb things down and generally have little clue as to what they are doing. OK, that’s enough from me, bla bla bla on and on I go...

Answer 3

There are many reasons why people go vegetarian.

I chose to not to eat meats (with the exception of fish) for a few reasons. I know you don’t want to hear the health side, but it is true that vegetarians are less prone to arthritis due to extremely high protein levels in meats, especially red meats. Believe it or not, but your body doesn’t’ need nearly as much protein as people think. For a 6’ male, three eggs in the morning will do ya, without the bacon. This connection was just rediscovered recently, but known to Buddhist monks and yogi’s for ages (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/02/health/webmd/main658797.shtml)

Moreover than hating the idea of hurting every time it rains, another reason I stopped eating meat (with the exception of fish) is the way the meat produced and processed these days. Unless you shop kosher, or only purchase meats labeled as organic, your meat has been exposed to: fertilizer, antibiotics, hormones, pesticides and genetically modified ingredients..

*ever wonder why 13 year olds are looking more like 18 year olds? Probably due to the hormones being pumped into our food supply.

Meat is also irradiated, meaning it is exposed to radiation, in order to kill bacteria. This is a fairly newer process, and it is understood that it must be done because e coli is more and more common on our meats, due to the “unclean” processing plants (that means they are filled with cow poo, and it gets on the meat after it’s been butchered)

Mad cow disease shouldn’t exist if farmers were concerned with the healthiness of the cows sent to butcher for food supply, or they never would have turned them into cannibals by feeding them other cow parts - the cause of mad cow disease.

Also, the FDA just OK’ed cloned cattle for entry into our food supply. To each his own. Some say it won’t make a difference, but personally, cloned meat doesn’t sound appetizing, considering they haven’t found out why these “exact duplicates” seem to die more quickly than natural animals.

So, yes you can say our bodies were designed to eat meat. But, I would assume (being carbon based organic beings) we were not designed to consume substandard, mass produced and chemically altered, hormone injected, radiated foods.

(except of course for twinkies :) )

Answer 4

You don't have to have a stomach like a cow to digest plants. Gorillas have one stomach like us. You can get vit B12 from sea vegetables (kelp, dulse, wakame). Meat shouldn't be the focus of diet that it currently is. We are clearly killing ourselves with food in this country. I am a vegetarian but I don't object to people eating meat a couple of times a week for nutrients- best if it is humanely raised and slaughtered and a reasonable serving size. There is a great article on pig farming in Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12840743/porks_dirty_secret_the_nations_top_hog_producer_is_also_one_of_americas_worst_polluters I'm not sending you this article for the pictures, you need to read the article. Knowledge is power.

Answer 5

I am not a "strict" vegetarian (I do eat meat every once in a while, but it is not my main diet) but I do feel better. Vegetable proteins (whole grains and lentils) are a more efficient way to get the energy the body needs. All energy comes from the sun. Plant-life absorbs it, and we get it by eating. When you eat meat, you are extracting the energy the animal received by eating vegetables. Eating the veggies yourself cuts out the middle man! Just because our bodies can digest meat doesn't mean that they should. (However, I agree that militant anything can be unhealthy)

Answer 6

i am a half and half.. veg/ meat eater... i started it as mainly a way to lose and control my weight.. now you make answer that by with a little will power you would be able to lose weight and still eat me..well not me.. i am the type of person who will eat 2 pieces of chicken and go back for a third... a hour later i am in the frig hunting for the forth... ribs the same way.. steak or hamburger.. gluttony is my middle name..i went from 119 to 145 in just a little under a year..so i am back on the diet... but i added a twist to it.. instead of eating just one small meal a day to lose weight i will switch it out .. a bocca burger one day .. and veggie chicken Pattie with salad... and then the next day a real meal..not you said not animal right activist .. well your in the wrong section .. all your going to get is animal rights activist.. even me who loves meat.. will pick up on of those signs.. but only if i am protesting against animal testing.. and if you need to know why then go over to www.youtube.com and type in animal testing

Answer 7

My reasons for recently going vegetarian are:

1) I have a 2 yr old that chews up and spits out ANY type of meat

2) The smell of cooking beef or chicken makes me sick to my stomach! I'm 22 and have been having this problem off and on since the age of 16

Good enough reasons for me!

Answer 8

This article may shed some light on the subject.

http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/natural.html

I personally am a meat eater, it would be very hard for me to turn veg let alone vegan.. but researching this subject has got me thinking.. here are some more examples:

* We do not have a hinged jaw for ripping apart flesh but one that is able to grind sideways.
* We have a longer digestive system so we are better able to get the nutrients from our foods as opposed to the shorter tract that carnivores have to enable them to pass the meat through their body before it becomes rancid.
* It has been put forward that we have incisors for tearing flesh, but I have always thought that these were for cropping the harder vegetables.
* We do not have claws or talons for tearing flesh.
* The enzymes in our saliva that start breaking down the food in our mouths and the early part of our digestive tract are of a low acidity level and in alignment with a plant based diet.

http://www.vegsource.com/jo/qa/qaphys.htm



Then to answer your nutrient question:

Aren’t there certain nutrients one can only get from eating meat?

There is in fact some legitimacy to this issue. Still, it is a simple matter to adjust the diet and/or supplementation in order to achieve the desired nutritional goals. The key nutrients that require greater monitoring and potential adjustment are the minerals iron and zinc, and the vitamin B12.

With regard to iron, plant-sourced iron is qualitatively different and more difficult to absorb than meat-sourced iron. However, adjustments can be made that will more than compensate for the difference. For example, foods which contain good quantities of vitamin C will significantly increase absorption of plant-sourced iron, just as coffee and tea will hinder absorption. In addition, dairy products and calcium supplements compete with iron for absorption, and should be taken separately. Foods rich in iron include lentils, beans, tofu, breakfast cereals, and eggs.

Regarding zinc, there are many plant foods which contain significant quantities of zinc, including legumes, nuts, seeds, and tofu. For vegetarians and meat-eating athletes alike, however, it is unlikely that the level of zinc in the diet would be ideal. Supplementation is recommended such that the total intake of zinc approximates 25 mg per day.

Vitamin B12 is known as the “dirty” vitamin, because its actual source is bacteria and other microorganisms. The primary B12 sources for vegetarians are dairy products and eggs.

http://www.davedraper.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/PmWiki/Vegetarianism

Answer 9

There is nothing in meat that we can't get from veggie sources. Unless you want a healthy dose of cancer and impotence. You go right ahead and enjoy your steak.

Biologically, we are herbivores. We are designed to eat vegetation.

You can disagree with me about health and veganism, but science proves otherwise.

A better, healthier source of B-12 comes from nutritional yeast. The B-12 in meat is simply bacteria picked up when cows eat their poo. GROSS!!!

Copper is found in MANY plant sources.
Sunflower seeds (1 oz.)= 520 mcg
Hazelnuts (1 oz.)= 490 mcg
Walnuts (1 oz.)= 450 mcg
Pumpkin seeds (1 oz.)= 390 mcg
Chocolate, dark (1 oz.)= 200 mcg
Whole-wheat bread (1 slice)= 80 mcg

You should check out the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine and the Mc Dougall Wellness Center.

PS: To the girl who quoted the bible? Way to misquote God. Boy are you in deep doo doo. The Garden of Eden was vegetarian. Man and beast lived together in harmony. Read Genesis prior to our fall into sin. The quote you took out of context dictates that man can go ahead and eat the animals but there will no longer be harmony. Animals will fear man. Then go to Isaiah. When Christ returns, we will return to the vegetarian life. The lion will lie down with the lamb and there will be peace.

Answer 10

We are neither carnivore nor herbivore and can exist on either. How do you know we would have starved are you a bona fide Neanderthal or Cro-magnon? Rabbits and sheep don't have 4 stomach and they eat plants. Our digestive systems are more like theirs than wolves and wild cats!! Oh, I but suppose it is just you trying to absolve your guilt for eating poor animals reared in substandard conditions and knowing that they lead a life of misery until they were unhygenically killed in cold blood to end up on your plate " 'cos they taste nice!! " (AND don't go on about so called 'organic' meat) ask Michael H (a regular here) he is a vegetarian farmer and lives around so called 'organic' farmers!!