If we were meant to be vegetarian as many vegetarians argue, why do we have incisors?

Question

Please explain as that makes no sense to me

Answer 1

Cows have incisors too, look it up. And they're obviously herbivores.

http://www.goveg.com/naturalhumandiet_physiology.asp

This website describes how the anatomy of a human being reflects that of a herbivore, and not that of a carnivore or omnivore. Our intestines are longer for digestion of vegetation matter, for example.

See the bottom of the site for a quick comparative chart.

Good luck in your search for understanding.

Answer 2

We are in fact omniverous, meaning we can eat either meat or vegetables or both if we choose to. You have incisors in case you want to eat meat . You aren't meant to be a carnivore and it would be unwise and unhealthy for a human to do so. you donot have the large incisors of a carnivore, their sheer speed, their sleek muscled bodies,their claws,their lightening reflexes or even their digestive systems ! A human can however survive on an all vegetarian diet! You can choose to eat meat if you want to. I choose not to.

Vegetarians do not say that we were meant to be vegetarian. Likewise one shouldn't go around saying that we are meant to eat meat. We have the freedom to choose which diet to follow!!

Answer 3

My pet sheep have incisors. from what i've seen they are vegetarians ( although it could be they sneak off to MCDs when i'm not looking )

There are many tough veggies, particularly when eaten raw ( as we would have done ) that require the tearing action of small pointy teeth and blade bladed teeth at the front.

I don't argue that we were meant to be veggie, humans are omnivores, vegetarianism is a choice we make. Humans are capable of fathering and birthing children at 12 years old. Just because we USED to do something does not make it automatically right.

We are capable and equiped for slavery, does that make it ok ?

If you can run through the forest and catch your animals by hand, tear them apart and eat them raw....then you can start to discuss if humans were meant to eat meat. You are using many unnatural processes in order to eat meat so it makes the "its natural" arguement extremely flawed.

Answer 4

For goodness sake, look at your teeth and then look at a lion's. Do they REALLY look the same to you? If you think so, test out your theory by using your big, sharp claws to kill your prey then using your ferocious carnivore teeth to rip through the skin and flesh. Oh, and eat it raw. If we were meant to eat meat we wouldn't be bothered by little things like foodborne pathogens from undercooked meat. We are certainly not born carnivores if that's your point. We are capable of being omnivores and nobody denies that. But animals that eat meat by instinct don't get heart disease or clogged arteries from it, nor does it promote the growth of cancers in true carnivores. Humans have a host of health issues related to eating animal foods and that's got to tell you something. Oh, and my incisors come in pretty handy for biting into an apple.

Answer 5

You don't seem to know a lot about the different major kinds of teeth!

With the exception of dolphins and whales which have very specialized fish catching or food filtering teeth,and the other exception of small insect eaters like shrews which have needle like teeth for chewing insects virtually ALL mammals have incisors.The big buck teeth a rabbit has are incisors for example.Incisors are used to cut a piece of food off a larger amount-e.g. a bit of apple off of a whole apple.

Then there are canine teeth.These are often thought to be something that only meat eaters have as dogs and cats and other carnivores use these to kill their prey.It is true that ALL carnivores do have large sharp canines.However some herbivores have them too-the huge teeth a hippo has when it opens it's mouth are canines.They are not used for killing prey of course as hippos eat grass and virtually nothing else.They are used instead for fighting other hippos.Some other plant eating animals have canine teeth for the same reason-Chinese water deer for example.Human canines are tiny and would be no use for killing anything.

Just about everyone knows that the flat teeth at the back of our mouths are called molars and are for grinding up food.Herbivores all have molars as do most omnivores such as pigs,bears and raccoons.Some true carnivores do but only those that sometimes eat a little plant food-so weasels do as some of that family-pine martens for example-do eat the odd bit of fruit as well as meat.Wolves and the rest of the dog family have some molars for the same reason.However the cats don't as they are all pure carnivores who never eat any plant food in the wild.

The last kind of teeth worthy of mention are the carnassial teeth.Humans don't have these.Only mammals whose diets are largely or totally made of meat do-cats,dogs,weasels and mongooses etc.They occupy the same place in the jaw as molars do in us.They are used for slicing a large piece of meat into smaller,easier to swallow bits.

In those animals who have both carnassials and molars-e.g. wolves-the molars are at the very back of the mouth-look at the very back of a dogs mouth sometime and you will see flat molars at the back and sharper carnassials.This lack of molars is also the reason why cats can't gnaw bones like dogs can-carnassials are not meant for that kind of use.

So now that's clear look at your own teeth in a mirror.No big canines for killing.No carnassials.Therefore you are not designed as a meat eater.Incisors which can cut anything-plant or meat.Lots of flat molars for grinding up plant tissue.

Combine that with the fact that we have a long intestinal system wheras carnivores have a short one and it seems pretty obvious that we are built to eat plants.The ability to digest meat-especially cooked meat-is just a bonus our bodies have.It probably arose when our ancestors long ago had to eat whatever edible food they could get.

Answer 6

This question is asked generally by those who are non vegetarians but they are little guilty at the same time so they need some kind of excuse or any trivial reason to continue with their food habits.

Answer 7

because it's just a justification for a lifestyle choice rather than a biological necessity. The facts is you CAN eat both. We are not carnivores, true meat eaters because we are OMNIVORES. like bears. We can eat a variety of foods, both meat and plants, safely and efficiently. Cooking food is amtter of taste not necessity. Lots of people eat almost or practically raw meats (steak, steak tartare, carpaccio etc) without ill effects. Or they can choose not to eat them. It's a choice. Actually, I think, because of the initial non-acceptance and extreme criticism from omnis, vegetarians and the vegetarian "movement" worked to find justification for their choice which would also satisfy their critics. Of course some would be more factual than others and some would be more like urban legend. The issue has not been helped by fanatics on both sides of the argument.

PS. humans have short large intestines for meat digestion, small long intestines for plant fiber digestion. Human teeth have very thin enamels as compared to true vegetarians. It will not survive a lifetime of plant fiber chewing,

Answer 8

If we were meant to eat meat, why do we need knives to to cut it, forks to hold it, and why do we have to cook it and use meat tenderizers when no other animal does these things?

Try going up to a live cow and eating a chunk of it's flesh. You'd be lucky if your teeth even broke the skin, and even luckier if the cow didn't stomp you to death.

I think humans were evolved to be omnivores; eating a lot of plant material and occasional small animals such as grubs and insects--that's how chimpanzees and gorillas eat.

However, humans have the unique capacity to go beyond nature and make our own choices in how we want to live. Whether we were "meant" to do this or that seems like a silly argument to me.

Answer 9

I think you probably mean canines or maybe premolars, as all herbivorous mammals have incisors.

Vegetarianism is a choice. I could use my teeth to eat human flesh, but i don't have to. Our dentition is typical of omnivorous animals, not carnivores or herbivores. However, it is indeed "natural" to eat meat, just as it is natural to eat maggots and beetles, but in the richer parts of the West, adults do not usually eat insects deliberately.

Answer 10

I agree that it's not a natural thing really but in a developed society and culture it's perhaps a good choice. Clearly it's just up to the individual, their beliefs and attitudes. I'm not vegetarian but I respect those who are and good luck to them in trying to make a difference.