If we were meant to be vegetarians.....?

Question

If we were physically meant to be vegetarians, wouldn't we have teeth and stomachs like vegetarian animals Rabbits,Cows,Deer etc?

Mamals and other creatures are built the way we need to live? Why would people have different teeth meant to grind tear and chew meat if were supposed to eat like Rabbits?

I've heard vegetarians have just as many health problems through out their lifes just like meat eaters, different types of illness but all together either way your going to die of something right?

I hear people do it for health reasons, but I don't trust it is much better, more logical to say I do it for the love of animals?

Answer 1

Personally for me, it is about living in our day and age and how animals are treated vs living 2000 years ago or living today in the arctic or amazon or wherever and you need fish/meat for survival. Today, living in North America I have a choice. When I see what they feed animals (junk corn, laced with chemicals, anti-biotics) and see their living conditions until slaughter, just so some enterprise can get rich, turns my gut. I know for a fact that my diet today (Vegan) is much more healthy than a carnivores, for the simple reasons stated above. I don't have to worry nearly as much about cholesterol, heart issues, cancer, etc as a meat eater would. Anyway, my point is, I don't care what our teeth were made for, what "God" said about animals and our right to eat them etc, when I see the deplorable conditions these animals I'm supposed to eat live in and the nasty health issues I would have to deal with eating puss filled, cancerous ground meat etc.

Think what you want, but I'll stay vegan, thank you very much...

Cheers

Answer 2

this is not to answer ur question but i think u brought up such a good point.

Answer 3

Actually, our teeth are more like deer/horses/herbivores than wolves/lions/carnivores. We have incisors for biting off veggies like rabbits, and flat molars for grinding them like horses. Yet we only have a few canine like teeth for ripping meat, like wolves. We were meant to be able to eat both. However, a human would get very sick and eventually die if they ate only meat, yet they can eat only veggies and still be healthy. So why not?

In my opinion, we we originally mainly herbivores but adapted to the lack of plants during the ice age, hence the meat-eating teeth. Back then we had no choice. Besides, how people treated the animals then was a lot better than they do now. The animals roamed free and happy until they were killed, unlike now where they are kept caged for there whole lives in darkness in battery farms, awaiting death.

Answer 4

<sigh>   Another rant disguised as a question.  Why do you care so much about what we eat?  When was the last time you chased down prey and ripped flesh from it's body?  When you can do that, then you'll have a point.

Answer 5

For some folks I would say that a vegetarian diet would be more healthful  for others meat might be a requirement.  Most of us can take it or leave it. I prefer a sensible diet that includes meat.

Answer 6

yes but as humans we all have different opinions, likes, dislikes, brains, and we were all raised differently, so some of us just don't like the thought of eating an animal. people do a lot of things they aren't meant to do, like fly, put on make-up, shave, get body piercings, get tattoos, etc. but those things aren't necessarily bad.  OH AND I DO IT FOR THE SAKE OF ANIMALS  I DON'T WANT TO EAT SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN TORTURED

Answer 7

the teeth have nothing to do with it,  nor does the stomach.

do your research,  the intestines are where the key point is.

many animals have CUSPIDS and aren't omnivores or carnivores.

this question has been over posted,  next time i suggest you do a keyword search and investigate answers for your queries before you post.  that's why yahoo answers has a archive and also there are search engines on the net.    USE THESE RESOURCES  next time.

Answer 8

I completely agree, most people just seem to exclude logic from their thinking. Humans are meant to eat a combination of both its not healthy just to eat one type of food.

Why can't you stop being a defensive a** hole and just answer the question blue sea.

Answer 9

Yes we were meant to eat meat.... unfortunately though the conditions of the animals that our raised for our consumption are beyond appalling. Factory Farming is a disgusting, inhumane, and terrifying thing. I would go back to eating hamburgers once in a while if I knew that the cow I was ingesting had lived it's life in an open field, free to roam and wasn't killed at a young age.

Veal is just horrible, I don't know how we as humans can rip a baby from it's mother (who is beyond depressed and terrified for it's baby's life) and confine this terrified newborn in a dark crate so small it can't move one limb, for 6 months of it's life. The only 6 months he/she will ever live too. Can you imagine how scared those babies are, every day of their so called lives? They shake all day and cry for their mothers.

I can't even go on, but it truly sickens me and makes me question this world we live in. But if all animals were given a humane and lengthy life, I wouldn't be so against eating meat.

However I will never support the torture that goes on in those dark slaughter/horror houses.They are the definition of h**l.

WHY I DONT EAT MEAT?

I do it for the love of the animals and for the respect in which they all deserve. Who are we to treat them this way, we are all equal, let them live their one life somewhat happily.

Answer 10

Humans weren't meant to travel in cars or airplanes either, but we do.

To me, this is the WEAKEST argument against vegetarianism.  Humans have brains and make choices.  We are not slaves to biology or tradition.

Answer 11

WOW! You couldn't be more wrong. I mean really, have you seen a cow or deer's teeth? Have you seen a tiger's teeth? You really think that our teeth are more like a tiger than a cow? Tiger's or any other carnivore's molars are sharp and rigid, ours are not, they are are just like those you would find in a horse, cow, or deer. Not to mention, we don't exactly have huge vampire looking K9s either. Another undeniable fact is that ALL carnivores lack the ability to grind food, their jaws only moved in an up and down motion. Herbivores have the ability to grind where as their jaws are able to move in circular motion. Also, any animal made to eat meat has been equipped with everything required to do so. You mentioned a tiger, well, I'd like to see you stock down an African deer, grab it with your finger nails, and rip into it with those huge fangs of yours. Oh, wait, even if you could manage to do this you would get sick from the raw meat.... ummm. Guess you should avoid talking about things you know nothing about. This isn't a chat room and you don't post questions to which you don't want answers....

Answer 12

I do it for the sake of the animals.

I agree that becoming vegetarian for health reasons is silly when you can be perfectly healthy whether you are vegan, vegetarian or neither.

I choose to be vegan but I don't claim that it's "natural", I do it because I think that it's the right choice. I don't concern my self with what other people eat even though I'm passionate about showing people what they never imagined to be true.

I'd rather get to know an avid hunter(one who uses as much of the kill as possible) than someone that wouldn't treat me with respect if I wasn't vegan.

"You have to take suppliments and shakes to live"

I just read this and you should know that the ONLY thing that a vegetarian or vegan would need in a supplement is B12. Many foods are fortified with B12 but I would take a supplement since most people eat meat, dairy AND fortified cereals yet are still deficient or slightly deficient in B12.

It may help you if you see proof that vegan people have the same potential as anyone else.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sto...

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/...

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/...

http://www.macdanzig.net/bio.php

http://www.scottjurek.com/career.php

If you need meat or dairy during any stage of your life or to live any certain lifestyle, why does the American Dietetic Association say otherwise?

http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada...

Bread, pasta, cereal, rice, beans, peas, lentil, nuts, seeds, fruits and veggies can easily offer everything that you need except B12.

http://www.veganhealth.org/sh

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo

Answer 13

what you have heard is not true Vegetarians are   very healthy they do not have  heart problems, high cholesterol, diabetes because they are not over weight they have more energy even if we ate raw foods  broccoli and such we would need teeth for chewing  if you find it to complicating to be a vegetarian don't  but ....don't hound others because they are tigers were born to be carnivores to balance  nature

Answer 14

I think the better question is Why do YOU care what someone does or does not eat.  Really?  What business is it of yours??

Really, I am curious?

Answer 15

A couple of points...

About our canine teeth...

Did you know that herbivorous animals also have canine teeth?  Have you ever seen a horse's skull?  They also have small canine teeth.  What does this prove?  Absolutely nothing, the same thing that our canine teeth prove.  Our canines are extremely small and underdeveloped.  Other omnivores (pigs, bears, etc.) that eat meat have much larger canines compared to their other teeth.  Even our closest animal relatives (chimps) have large pronounced canine teeth.  Ours, quite frankly, wouldn't get the job done as well.

About having just as many health problems...

Here is an article from a reputable source, The American Dietetic Association: http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada...

In case you don't get around to reading it, let me paste the important part.

"Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer."

In plain English, vegetarians are thinner, less prone to heart disease, have lower cholesterol levels & blood pressure, and less prone to certain cancers and diabetes.

You said, "You have to take suppliments (sic) and shakes to live."

No, I don't, and I don't know any vegetarians that do.  And since I have been a vegetarian for over a year without these magical supplements, shouldn't I be dead?  Well, I'm not, so that must not be true.

You said, "IS IT MORE FOR THE LOVE OF ANIMALS THAN ACTUAL HEALTH REASONS?"

No, and yes.  There are many reasons for being a vegetarian.  Some of these include religion, health, environmental concerns, animal welfare, etc.  Actually, I became a vegetarian for health reasons, and yes, it is a valid reason.  When I found out that my cholesterol levels were high (at about 300... 200 is normal) I started researching ways to lower it.  I read about the effects of vegetarianism on cholesterol and decided to give it a try.  Within a few months my cholesterol had dropped about 100 points into the normal range, and I use vegetarianism to keep me healthy.

You said, "I just stated logically we are meant to eat meat to survive."

We are not carnivorous, we are omnivorous.  We don't need much of anything to survive.  We can pick and choose what we would like to survive on.  Whether that is an all meat, part meat, or no meat diet, it is up to the individual to decide.