Meat consumption was needed for the evolution of human kind.
1Eating meat in the early stages of mankind’s existence played a major role in how mankind has evolved into the race that is seen today. Cut marks found on bones found around 2.6 million years ago suggest that the early humans started eating meat around that time. When tools and weapons became available, it changed everything for human kind. The use of tools and weapons allowed humans to hunt their food, and the use of the animals was a huge change to their way of life. Hunting allowed early man shelter, clothing, and food. Adding protein to early man’s diet was a huge step in brain development. Scientists began to recognize butchery marks on early stone age fossils in the 1980’s. In a study by Leslie Aiello, an anthropologist and director of the Wenner-Gren Foundation in New York City, she says that early humans ate a lot of berries, and roots, and shrubbery. In order to get the nutrients that they needed for survival they had to consume large amounts of berries, and roots, and plant material. Because of this they had larger guts, but there was a drawback to having these large guts, the body would put more energy into the growth of the guts instead of into the brain. Eating Meat and marrow are calorie dense resources with essential amino acids and nutrients. Eating meat allowed early man’s body to devote more energy towards the development of the brain instead of the large gut that processed all the veggie material. Leslie Aiello quotes "you can't have a large brain and big guts at the same time."
2According to the National Cattleman’s Association there are 2 types of proteins. Lean meats, eggs and dairy products are considered complete high quality sources...
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...e Least Harm Principle May Require That Humans Consume a Diet Containing Large Herbivores, Not a Vegan Diet," Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics. 2003.
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Both a meat-based diet and a vegetarian diet require significant quantities of nonrenewable fossil fuels, water, and land, but a meat-based diet ultimately requires more .
Vegetarianism finds its origins in numerous different cultures. Most prominent of these are the Native American and Indian backgrounds. Though the image resigning in all our brains of the Native American ancestors is that of carnivorous men adorned out in buffalo skinned loincloths. Conversely, very rarely were Native Americans privy to the luxury of meat or “game”. They were the earliest recollection of human beings surviving without meat. The regular diet for Choctaw Indians consisted of a stew with the main ingredients being corn, pumpkin, and beans eaten from an earthen pot. Also among their favorites were bread, roasted corn, and corn porridge. The reasoning behind their lifestyle mainly all that they could find amongst their land were fruits and vegetables. George Catlin, a famous 19th century historian, described the Choctaw land as grounds covered literally with lines. Grapes ...
Every day across America millions of people wake up to start their morning. Throughout the day the vast majority of these people will consume meat, but 3% will replace the pig, cow, and chicken products for vegetable or fruit made meals (Harris). These vegetarians all have many different reasons to make this choice. This decision is a huge change in one’s life and is not without questions. Some people may wonder why would anyone abstain from the amazing food that contains meat. This essay will briefly explain the history of vegetarianism, the reasons for vegetarianism, and answer questions about vegetarianism. Vegetarian diets are all around better than diets containing meat because of three main reasons; the abuse of animals, the environmental damage, and the health benefits for humans.
A recurring theme in professional health literature for many years, the role of red meat in a healthy diet continues to be at the forefront, due in part because of the scientific debate: Is red meat necessary in a balanced diet or is it detrimental to good health? In a Nursing Standard article, “The Role of Red Meat in a Balanced Diet,” Carrie Ruxton claims that a balanced diet that includes small amounts of lean red meat contributes to good health. Ruxton, a free-lance dietician, states that “lean red meat is unlikely to increase the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, obesity and colorectal cancer” and that those diseases are due to eating processed meats that are salted or smoked, overeating and lack of exercise. While Ruxton covers the nutritional composition of raw lean meat and aims to offer insight on why red meat consumption is not contributing to obesity and disease, she falls short of being convincing for several reasons: she discounts a mountain of scientific studies that show a connection between red meat consumption and cardiovascular disease, obesity and cancer due to what she states are “methodological limitations of observational studies (that) make it impossible to establish cause and effect,” she does not account for economic limitations that preclude most consumers from being able to buy leaner cuts of red meat, and she barely mentions what makes a balanced diet, or that a combination of vegetables, fruits and whole grains, supplemented by vitamins and possibly eggs and milk products will provide an equally nutritious diet at a reduced cost, perhaps because the article was supported by a grant from the UK Meat Advisory Panel.
Our human body was not meant to eat or digest meat, in fact our teeth are not meant to chew meat. Carnivores have pointy teeth and sharp canine teeth to rip meat and flesh. Human teeth are flat and made to grind vegetables and plants. Even though almost every mammal has canine teeth you just can’t assume that our canine teeth were given to us to eat meat. Cardiologist William C. Roberts who is the editor in chief of The American Journal of Cardiology and medical director of the Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute at Baylor University says, "I think the evidence is pretty clear. If you look at various characteristics of carnivores or herbivores, it doesn't take a genius to see where humans lineup." The carnivore body has short intestines that are only 3-6 times the body length and the intestines are straight tubes to get rid of fatty acids before they purify in the body. Humans and herbivores have intestines that are 10-11 times their body length. The human intestines are longer to break down plants and are meant to absorb as much water as possible. Also, the human liver can not detoxify the excess vitamin A that comes from meat. The carnivores liver can. We cannot think we were meant to eat something that we clearly are not.
The way meat is produced can be improved to limit the waste and amount of cattle needed. In some areas, forests and other ecosystems are often taken over by grassland in order to feed cattle and other livestock.
...ke of vitamin b12 or cobalamin levels. Each study presented in this particular article showed that there were several stages in the cause of acquiring the deficiency and in the stage of intake solely through food, the cause of the deficiency were strict vegetarianism without vitamin supplementations. The conclusions similarly show that in each study in this article, the causes were noticeable to be by malabsorption, dietary deficiency and anemia. However contrasted, the studies did not each show that heredity was involved in elderly patients and lack of vitamin B12.
As a human being, by nature are we meant to be meat-eaters? Giehl et al. argues that “It has been discovered that the diet of any animal in its natural state fits to its anatomical structure and established body functions. With attentive analysis, it is evident that humans are not naturally suited to a diet which includes flesh.” For example, when you look at meat animals such as wolfs, lions, hyenas, etc their fang teeth are built to rip flesh and devour meat. It would be vir...
...farmers and ranchers today raise 13 percent more beef from 30 percent fewer cattle. The modern cattle rancher uses less water, produces less greenhouse gas, and is preventing overgrazing. Cattlemen today are more environmentally sustainable than they were 30 to 40 years. Although cattle farmers have a more efficient beef production today, producing 16 percent less carbon emissions, using 33 percent less land, and requiring 12 percent less water to maintain.
If a plant based diet has all the nutrients an omnivore diet has, why are we still eating meat? Many say that it’s easy to be deficient in certain vitamins and minerals, but a well-planned vegetarian diet can provide all the nutrients and more. Vegetarianism not only is beneficial to your health, but to the environment too.
The media is full of stories about people and their addictions; drug addictions, alcohol addictions, shopping addictions, the list goes on and on! But, the one dependency that the media and general population continue to overlook is the addiction to meat. Many people love meat and eat it every day! The thought of not eating meat is absolutely devastating to them; they can’t imagine living like that! But by reducing your intake of meat, you are not only benefiting yourself, you are benefiting your environment!
Mangels, Reed, PhD, RD. "Vitamin B12 in the Vegan Diet." VRG.org. The Vegetarian Resource Group, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.
You've probably heard about how influential protein is to gaining muscle, but it also gives you