(otherwise knows as the “But we humans have always hunted animals” argument)

While this pro-meat argument might SEEM to make more sense than most, when we look at it up close — especially when we look at it in the context of our current times (the only times that count when it comes to choosing TODAY what to do or how to eat), it actually doesn’t make any sense at all.

Feel free to consider the following facts:

*We humans are not aggressive or cruel by instinct … Humans are by nature plant-eating herbivores. We thrived as a species NOT due to aggressive violence, but rather due to our ability to come together in groups and care for one another.

Yes, these herds (called “tribes” or “communities” or “nations” today) did sometimes compete with one another — admittedly sometimes violently — AND YET they did so (and continue to do so) AGAINST THEIR TRUE NATURE. Behaviors that are aggressive & practices that are cruel are NOT “natural” to our species — they are habits inherited from our culture, responses learned from our parents, or thoughtless reactions to random happenstances in our environments.

Yes, we are still a young, confused species, and yes, acts of violence are still widespread in human societies around the globe. AND YET these are NOT arguments for the continuation of these practices. Indeed, the time has come for us to “grow up” as a species. The time has come for inhumane behaviors that are protected by tradition, custom or ignorance to succumb to a more mature humanity — a humanity that is championed instead by thought, by reason, by morality and by compassion. (inspired by Albert Schweitzer)

*We humans do NOT have any innate carnivorous instincts … Put one hundred human infants (or babies, or toddlers, or young children) in one hundred rooms containing one hundred rabbits (or puppies, or kittens, or calves, or chickens, or baby pigs, or lambs, etc) and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM will either try to play with those animals or will sit and stare at them in appreciation (if not awe). In fact, not a single human infant (or baby or toddler or child) will ever try to kill & eat any animal whatsoever — UNLESS that young human has some sort of brain injury or psychological defect … Think about it.

*We humans’ OLDEST ancestors were vegans … Yes, “paleo diets” are still the rage (literally) in many circles, and yet if these folks are trying to use the diets of their ancestors to justify their cravings for meat, then why are they only looking at relatively recent human ancestors to do so? Well, one answer to this question rests with the fact that our oldest human ancestors actually ate an almost exclusively plant-based diet.

That’s right, while the relatively young diets of Homo-erectus and the Neanderthals are still up for debate (with quite a few paleontologists believing that these ancestors were primarily vegan as well), there is little doubt that our older ancestors were almost exclusively plant-eaters. In a 2013 study released by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, it was reported that up until roughly 4 million years ago, all our earliest ancestors (for roughly 26 million years!) had diets that were very similar to chimpanzees — diets that, other than including the very rare lizard or the occasional termite, were completely plant-based.

So, If you truly want to return to your ancestral diet, the one your ancestors ate when most of the features of our modern-day guts were evolving, you would have to reasonably eat what your ancestors spent the most time eating — namely, fruits, nuts & vegetables.

*We humans do not have the biological tools required to catch, or kill, or render live game … Dr. Richard Leakey, world-renowned anthropologist, summarizes as follows: “You can’t tear flesh by hand, you can’t tear hide by hand. Our anterior teeth are not suited for tearing flesh or hide. We don’t have large canine teeth, and we wouldn’t have been able to deal with food sources that require those large canines.” … And Dr. Neal D. Barnard, founder and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, says humans lack the raw abilities to be good hunters, noting: “We are not quick, like cats, hawks or other predators. It was not until the advent of arrowheads, hatchets and other implements that killing and capturing prey even became possible.”

*Just because our ancestors were forced to hunt in order to survive times of severe famine, does NOT mean that we should continue to do so today … During most of our evolutionary history, we were almost completely vegan. The addition of meat to the early human diet came only with the discovery of fire, which allowed us to lower the risk of being sickened or killed by the parasites in meat. And we humans only started consuming milk products about 10,000 years ago — also in response to times of desperate famine, and also very recently in our species’ evolution. It is important to realize that these young behaviors did not turn our ancestors (or us) into carnivores or omnivores, but rather simply allowed early humans to survive those periods of time when preferable plant foods were unavailable.

*Just because we humans CAN do certain things, does NOT mean that we are DESIGNED to do so … In fact, at least when it comes to eating meat and digesting milk products, it is quite clear that we are actually designed NOT to.

Cardiologist William C. Roberts (the editor in chief of The American Journal of Cardiology, and the medical director of the Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute at Baylor University Medical Center) says without hesitation that humans aren’t physiologically designed to eat meat; “I think the evidence is pretty clear. If you look at various characteristics of carnivores versus herbivores, it doesn’t take a genius to see where humans line up,” says Roberts.

Indeed, there are dozens of such characteristics that show quite clearly that humans are not designed to eat meat, and thus not meant to hunt it. Unlike carnivores & omnivores, human facial muscles are well-developed … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, human jaws have an expanded angle … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, human jaw joints are found above the plane of our molars … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, human jaws do not shear our food, but chew it with a side-to-side motion … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, humans’ primary jaw muscles are the masseter & the pterygoids … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, human mouth openings are small compared to our head size … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, human incisors are broad, flattened & spade-shaped … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, human canines are short & blunted … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, human molars are flattened with cusps … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, humans must first chew their food to digest it properly … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, human saliva contains carbohydrate-digesting enzymes … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, human stomach-acidity has a pH level of 4 to 5 when food is present … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, human stomachs have a capacity that is less than 30% of their entire digestive tract … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, human small intestines are over 10 times their body length … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, human colons are long & sacculated … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, human livers cannot detoxify Vitamin A … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, human kidneys produce moderately concentrated urine … Unlike carnivores & omnivores, humans have flattened nails instead of claws.

The list actually continues on … and yet I think you get the gist of it.

*And finally, even if it were natural for humans to kill animals (which it clearly isn’t), just because something is “natural” does NOT mean it is worthy of support or defense.

Murder, rape, slavery and cannibalism are all human practices that are actually older than hunting, and thus even more “natural” than eating animals, AND YET we do not invoke their brutal history to justify their continuance. And why not? Well, primarily because they are cruel & primitive & unnecessarily violent & patently immoral …… just like killing animals for food.

Peace to ALL … S

“I don’t care what our ancestors ate thousands — or even hundreds — of years ago. It’s 2014 now and we know for a fact that we do not need to eat meat, dairy or eggs to survive & thrive. Choosing to take the life of another sentient being when we have no biological need to do so is selfish at beat, immoral at standard, and downright evil at worst.” ~ inspired by Gary Smith

 

 

 

Filed under: Sanctifying Sentience by Scaughdt