On Mon, 26 Sep 1994 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> And, while I have adopted a vegetarian lifestyle for personal ethical, moral,
> health, environmental, and spiritual reasons, I believe that it is not
> unnatural for humans to eat meat occassionally. Our teeth are constructed so
> that it is possible for us to eat meat, our digestive systems are set up so
> that we can digest meat, we need many of the nutrients that meat provides us
> with (granted, I know that it is possible and even easy to find these nutrients
> elsewhere), and as participants in the life cycle, we shouldn't feel guilty
I have read in several different sources that humans are NOT designed to
be carnivores, becasue (1) our teeth are desinged for grinding and
meshing plant-derived foods, not ripping and tearing flesh; (2) our
saliva is like that of
other herbivores, and not as acidic as that of carnivores; (3) our
digestive track is the same ratio to our torsos as are herbivore's
(carnivores are different); (4) our stomach/ digestive acids are the same
strength as that of herbivores (carnivores' is stronger), and (5)
carnivores sleep longer than humans because digesting meat is a very
energy-taxing
process. Not to mention the fact the we are, to my knowledge, the only
"carnivores" to die of high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. at such
an alarming rate--because our bodies simply aren't designed to properly
process the meat the we eat.
I'm no expert, of course. This is simply what I have read. Does anyone
out there have the "definitive" answer (OH NO! B*I*G can of worms!)?
Sincerely curious (and not out to p*ss anybody off.
Lori Tomlinson
American Culture Studies
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
