On Tue, 27 Sept. 1994, Gene Hunn wrote:
Hi,
I'm no expert on human anatomy etc., but it is clear that humans lack the
highly specialized grinding teeth & associated muscles of, say, gorillas,
nor do we have gizzards or four stomachs. Our teeth, at least, would
appear rather unspecialized. I also believe it is the case that there
are indigenous peoples of arctic & subarctic areas whose diets are
predominantly meat/fish who are quite able to digest such foods without
deleterious health effects. It is said that an early arctic explorer
(whose name escapes me) trained his crew to eat an "eskimo" diet, rich in
fish & seal oils, etc., that allowed them to avoid the epidemics of
scurvy (Vit C deficiencies) and other problems of earlier expeditions.
Thus it would appear a matter of adapting to the diet rather than
anything genetic.
Gene Hunn.
On Mon, 26 Sep 1994, Goddess of Disco wrote:
>
>
> 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]
>
