Vegetarian vs. Non-vegetarian

[Pelly8910]

Why is it healthier to eat quorn or something like that rather than real meat?

[joko]

some do ummm...but i have been careful to check with ones that also have no axe to grind...medical and scientific ones...

most of it is also plain to see really...we bear no similarities to carnivors

society...no thats just it...after thousands of years of evolution, our bodies have physically not become any more similar to carnivores bodies...

and according to mnay sources we are more similar to the physiology of herbivores than carnivores

however we, as a species do lots of things we are not really designed to do - fly, swim, smoke, etc etc...we do it because we learned to...

again, i am not trying to tell everyone not to eat meat - i have never and would never do that...but the facts are there

[joko]

pa__ul - the theory is that humans began eating meat as starving scavengers...and this is what set our brains in motion to create weapons...as we couldnt sit around waiting for big cats to leave us scraps or for natural death...

[joko]

we also simply dont have the killer instinct like some carnivores...

no human likes to kill...or would do it without some revulsion for raw flesh

we are the only species that needs to cook meat...for digestion and for palatabillty

[Answerprancer]

I think the search for 'meat substitutes' is barking up the wrong tree.

If you truly do not want to eat the flesh of other animals, you will seek out alternatives that don't have the texture or taste of flesh and there are plenty that aren't a "tiny relative of the mushroom" (/fungus/toadstools/athlete's foot) to choose from.

Our dentition is possible evidence that we have evolved naturally into mammals for whom flesh is only supposed to be just part of our diet. We are omnivores, nuts, seeds, pulses greens and root vegetable are just as important in our diet by my understanding.

Personally, I am not a vegetarian, but flesh only features as *part* of my diet - I do not *have* to have it.

[society]

"no human likes to kill...or would do it without some revulsion for raw flesh "

Not true. I read that there are still savages living in the Amazon who kill humans and eat them. Probably some also in the African jungle too.

[Answerprancer]

"ok then, what should I put?"
IMO - you should put what you have learnt through your research - from memory, not dictation.

[snags]

I'd kill for a bacon butty right now...

[society]

Would you kill the pig, Snags? :-)

[NazNomad]

"... or would do it without some revulsion for raw flesh"

Simply untrue.

[snags]

No need... I have 8 rashers of smoked back in the fridge ;-p

[Answerprancer]

Snags, you are only allowed the bacon butty if you chase the pig through razor sharp undergrowth, naked and armed only with a crooked lump of wood and a sharp flint knife. You must then chant a hymn to the God and Goddess, wearing the recently severed and bleeding head of the pig on top of your head with the slice of freshly cut bacon roasting on a slab of slate over a fire made out of burning copies of "It's Not Just A Load Of Old Lentils".
Deal?

[NazNomad]

AP perfectly describing Aberystwyth's weekly livestock market there ...

[Answerprancer]

I'd be at home there then :-)

[society]

AP, with that mask-face (your avatar) I'm sure you would. :-)

[NazNomad]

http://www.explosm.ne...es/Comics/rrabbit.jpg

[Answerprancer]

What mask face ? That's actually me !

[pa___ul3]

but joko, that theory kind of contradicts what you're saying... we eat meat because we learned how to kill them using tools, but now youre saying we were already eating meat and learned how to use tools to carry on more successfully. If we were naturally herbivores, why would we have this requirement?
Do you know how we compare biologically to other omnivores and, if we're only omnivores because we're clever, what's their story?
I personally think you're clinging to your argument the same way people do with religion, a little bit of tunnel vision.

[joko]

no pa__ul not at all...i said we are not naturally bloodthirsty carnivores, so what could have given us the idea to eat meat at all could have been finding carcasses and watching other animals eat each other - animals will eat anything if they are starving... this is not MY argument, but rather a theory i have read

we bear more similarities to herbivores than carnivores...and the fact remains...if we didnt have the brains to invent tools, traps etc we would rarely eat meat...

i am not 'clinging' to anything...i do not need to cling...i am in no way doubting myself... because i, unlike many have actually studied this subject - for over 20 years - in order to come to my opinion, instead of just making assumptions and dismissing it because it doesnt sit well with my personal feelings...
also no-one one here has said anyhing remotely convincing enough to make me question the information...merely saying, "we have always eaten meat" is hardly an argument...!
it matters not one jot to me whether you believe me or not...i am merely providing the information for people to think about - and actually it seems its you who are clinging on to your meat eating beliefs, as are many on here, as the idea of vegetarianism is anathema to many...and they steadfastly refuse to give it any credence...
twisting anothers words does not make an argument...

[jomifl]

Joko.. no matter how you try to dress it up you are trying to justify your preconception re. human diet with retrospective logic.Animals to not 'grow fangs' to suit their diet, Natural selection weeds out those that don't have adequate fangs. Despite a load of hastily cobbled together justifications for you point of view most of it is irrelevant to the argument. Snakes are carnivores and don't even have limbs let alone claws. Your arguments are fallacious and show a lack of understanding of biology. It is generally accepted by biologists that humans are omnivores, otherwise how do inuits survive on an entirely meat diet and many societies on a vegetarian diet.