Are Humans Natural Meat Eaters

[nailit]

If humans are 'natural' meat eaters then why do we have to cook meat in order to make it edible?
I have been doing a lot of research in to various diets (and I love my meat) but cant comprehend eating raw meat, which would be the natural way.
We have canines which are designed to eat flesh but also have 30 foot long intestines which are designed to digest plant based food (carnivores have much shorter intestines) The logical conclusion is that we are omnivores but no other animal cooks its prey before eating it.
Also our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom (chimps, apes, etc) are for the most part vegetarian. So back to square one, why do we have flesh tearing canines and why do we feel the need to cook our meat?

[woofgang]

Richard, your post starts off "not sure" and ends with a definite statement. Have you got any research evidence to back that statement up?

here's an interesting article
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cooking-up-bigger-brains/
and another about the effects of eating fish and shellfish
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/lives-the-brain/201001/was-seafood-brain-food-in-human-evolution

[Baldric]

This one's not at all natural

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSh7BrDPKhV0oCfQkFWbXG2ysxFaWNieeGIi7bQyYs4zzS1oh_Ogw

[jno]

as atlanta says, raw meat can be eaten but it is much harder work. Steak tartare has to be sliced up finely, otherwise diners would be there all night - we'd be like elephants, having to eat virtually round the clock.

Perhaps it is spending less time chewing that gae our cave-dwelling ancestors the opportunity to pursue the arts and sciences.

[Old_Geezer]

If humans are 'natural' vegetable eaters then why do we have to cook vegetables in order to make them edible ?

[Mosaic]

it's possible that the real reason behind cooking anything gave early humans the ability to digest a wider range of foods more quickly, meat included. This gave an evolutionary advantage so our early ancestors were able to flourish.
Maybe we might also consider the social aspects of cooking and eating / feasting. The magic feeling of being part of a group sitting round a fire in the dark, literally chewing the fat, works even in the 21st century. Think how it must have worked 75,000 years ago. The close social bonds generated by such events would also have given evolutionary advantage, so next time you slap a burger on the barbie you're actually re-enacting an ancient tribal ritual.

[bhg481]

My wife eats raw mince and always trims bits off liver and steak and eats them raw. She claims that raw liver was prescribed for anaemia at one time.

[woofgang]

yes it was bhg.
http://www.jameslindlibrary.org/articles/recognising-treating-and-understanding-pernicious-anaemia/

it wasn't too difficult when prescribed for adults but imagine the fun and games getting children to eat it.
Its still used for the holistic treatment of anaemia.

[bhg481]

Extract from article on BBC website:

"In 2008 a military helicopter chanced upon a previously uncharted group of huts in the remote Amazonas region in southern Venezuela, home to 15,000 Yanomami people.

Thought to have been completely isolated since their ancestors arrived in South America after the last ice age, the semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers have never been exposed to modern civilisation - therefore neither have their guts.

The community hunts for small birds and mammals as well as frogs and fish and the occasional tapir. They also eat wild bananas, plantain and cassava."

So humans have been eating meat for a long time.

Full article here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32543176