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Go Back   Spiritual Forums > Lifestyle > Vegetarian & Vegan

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  #1  
Old 19-10-2012, 06:43 PM
sarinmall
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Why humans are naturally herbivorous

Do you know that humans are naturally herbivorous?
In today's world, more than 90% of the world population is non-vegan. So, I guess this topic will be disliked by many of us even when you will find all the contents and facts shown in this blog as convincing. However, the real truth remains that we are naturally herbivorous and have been created by gods to eat vegetarian food.

To start, let me show some of the comparative differences between different groups of human beings.
Since i cannot copy paste directly tabular data, i am referring below link to check out for the diffrences

http://www.mallstuffs.com/Blogs/Blog...%20herbivorous

A fair look at the above tabular data shows that humans are naturally optimized for eating plant foods. We're very similar to herbivores animals, and severly different from omnivores and carnivores.
Although this topic perfectly suits Vedas and other Indian religious texts which is against non-vegetarianism with lord Krishna being the supreme example giving his love and care to animals, other religious group may find it objectionable since their religion doesn’t state against non-vegetarianism. For such blind followers, let us add some more facts:


Lord Krishna loved all creation of this universe

Historians claims of ancient human hunting animal is most likely to be false
Many historians claim that earlier humans hunted and ate animals. However modern research has made a staggering claim that our early ancestors doesn’t have digestive system fit enough to digest raw meat and hence, must have probably feeded on plants and fruits for their food. Moreover, human body system is not designed to like raw meat and cannot taste meat without cooking. So, from the above perspective, scientists have declared that the whole mankind was vegetarian millions of year ago. Moreover, Humans were not well equipped and intelligent enough to trap animals or hunt animal. So, since they lacked the basic hinting instinct, their possibility of being an omnivore is very slim. Actually, Humans were always herbivorous and humans ate meat only in circumstances where it was absolutely necessary or when they were left with no other choice (Ex. Humans living in non-irrigated areas like deserts or snowy mountains where vegetation’s is not possible).


Our supposed ancestors were vegetarians
Our so-called "canine teeth" are "canine" for namesake only. Other plant consumers like gorillas,chimpanzees hippos, and horses) also have "canines" teeth. Chimpanzees, who are totally veg, have huge canines compared to humans. Canine’s teeth were gifted to herbivores for defensive purposes and not for eating meat. Below is the list of all our supposed ancestors and their primary food.
Howler monkeys - Leaf eaters
Marmosets - gum eaters
Sportive lemurs - Leaf eaters
Gelada baboons- Leaf eaters
Black-and-white colobuses - Leaf eaters
Gelada - grass eater
Mantled guereza- Leaf eaters
Chimps- Leafs, roots and fruits and occasionally termites (1% due to survival instinct).


Human body is not fit for meat consumption
Our bodies are not suitable for consuming meat and capability of eating meat was given only for survival instinct. Note that we are not able to eat raw meat and prefer to eat meat only when it is deliciously cooked and are soft enough o chew. Cats are capable of eating plant foods but cats are carnivores and are not listed as omnivores just because of their capability to eating veg food too. Our teeth, saliva, stomach acid, and intestines are very similar to other plant consumers, and severly dissimilar to omnivores and carnivores.

Humans are similar to herbivores
Among animals, herbivores have the longest life span with humans life span certainly following in this group. It is well known facts that thousands of years ago, all vegan sages and spiritual gurus lived for more than hundred years. Many scientists have confirmed that life expectancy is directory proportional to eating meat Ex: The Maasai tribe in Kenya having a high wild meat diet have the worst life expectancy in this globe. Moreover, non-veg food is the cause of many human diseases.Our sleeping and gestation period is similar to other herbivores and drastically less than omnivores and carnivores.


Scientist of the century followed vegetarianism

Let us check some of our natural instinct to understand why we are naturally herbivorous:
1)Real omnivores or carnivores always think of hunting and eating whole prey while humans don't. We are just interested in eating the clean body parts because they look good, are well- processed and deliciousy cooked for easy consumption and digestion.
2)Real carnivores enjoys eating raw flesh after killing their prey, whereas most humans can't even imagine of blood.Butchers cut animals for livelihood and money while others do to fill their stomach..
3)Real Carnivorous like the scent of blood and thrill of chasing their prey whereas humans are terrified by the glimpse of raw flesh and cannot tolerate the screams of dying or butchered animals.
4) If Carnivorous animal find dead meat lying anywhere, it will immediately run to grab and coonsume that meat piece whereas if we see dead animals lying anywhere or accidently falling on our way, we will just change our way to find an alternate path to reach our destination..
5) Cats are obligate carnivores with taste buds exactly reflecting this by completely evolving their tongue sensors to respond to amino acids and sweet-tasting carbohydrates as well. Dogs are omnivores as they have evolved in human environment to retain both kinds of taste buds, those responding to amino acids and carbohydrates as well. But humans tongues responds only to sweet carbohydrates and doesn't realise the taste for amino acids thus making us a natural herbivores(plant eaters). Humans are called as omnivorous because of their intelligence to mix up meat with sauces and spices (barbecue, sweet and sour, marinara, etc.) to make a delicious and palatable cuisine.
6) Sight of a dead animal does not discharge water from our mouth. We can't think of killing cows and eat them raw with our bare hands. This shows that Humans lack both the physical and mental characteristics of being a carnivore with the instinct differing greatly from carnivores way of killing animals or the omnivore way of devouring raw carcasses of dead animals.

Our most primate ancestors eat meats. So, how we can be herbivorous and should not eat meat?
First of all, man evolving from chimpanzees or similar primates is not a full proof 100 % true concept. Evolution is just a theory based on evidences however there is a increasing possibility of it being untrue with new evidences coming up. Even if it is considered as true, let us take up some basic facts :
Primates eat meat rarely. Note the key word here is rarely. Chimpanzees are natural fruit-Plant eaters, and meat comprises only 1-3% of their diet and that too for survival instinct because of lack of availaibility of fruits. Still, their basic diet consists atleast 95-99% plants. Chimps' meat consumption is incomparable to that of humans. Chimpanzees eat only termites and not chickens or cattle. So, Comapring this analogy to humans, an adult human should eat only 8 grams of meat everyday. That's about 1/12th of a medium radish.


Chimpanzees main diet is fruits,leaves, stem, stalks etc

The fact that we can digest meat is enough for us to be non-vegeterain?
No wonder that human digestive system is not capable of digesting meat. But that does not mean we're supposed to, or consuming meat is natural to our digestive system. Our stomach can digest cardboard and paper too. But that doesn't mean we should start eating cardboard and paper.
Our Ancestors, Stone Age man used to hunt and eat animals? So, we were indeed not herbivorous?
Probably you have learnt in history that man evolved hunting animals and eating raw flesh but like i suggested above, this claims are just a theory and not an absolute truth nor proved by science. Well, the most likely truth is that group of inhabitants living in jungles (Adivasis) hunted and ate animals whereas other civilised ones survive on vegetation diet.
If you have more such questions then let me tell you many other non-vegetarians tried their best to prove that human’s falls under omnivorous category but their claims were refuted very easily by neutral biologist and scientists. Below is one of such link:
<http://ecologos.org/mcardle.htm>

According to Vedas, eating meat is no sin but abstaining meat brings greater rewards. So, it;s upto the individual to decide what they wanna eat and what they not but someone looking for spiritual awakening and good karma, would certainly abstain themselves from eating meat while others will try to debate and continue terming humans as omnivores to satisy their conscience of eating meat. These are just some facts and let thw wise people decide what they should eat and what they shouldn't. Juts to let you know as the world is getting advanced and literate day by day, populations of vegeterains are also on the rise.
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  #2  
Old 20-10-2012, 06:12 AM
primrose
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Sarinmall, thank you for this. It makes a lot of sense to me. I hope you're right about vegeterians being on the rise. Just recently here, there was another meat recall after an e-coli outbreak. The processing plant was shut down. This happens a lot, I'm glad I'm not a carnivore.
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  #3  
Old 20-10-2012, 08:26 AM
knightofalbion knightofalbion is offline
Master
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 18,675
 
A lovely post, dear Sarinmall. Thank you.
__________________
All this talk of religion, but it's how you live your life that is the all-important thing.
If you set out each day to do all the goodness and kindness that you can, and to do no harm to man or beast, then you are walking the highest path.
And when your time is up, if you can leave the earth a better place than you found it, then yours will have been a life well lived.

http://holy-lance.blogspot.com
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  #4  
Old 20-10-2012, 08:28 AM
knightofalbion knightofalbion is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 18,675
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by primrose
Sarinmall, thank you for this. It makes a lot of sense to me. I hope you're right about vegeterians being on the rise. Just recently here, there was another meat recall after an e-coli outbreak. The processing plant was shut down. This happens a lot, I'm glad I'm not a carnivore.

Yes, more and more people are embracing the compassionate lifestyle - and others are doing it for personal health reasons.

There are over 400 million vegetarians in India alone.
__________________
All this talk of religion, but it's how you live your life that is the all-important thing.
If you set out each day to do all the goodness and kindness that you can, and to do no harm to man or beast, then you are walking the highest path.
And when your time is up, if you can leave the earth a better place than you found it, then yours will have been a life well lived.

http://holy-lance.blogspot.com
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  #5  
Old 20-10-2012, 10:10 AM
neptune13
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My Gosh 'sarinmall' you make a lot of sense and a great debate...but...you mention that chimps eat meat rarely and I am so sorry to say that 'Chimps' eat 'Colobus Monkeys', Chicken, etc. Humans and Chimps are close relatives. It is not about the amount of meat we all eat. If a Primate eats a teaspoon of monkey meat a month, that makes them guilt free omnivores. I honestly believe that 'Humans' are natural born Omnivores who choose to become Vegetarian/Herbivores because of their new found 'Beliefs' or through 'Culture' or for many many other reasons. We were born with an intelligence that can experiment and manipulate our environment. We naturally used tools. We found 'Fire and matched it to Wood and Warmth and Warm Meats and Vegetables' etc. That is why we are 'Omnivore' That is why being a 'Vegetarian is a 'Life Style/Cultural/Spiritual/Religious choice.
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  #6  
Old 20-10-2012, 09:41 PM
LPC LPC is offline
Ascender
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: France
Posts: 880
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Very good thread, sarinmall! A lot of good data in the table (via mallstuffs link).

neptune13, chimps eat 98% vegan and only 2% meat, according to Dr. Goodall and this website: http://www.allaboutwildlife.com/what-do-chimps-eat Personally, I wouldn't call 2% meat eating omnivore, but I suppose it is arguable.

We may be fairly close relatives biologically to chimps, but we are not identical. Therefore, the argument "Chimps do it, so humans must do the same" doesn't hold.

I agree with you in your last sentence. Being vegetarian is a life style/spiritual choice - and one which I make, as do countless millions others in the world, for reasons of compassion and respect for all life.
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Do animals have souls?
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Old 21-10-2012, 01:09 AM
neptune13
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'2 percent' is still eating meat. Have you seen these wonderful wildlife documentaries where other 'Chimps Beg' for a taste or a morsel of that 2 percent of monkey/bird meat that the successful 'Chimp' caught. Meat is a savoured delicacy for chimps. It is like 'Caviar' to humans. They are most definitely 'Omnivore'. It is not about the amount of meat that is eaten, it is about the fact that 'Chimps' do eat meat when the opportunity arises. (that's omnivore to me).
I don't believe that we humans are naturally 'Herbivorous'. My gosh Humans are more likely to become 'Cannibals' if the food source is depleted. I do believe that the journey of the 'Vegetarian and Vegan' is more about 'Choice' because the 'Human Instinct' to survive at all costs makes us the most aggressive creature on this planet. A 'Herbivorous Animal' is a gentle soul. We Humans as a whole do not fit into this catergory. For Humans, choosing to be a 'Herbivore' is a 'Choice and a personal journey'.
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  #8  
Old 21-10-2012, 01:10 AM
neptune13
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'2 percent' is still eating meat. Have you seen these wonderful wildlife documentaries where other 'Chimps Beg' for a taste or a morsel of that 2 percent of monkey/bird meat that the successful 'Chimp' caught. Meat is a savoured delicacy for chimps. It is like 'Caviar' to humans. They are most definitely 'Omnivore'. It is not about the amount of meat that is eaten, it is about the fact that 'Chimps' do eat meat when the opportunity arises. (that's omnivore to me).
I don't believe that we humans are naturally 'Herbivorous'. My gosh Humans are more likely to become 'Cannibals' if the food source is depleted.
I do believe that the journey of the 'Vegetarian and Vegan' is more about 'Choice' because the 'Human Instinct' to survive at all costs makes us the most 'Aggressive Creature' on this 'Planet'.
A 'Herbivorous Animal' is a Gentle Soul. We Humans as a whole do not fit into that catergory. Humans, choose to be a 'Herbivore'. It is a 'Choice and a Personal Journey'.
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  #9  
Old 21-10-2012, 01:11 AM
neptune13
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Oops Sorry About the Double Post!!!
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  #10  
Old 21-10-2012, 02:47 AM
neptune13
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From a 'Spiritual Perspective', that does not place 'Vegetarian or Vegan' above all other 'Human Kind'.
I believe that Humans are Judged as Individual Beings. We are not judged by what goes into our belly. We are judged by the respect we give to what goes into our belly. Actually I believe we are Judged by how we live on this planet we call 'Earth'. It is not just about our 'Food Choices'. There is a much bigger picture than that. (How we live our life counts for everything)
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