Shattering The Meat Myth: Humans Are Natural Vegetarians

By Kathy Freston

Going through the comments of some of my recent posts, I noticed the

frequently stated notion that eating meat was an essential step in human
evolution. While this notion may comfort the meat industry, its simply not
true, scientifically.

Dr. T. Colin Campbell, professor emeritus at Cornell University and author

of The China Study, explains that in fact, we only recently (historically
speaking) began eating meat, and that the inclusion of meat in our diet
came well after we became who we are today. He explains that the birth of
agriculture only started about 10,000 years ago at a time when it became
considerably more convenient to herd animals. This is not nearly as long as
the time [that] fashioned our basic biochemical functionality (at least tens of
millions of years) and which functionality depends on the nutrient
composition of plant-based foods.

That jibes with what Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

President Dr. Neal Barnard says in his book, The Power of Your Plate, in
which he explains that early humans had diets very much like other great
apes, which is to say a largely plant-based diet, drawing on foods we can
pick with our hands. Research suggests that meat-eating probably began by
scavengingeating the leftovers that carnivores had left behind. However,
our bodies have never adapted to it. To this day, meat-eaters have a higher
incidence of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other problems.

There is no more authoritative source on anthropological issues than

paleontologist Dr. Richard Leakey, who explains what anyone who has
taken an introductory physiology course might have discerned intuitively
that humans are herbivores. Leakey notes that [y]ou cant tear flesh by
hand, you cant tear hide by hand.... We wouldnt have been able to deal
with food source that required those large canines (although we have teeth
that are called canines, they bear little resemblance to the canines of
carnivores).

In fact, our hands are perfect for grabbing and picking fruits and vegetables.
Similarly, like the intestines of other herbivores, ours are very long
(carnivores have short intestines so they can quickly get rid of all that rotting
flesh they eat). We dont have sharp claws to seize and hold down prey. And
most of us (hopefully) lack the instinct that would drive us to chase and then
kill animals and devour their raw carcasses. Dr. Milton Mills builds on these
points and offers dozens more in his essay, A Comparative Anatomy of
Eating.

The point is this: Thousands of years ago when we were hunter-gatherers,

we may have needed a bit of meat in our diets in times of scarcity, but we
dont need it now. Says Dr. William C. Roberts, editor of the American
Journal of Cardiology, Although we think we are, and we act as if we are,
human beings are not natural carnivores. When we kill animals to eat them,
they end up killing us, because their flesh, which contains cholesterol and
saturated fat, was never intended for human beings, who are natural
herbivores.

Sure, most of us are behavioral omnivoresthat is, we eat meat, so that

defines us as omnivorous. But our evolution and physiology are herbivorous,
and ample science proves that when we choose to eat meat, that causes
problems, from decreased energy and a need for more sleep up to
increased risk for obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Old habits die hard, and its convenient for people who like to eat meat to
think that there is evidence to support their belief that eating meat is
natural or the cause of our evolution. For many years, I too, clung to the
idea that meat and dairy were good for me; I realize now that I was probably
comforted to have justification for my continued attachment to the traditions I
grew up with.

But in fact top nutritional and anthropological scientists from the most
reputable institutions imaginable say categorically that humans are natural
herbivores, and that we will be healthier today if we stick with our
herbivorous roots. It may be inconvenient, but it alas, it is the truth.

Click here for great-tasting recipes and meal plans, and here for tips on
eating more vegetarian foods.