Men do need meat to thrive successfully, a discovery revealed

Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. A piece of bone, specifically from the skull, was found in Tanzania by a group of researchers. It belonged to a child that is thought to have been less than two years. This fragment of skull has reaffirmed the theory that men need meat in order to grow or develop correctly, since the bone showed signs of anemia due to nutritional deficiencies. This discovery also suggests that men started hunting for meat earlier in history than it is thought.

The bone presented lesions that suggest that the lack of meat in our human ancestor’s diets lead to anaemia, so they actually consumed meat. Besides, the researchers said that if the child was too young to eat meat and still was depending on his mother’s milk, his mother probably lacked of meat-eating.

There is also evidence that men consumed meat on a regular basis and that kept them healthy. Nowadays, humans get about 20% of their protein from animal products. so scientists are worried because, due to overpopulation (by 2050, there will be an additional 2 billion people alive), many people in the future may need to become vegetarians because the world will not be able to produce food for everyone in a couple of decades. By that time, people will have to drop to just 5 per cent of animal-based food consumption.

My classmate Pía made an entry that stated that men do not need meat in their diets. Do you think men need meat to thrive successfully? Are the proteins we get from legumes enough?

Herbivore/Frugivore or Omnivores/Carnivores?

It is important to point out that while looking at the facts, it is an easy matter to figure out that we humans are not suited to be carnivores. For instance; omnivores’ intestinal canal is not complex, it is relatively short. The stomach possesses high levels of hydrochloric acid and acidic saliva enabling a rapidly digestion of bones, flesh, and any other rough fiber. Carnivores have claws, fangs and molars for grinding. In addition, when seizing all the nutrients meat has, animals such as the lion must eat directly from the stomach of their prey in order to eat organs which are filled with blood (nutrients). Eating raw meat disgust us humans; therefore, we must first clean, cook, spice, and marinate the flesh in a mixture of vegetarian herbs to make it palatable. Destroying this way the 95% of nutrients and enzymes it has.

Now, herbivores have a 4 times longer intestinal canal and a 20 times weaker stomach acid and alkaline saliva to pre-digest grains.

So, taking into account the previous facts, there is a strong reason why human meat eaters, if continuing the meat consumption, will eventually suffer from degenerative diseases. Additionally carnivores’ life span is shortened in 10 years or more.

There is no evidence that supports that the 3 top levels of the pyramid food carry out good health. Yet you can always find plenty more nutrients such as the omegas in seaweed rather than those found in fish, twice as much protein in spinach than steak, and four times more calcium in sesame seeds instead of those in milk. 

Are we humans really suited to eat meat? If so, what kind of diet would you recommend to have a good lifestyle?

Not so Nice to "Meat" You

Meat may be one of the most popular foods—especially here in Chile during the month of September; human beings have been eating it since the homo habilis started creating weapons for hunting animals for food and clothing—and since that moment, we have not stopped. Beef, pork, chicken and even whale are a few examples of the animals that people ingest everyday, but are you aware of the effects that the consuming of animal products has on people’s behavior?

First of all, we can mention the difference between carnivore and herbivore animals: the first ones intrinsically present a hostile behavior—similar to people who eat meat constantly, who tend to be aggressive, violent or apathetic—unlike vegetarians, whose way of acting is usually gentler, peaceful and easy-going. This change in behavior is related to the secretion of neurotransmitters, which are chemicals from our nervous system that transmit brain signals from one neuron to another to make us act in a particular way.

And, secondly, we can mention that human beings are affected by the environment; in this case, the diet that people incorporate to their lives, given that people can gradually change their behavior at the moment that meat is being either added or cut off from their diet. For instance, in times of war, to increase soldiers’ aggressiveness, the portions of meat in their meals were bigger. This made them “qualified” for going to the frontlines.

If meat is said to be one of the causes of people's aggressiveness, should we transform into a new vegetarian society or we should just keep taking the risk?