??? for vegetarian/vegan folks in the Lounge

[jswordy]

If we aren't supposed to eat meat, why do we have canine teeth?

[sui generis]

1. you still have canines?

you are clearly not an evolved human. :evilgrin:

neither am I. The better to eat prey with my dear!

[Rainbowreflect]

2. For me it has never been about "suppose to" it's about

what does the least harm to others, myself & the environment.

[jswordy]

9. OK, but aren't we all locked into the fact that...

...we must consume other life in order to live ourselves? Personally, I believe the plant's life is as important as the animal's life. I don't rank them. If we get really technical about it, the fresh unprocessed plant is STILL LIVING when we eat it. The animal at least is dead.

I am not trying to be sarcastic here, either. Just exploring the topic.

Many scientists now believe that humans are built to east mostly veggies and some meat. Our ancestors ate just such a diet. Even alternative health types, herbalists and nutritionists are coming back around to acknowledging that some consumption of meat appears healthy, though I realize we eat far too much meat in the U.S.

I went to one of the largest herbal conferences in the U.S., and was amazed at how many speakers, fomerly veg-folks, were now speaking of including at least some meat in the diet.

[flvegan]

14. True, the animal is dead.

After having lived a shitty, tortured life for however long it was. They suffer. I won't even waste the space to talk about emotion and nervous systems.

Flamebait.

[Rainbowreflect]

25. The less animal flesh that you eat the better it is for your body,

for the environment & for the animals.

[TexasSissy]

3. Possible answer.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I've read a bit about it. Your question assumes that vegetarians don't eat meat because "we" aren't supposed to. But I don't think that that's why they don't eat meat. They don't eat meat because they don't want to...some think it's wrong....and some just think it's unhealthy.

[fit4life]

4. For tearing tree bark?

Hell, I don't know. I'm the anti-vegetarian. I rarely eat any vegetables other than corn or potatoes. I'm the guy at the cookout with 3 hotdogs and 2 hamburgers on my plate with nothing else. lol

[Lorien]

7. You must be young

my dad eats like you. He's spent most of the last year in the hospital from illnesses caused by too much fat and protein in his diet. He has kidney stones, a pacemaker, an aortic anurism...his doctor says that if he doesn't cut out the red meat and eat vegetables every day, he's looking at an early grave. He won't stop, though-it's beef and nothing else at nearly every meal. :-(

[fit4life]

8. Young? Thanks!

I'm 36, which I guess can be relatively young. I take multivitamins to make up for the lack of fruits & vegetables in my diet, and I work out/exercise like a fiend. My cholesterol in 2001 was 321. The last time I got it checked it was at 144.

I'm destined to die at 63 years old anyway, and it will be heart disease that gets me. My great-great grandfather died at 63, so did my great-grandfather and my grandfather. All of heart attacks. My father is 62, and we're all dreading next year, believe me.

[prolesunited]

10. Perhaps they all ate like you

Granted, we are predisposed to certain conditions, but to continue on with your diet (and I'm not advocating meat-free, just moderation and eating within proven nutritional guidelines) and act like its some sort of magical destiny to die early of heart disease does seem rather foolhardy.

Vitamins may help, but it does not provide the fiber that you need and all that meat is chock-full of hormones and antibiotics and preservatives.

Hey, whatever, though, it's your body and your life.

BTW, I've noticed that it's become a cute little game to taunt the vegetarians in the Lounge lately. When we respond, we're being militant and preachy, but just remember who's starting these threads. We're not the ones starting threads about other people's eating habits. Frankly, I don't care what anyone else eats. Why should you?

[4_Legs_Good]

13. You know, I used to be a virultent anti-veggie person too...

just before I turned into a vegetarian. I think many of these people are probably fighting with their own inner demons...

Hopefully the angel will win and they'll come to our side. :)

Plus, DAMN, it's so easy to be a vegetarian these days, why not do it???

david

[fit4life]

28. Who me?

Who taunted you? It sure wasn't me, I couldn't care less if you only eat foods that start with "Q". Your diet is your business and if it works for you, more power to it!

I'm a meat eater. I just happen to love it. If I lose a few years off my life for it, it's a price I'm willing to pay. What good is living longer if it's a life of depriving yourself of the things you enjoy. Same reason I'm still a smoker.

[4_Legs_Good]

15. What's the name of the disease?

Do you have any idea? I'm actually trying to gain weight so I'm taking a lot of protein supplementation, and to be honest I'm a little nervous that I'm overdoing it. I'd like to keep on top of possible pitfalls.

I also eat a ton of dairy which is probably shooting my cholesterol through the roof. I've gotta be the least healthy eating vegetarian in the world.

david

[smbolisnch]

16. And your handle is fit4life? Kind of an oxymoron then, isn't it?

:shrug:

[fit4life]

32. Not at all.

I exercise and stay in peak physical condition. I'm just not going to spend my life depriving myself of things I enjoy just to live a little longer.

As Mark Twain put it: "I will not waste my life trying to prolong it."

[Lorien]

5. We're omnivores

but our canine teeth are minuscule compared to those of other omnivores (look at the teeth of raccoons and bears- by comparison, our teeth look more like those of vegetarians like deer and horses). The ONLY mammals that are "supposed" to eat meat are cats, mongoose, and hyena (obligate carnivores-they can eat fruits and veggies, but the MUST eat meat). Dogs, for example, can thrive on a strictly vegetarian diet; the oldest dog in Guinness is a 27 year old Border Collie that has never eaten meat. Meat eating is a choice for humans, but is absolutely not a requirement.

These flamebait threads are getting rather tiresome, BTW.

[kerrywins]

6. so people like me can enjoy a good steak

every now and then....
Mmmmm Mmmmmm

[smbolisnch]

17. That was necessary.

:eyes:

[kerrywins]

30. your response was neccesary

...

[cheezus]

11. If I'm not supposed to breast feed, why do I have nipples?

[LeftyMom]

18. Emergency backup milk supply

http://www.unassistedchildbirth.com/milkmen.htm

You asked. ;)

[4_Legs_Good]

12. What a new and interesting question!!!

Wow! As a 10 year vegetarian I've never even heard that question before!!!

Amazing!!!

I'm gonna have to think about that for a while. And about why we have wisdom teeth, why teeth have nerves in them, why we have apendixes and oh so much more.

As someone said above: "supposed to"??? WTF does that matter?

david

[curse10]

19. Sorry, but I don't respond to obvious attempts at flame bait

thanks anyway.

[mr blur]

20. Because evolution hasn't caused them to disappear yet,

we're way behind schedule.

[DemGa]

21. Yes we're omnivores

[LeftyMom]

22. Because our distant ancestors ate raw meat

although they are rather underdeveloped in thier present form, nearly vestigial considering how little one uses them to eat.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Eric J in MN]

24. Why can we make fists if we aren't supposed to go around

punching people?

Just because you can throw a punch or eat meat doesn't mean you should.

[redsoxliberal]

26. so that it was a challenge.

[ott]

27. Because

We evolved from scavengers. We also evolved from primates flinging feces at each other, this flame bait proves that well enough.

If we are supposed to eat meat; Why do we have heart disease?

jswordy? You've been strangely quiet since starting this thread. What's up? You there little buddy?

[livinginphotographs]

29. If we aren't supposed to beat our wives, why do we have hands?

My point being that this is a stupid fucking question, has been answered ad nauseum, and is nothing but flamebait.

Poor oppressed meat-eaters. I'm crying a fucking river for you.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

31. This is pure flame bait

If you were really interested, you'd go over to the Vegetarian/Vegan group to find out why we don't eat meat.

:eyes:

[dean_dem]

33. Have you looked in your mouth lately?

We don't have canine teeth. Look at the teeth of a cat or a dog sometime, and you can tell the difference. Their canines are sharp for tearing meat, ours are pointed but dull for crushing vegetables and only sometimes meat. We're omnivores. They are carnivores. That's the difference.

But you don't want an answer, you just want to bait people anyway.