Shattering the Meat Myth
Blessing us with hot knowledge on this Meatless Monday, health and wellness warrior Kathy Freston provides another powerful case for the plant-based diet. She offers historical, anthropological, and biological testimony to refute the idea that we evolved to consume mass quantities of meat and animal products. By now, we think you’re out of excuses: Go Meatless with us today!
I often notice the frequently stated notion that eating meat was an essential step in human evolution. While this notion may comfort the meat industry, it’s 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 scavenging—eating 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: humans are herbivores. Leakey notes that “[y]ou can’t tear flesh by hand, you can’t tear hide by hand… We wouldn’t 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 don’t 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 don’t 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 omnivores”—that 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, it 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 it’s 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 with which I grew up.
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 alas, it is the truth.
Originally posted at HuffingtonPost.com
- Posted by Kathy on March 8, 2010 at 5:00 am
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Tagged as: dairy, disease, fruit, meat, Plant-based Diet, The China Study, vegetables
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Amen! Now to just convince my husband! Thanks for the great references…Since converting to being vegan a year ago, I KNOW this is the way we are supposed to eat. I feel amazing and will never go back. And if articles like this are not enough to convince peeps, watch Food, Inc and I promise you, you will NOT want to eat meat again! Happy meatless Monday
great post, but why do so many scientists keep pushing the fact that we are meat eaters? Just recently on the BBC here in the uk was a whole documentary about the fact that we are meat eaters. Even going to disprove that we can live on raw fruits and veg – and this from a respected programme and broadcaster!
It all makes so much sense.
The pervasive belief system that humans are meat-eaters has its basis in a warped psychology that is brilliantly illuminated in the book, Why We Love Dogs, Wear Pigs, and Eat Cows, by Melanie Joy, PhD. Without our continued participation in the delusion, the system will surely collapse. Sadly, not soon enough for the billions of animals and humans who suffer, but hopefully, one day in the not-too-distant future.
Thanks for this simple and clear distillation of the meat myth. I can attest that, as a cancer survivor who is wending her way toward vegan-osity, I definitely feel more energized and ache-free on the days following meatless days.
Very well stated. If the people who think they can’t give up meat would rise to the challenge of following a vegan diet, they would find themselves feeling lighter, physically and spiritually. Change, even if for the better, can be difficult for many. I find it a delicious adventure!!
Unfortunately there are a number of generalizations in that article which take away from its authority.
Bacon fat, for example, is at least 45% monounsaturated, the good-for-you fat that can help lower bad cholesterol levels. Better still, bacon’s monounsaturated fat turns out to be oleic acid, the same fat found in olive oil.
There are many problems with overeating, and overeating meat in particular, but the meat = evil comparison does not hold water.
Ok Andrea, you eat nothing but bacon and I’ll eat nothing but vegetables, and we’ll see who is healthier in a few weeks.
It’s important to remember the idea of bio-individuality, that not one diet fits all. This is an approach seen in Ayurvedic Medicine. Some people thrive as vegans, whereas others do better including animal protein in their diets. One important thing to consider is the sourcing of one’s food. If you put an Eskimo in the Arctic on a vegan diet, he’ll freeze to death. If a sendentary office worker in Washington DC eats meat 3 times a day he’ll also come to a quick death. At least quicker than the average person on a more varied diet.
You make some very good points. I’ve eaten Vegan before but I found it difficult to feel properly energized and recovered for my activity level. (adventure racing, crossfit, endless rec sports, climbing, etc.) I’ve been on the Paleo diet (lean grass fed meats, wild fish, poultry, fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds) for about 8 months and have experienced some great results. But this is just me and my experiences and by no means am I implying the Paleo diet is superior to a Vegan diet, I’m very open minded and you make some very interesting and valid points. It’s a little confusing for someone as open minded as I am because for every good argument you make for the Vegan diet, the Paleo pundits say the “top nutritional and anthropological scientists from the most reputable institutions imaginable say categorically that humans” should be on a Paleo diet. I guess I just wish all of these people would get together and tell us who the heck is right but I doubt we will ever know before we become some other organisms food.
Well said, Chuck. I agree and feel the exact same way!!
Some of this article is true, however, you cannot say that humans were meant to eat vegan because all vegans need dietary supplements to get all the needed nutrients. Eating an all vegan diet is not healthy and you will be vitamin deficient without supplementation.
Interesting post. While no one will ever know what the cause(s) really were for our increasing brain size (likely nutritional, social, and other combinations of factors), it’s important to realize that caloric and fat intake were likely the most important. Of course consuming animal products provided both of these elements, however in today’s society, both adequate calories and essential fatty acids are easily obtained through vegetable sources. Vegetable sources are also better for the environment, other aspects of health (ie: less inflammatory, better source of most minerals, etc.) and better for the animals.
There’s not really enough research to say that “Eating an all vegan diet is not healthy and you will be vitamin deficient without supplementation.”, Sarah. Not to mention, you could argue the same point for other types of diet since vitamin D is virtually only obtainable through sunlight, and dietary sources (even many supplemental forms) have nearly no impact on blood levels.
As a naturopath I am constantly telling my patients to adopt a “more-vegan” lifestyle, however I eat vegan myself. I don’t supplement with B12, and only supplement with vit D during winter months (the “missing” vitamins you speak of). There are many “bacterial” sources of vitamin B12, and for this reaosn I encourage people to consume more sea algae/microalgae.