Carnivores?

I was watching a show about evolution, but I wasn't really paying attention...staying home sick, kind of delirious...

So I was wondering if anyone could tell me: why do humans eat meat? How did we evolve into carnivores? Is it because the higher up the food chain you are, then you eat whatever is below you? (Like cows, or fish...etc.)

Just curious ....

 

We evolved into carnivores? That is to say that there was a point in time where our predecessors did not eat meat? I didn't know this. Which means I can't really answer the question, I guess.

 

So if our predecessors ate meat, then I guess I'm asking, when did organisms begin to consume meat rather than plants? Why do we eat meat? I remember learning that in the food chain, you gain more vitamins and nutrients if you aim lower on the food chain. Eating plants is actually healthier than eating meat, since those animals processed some of the nutrients themselves in order to live.

 

cows eat lots of grass all day

a lion will hunt, eat, and then be able to do other things until he gets hungry again

i know this is overly simplistic

 

I'm guessing a large portion of the answer is along the lines of what fitzy has stated. I think another part of the answer is that while eating plant life is healthier than loads of meat, the meat can still provide other necessary nutrients in larger amounts.

 

We aren't carnivores. We have molars designed for eating plant-matter, and canines with no other use other than eating meat. Our intestines are roughly half the length of a pure herbivore and twice that of a pure carnivore.

This makes us omnivores. And the obvious answer about how we came to be this is way would be a series of random mutations that wound up filling a niche in some ancient eco-system.

 

just look at what meat eating animals go after....they rarely go after other meat eaters (they do at times), but for the most part we go after animals that eat plants all day - those animals meat is enriched in all the goodies they have absorbed from all the plant matter they've been eating. its a one shot kill where you get loads and loads of nutrients instead of spending all day eating to get all those nutrients. meat is nutrient-rich

 

i think our ancestors were more opportunistic omnivores. chimpanzees are, too. it's just another way to take in nutrients. and it did free us up for a lot of other things. humans are not carnivores, though we can survive for a little while on a pure meat diet. but it's not healthy, it's not good long term, and the average american still consumes way too much meat. i can't say as i blame us, it's tasty, filling and doesn't leave you hungry in a short period of time. i prefer to have a small amount of meat and a large amount of vegetables, with some fat to slow the digestion of it all down, so i don't have a blood sugar crash. but i don't care WHAT the scientist say about humans all processing food the same way, there's WAY TOO MANY differences brought about my environmental factors and hormones that they don't truly understand yet to give a sweeping, one size fits all, diet to everyone.

 

What he said, we aren't freakin carnivores, we're -omnivores-

That said, other living critters are chock full of energy. We probably over-eat meat these days (well, the average person that is) compared to how much energy we expend, but back when resources were less plentiful it was a great way to get lots of energy fast rather than spending all day obsessed with how we were gonna get enough energy.

Having a little spare time instead of being solely focused on food allowed us to start inventing shit too, in the long run.

 

Its aminal instict to eat meat, Humans are just another species of animals. Have you ever seen a Vegatarian Lion, Bear, or Tiger?

 

well, there's a lot of physiological differences between a pure carnivore and what human being are, which is omnivore. i'm sure it because with us being like vultures or opportunisitic scavengers and moved along into something more like what we are now, which is, ultimately, lazy hunters and herders.

 

Bears are also omnivores, how many physiological differences are there between Bears and Humans?

 

Ah yes. I meant omnivores.

I know humans eat plants too, but I was just randomly thinking about the meat-eating part, not because I'm vegetarian, but because I have to remind myself to eat meat. I very rarely crave meat the way I crave, say, an avocado, or chocolate.

 

I think that the meat eating part is our primal instict from the first humans that we inherited. But as with everythingin history, shit changes. No longer do people rely only on animals for food.

 

vinster, what's with your signature picture? A guy slapping a woman?

 

I don't advocate spousal abuse (or any form of abuse for that matter), but I found it funny that I googled "pimp slap" and that came up. If it really bothers you I'll change it.

 

Ahh, thanks for the offer, but hey: it's a free country. I'm not down with censorship.


The greater question is: why were you googling "pimp slap" in the first place?

 

as an advocate for nonviolence, i googled pimp embrace and found this image:


it's very beautiful isnt it?

to address the topic of the thread, humans are omnivores, and are evolved to eat meat. it's a good source of nutrients and contains some things that we cant easily get from plants. ...and it's yummy!

ps, i do get cravings for meat. specifically, i crave liver after i've had my period (tmi?)

 

The Paleontologists, Archeologists, and Anthropologists don’t want you to know the truth. In reality, early man developed his first taste for meat during times in which the community he lived in was under stress by either drought, plague, or famine.



During those famine times early man devoured his young to survive - word!




Hotwater

 

I google random shit all the time just too see what comes up. Its a hobby of mine