The "We Evolved to Eat Meat" Argument Doesn't Hold Up | Hacker News Reader

The "We Evolved to Eat Meat" Argument Doesn't Hold Up

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8 pointsXzetaU89 comments

AMH shows up in the fossil record 40K years ago. The seeds and nuts she discusses don't show up until the late neolithic. Modern hunter gatherers eat what they can catch and make up the rest with plants, but none of them are strict vegetarian at all.

Just sharing my perspective. Not beating up on vegetarians. There's no such thing as an omnivore.

Animals fall into 2 categories like carnivores or herbivores; easily defined by 2 different digestive systems. Herbivores have multiple stomachs to help them break down plant matter. Carnivores don’t have that ability, so plant material often passes through them.

While some animals like cats can technically survive on plant-based diets; perhaps supplements from meat sources.

Humans, our biology is carnivorous. Plant-based diets can certainly keep people alive and even healthy for a time. Ultimately the plant based diet must be supplemented with pills sourced from meat or you get sick.

There are literally around a billion vegetarians alive. Most of them are not just surviving but doing well. What are you basing your claim on that they won’t do well?

You are not sharing fact based information. For example, I have not consumed any animals for 10 years and my health is better than ever. And I know dozens of people with similar results. Humans are omnivores--that is a fact.

Many herbivores don't have multiple stomachs (ruminants do, monogastrists do not).

Given that, and the fact that billions of people in the world live entire lifetimes without eating meat or taking meatpills, your argument is basically completely wrong, on a factual basis.

Isn't the only thing you need that can't come from plants vitamin B-12 which is available in bacteria-cultivated supplements (e.g. "nutritional yeast")?

Literally nothing of what you wrote is backed up by science. It's completely wrong. And towards that ridiculous last line of argument: There have been vegans in India for several thousand years, and they are doing great—without any supplements necessary.

I dunno who ever credibly made this argument, it's been widely accepted for a long time that humans are omnivores . Meat provides proteins that plants lack.

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