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It's a strange question you ask. Or at least, the wording is strange. You're asking if the fact that chimps are omnivores, is the direct cause of our being omnivores.
Or possibly, you're asking if we -should- be omnivores -because- chimps are omnivores.
Well - we ARE omnivores. We're omnivores because OUR bodies are designed to be omnivorous. Teeth, digestive system, bone structure, opposable thumbs, musculature, nutritional requirements, everything about us - combined - indicates that we are built to be omnivorous.
Now, that doesn't mean that people -can't- survive as vegetarians. Fortunately, most of our nutritional needs can be found in non-meat sources, without requiring supplements in the form of pills/powders/etc.
But we are, by nature, omnivorous. We are designed to process a combination of food sources. This also means that eating "only" fruits/nuts/vegetables as herbivores do, would be more difficult to do successfully without careful planning. It also means being stricly carnivorous would be - incredibly difficult to do, if not impossible, because our bodies require nutrition that simply doesn't exist in meat. We thrive on a combination. We do best when we have some of both. How much of each - that's dependent on which nutritionist, fitness guru, NRA member, anti-vivisection fanatic, internet quack or scientist you talk to from one day to the next. The fact remains, however, that our bodies are capable of efficiently handling some form of combined diet containing vegetable, fiber, and flesh.
Maybe the wording of my question is oblique...seems lots of folks make a personal decision not to be omnivores and are vegans or vegetarians of different styles--
Just wondering if we're really designed to flourish as omnivores or can we do equally well as vegetarians?
I wonder what nutritionists think?
The gorillas are vegetarian, and strong, but the chimps, to whom we're more closely related, are not (they're strong but not vegetarians)...
No personal opinion on this, or any position to defend, it's more a philosophical/biological/nutritional question...
Maybe the wording of my question is oblique...seems lots of folks make a personal decision not to be omnivores and are vegans or vegetarians of different styles--
Just wondering if we're really designed to flourish as omnivores or can we do equally well as vegetarians?
I wonder what nutritionists think?
The gorillas are vegetarian, and strong, but the chimps, to whom we're more closely related, are not (they're strong but not vegetarians)...
No personal opinion on this, or any position to defend, it's more a philosophical/biological/nutritional question...
No matter what a person eats, he is still an omnivore. Vegans are omnivores who choose to not consume meat and dairy.
And no, we do not do equally well as vegetarians. Well, most people don't. You really need to know your stuff to really meet basic nutrition requirements as a vegetarian (and vegans never meet basic nutrition requirements, at least I've never met one who did). That said, I know very few meat eaters who meet their basic nutrition requirements either.
I look at it this way--the most intelligent animals eat meat. I'd like to think we are one of the most intelligent animals and therefore we are wired to eat meat. Add to that what anonchick said--that our intestines and teeth and all are designed for omnivorous diets.
An interesting study was done back in the 30's by a dentist named Weston Price and he went around the world looking for the healthiest people on the planet. Interestingly, the Hunzas were not among them. He judged their health by their lack of need for a dentist b/c he discovered that if they didn't need a dentist they didn't need a doctor either. He found a huge variation in the diets of these widely varying cultures but one thing that surprised him was that none of them were purely vegetarian. Some ate very little meat but they ate some, usually in a bone broth. Some ate almost all meat and no vegetables, fruits, or grains at all.
Maybe the wording of my question is oblique...seems lots of folks make a personal decision not to be omnivores and are vegans or vegetarians of different styles--
Just wondering if we're really designed to flourish as omnivores or can we do equally well as vegetarians?
I wonder what nutritionists think?
I've been to a nutritionist. We can do just as well on a vegetarian diet, and flourish. Mine agrees.
I know many who do, including women who have gone through numerous pregnancies as vegetarians and had large, healthy babies.
We have the brain and ability to make choices if we WANT to eat meat, or flesh foods. For ethical or health reasons. Many are choosing not to - more and more each year.
Maybe the wording of my question is oblique...seems lots of folks make a personal decision not to be omnivores and are vegans or vegetarians of different styles--
Just wondering if we're really designed to flourish as omnivores or can we do equally well as vegetarians?
I wonder what nutritionists think?
The gorillas are vegetarian, and strong, but the chimps, to whom we're more closely related, are not (they're strong but not vegetarians)...
No personal opinion on this, or any position to defend, it's more a philosophical/biological/nutritional question...
Gorillas eat insects which are tiny-meat-type animals.....so, they cannot really be classified as vegetarians. Gorillas ocasionally hunt and eat small game, monkeys, etc.
Think about an elephant, how many bugs does it consume in the course of the day via vegetation consumption......and how important is that supplement to its diet?????
Yeah, in the nicey-nice world, I guess you could get away with a Vegetarian diet...........Vegan....errr. In the real world where you need strength to do brutal work day after day........Vegan diet......yikes.
You -can- do just fine eating a no-flesh no-dairy diet (vegetarian or vegan). But you'd have to do something that is not "natural" for the body to do. It is "natural" for humans to consume meat, and dairy. Perhaps not cow dairy or cheese, but dairy - milk - breastmilk in particular, IS a natural part of the human diet at least at some point in our lives. It isn't necessary - we can substitute with supplements, or alternatives. But we would HAVE to substitute. That's the point. That's the whole point in the fact that we are omnivorous.
We get -everything- we need, just by eating as we are intended to eat. If we eat otherwise, we have to find substitutes. Hence, soy "milk" and "soy patties" and "alternative protein substance" and whatever else. You -can- get what you need with substitutes, alternatives, and supplements, as a vegetarian. But as an omnivore, eating AS an omnivore, you don't need to substitute, alternate, or supplement.
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