Appendix, herbivores, carnivores

[Whit]

..

[Sevenseas]

Yes, I think the human body is suitable for properly processing meat, among other things.

Another thing the human body is suitable for processing are the cultural values the human has dogmatically adopted from his/her surroundings. When doing this processing, the human can come to the conclusion that while he/she can process meat, he/she can also be perfectly healthy on a vegan diet -- as asserted by the American Dietetic Association -- and thus that there is no good justification for consuming animals.

[Sevenseas]

So, what is the truth? Are we designed to be mainly herbivores, or omnivores?The truth is that unless you believe in Intelligent Design, our bodies are not "designed" to do anything.

[Whit]

It was just a question I wanted help with.....

[Sevenseas]

Not really. Because when you drop the 'design' word, your whole question becomes a lot less clear. Thinking about the form of human teeth or whatever is all based on this idea that by observing our bodies we can infer what nature has "intended" for us to eat. But once you reject the idea of "design"/intention, this whole approach to the issue vanishes.

And what we are left with are these questions: 1. can a human eat meat and be healthy? 2. can a human be veg*n and be healthy? 3. should a human eat meat?

And my answer to 2 is "yes" and to 3 "no".

[Sevenseas]

What I mean to say is: if someone posted me the text you quoted, I would simply say "the American Dietetic Association -- one of the most respected groups of experts on nutrition -- says that a vegetarian diet, including a vegan diet, is healthy and appropriate for all ages. What we are left with is the moral question of whether it's okay to eat animals."

[danakscully64]

I'm bummed that you deleted this post. I had it up, clicked refresh when I turned my laptop back on, and the post was gone. I scanned it quick and thought there were some good points. I wanted to analyze it and reply. Oh well.

[IamJen]

Closing this thread