Está en la página 1de 16

w h e at - e at e r s

OR

m e at - e at e r s ?

W HAT I S OU R N ATU RAL DIET?


ARE HU M A NS EVOLU TI ON ARI LY ADAPTED TO EAT
A NI M ALS, PL AN TS OR BOTH?
By Amanda Woodvine, nutritionist

£1
Guide 6
W he at-e ate rs or
Me at-e ate rs ?
BY AMANDA WOODV INE, BSC NUTRITION
( W ITH ADDIT IONS BY COLIN SPE NCER)

Intr odu ction


One of the most pervasive myths surrounding live on a diet of foods overwhelmingly derived
vegetarianism is the belief from plants, and we ignore
that humans are naturally our evolutionary past at
meant to eat meat – that our peril. Indeed we are
we are evolutionarily already seeing the dangers
adapted to eat and thrive of dismissing what
on dead flesh. The evidence evolutionary studies show
presented in this guide us we should be eating –
knocks this myth firmly on plants, not animals – with
its head. Human beings the growing epidemics of
belong to the primate killer diseases such as
family and the primate cancer, heart disease,
family is essentially a obesity and diabetes which
vegetarian one. Our closest are now occurring in
living relatives such as almost every corner of
chimpanzees and gorillas the planet.

Amanda Woodvine is consultant Colin Spencer is a novelist,


nutritionist for Viva! and the playwright, cookery book writer and
Vegetarian & Vegan Foundation a former food columnist for The
(VVF). Her specialities include Guardian. His book – the Heretic’s
cardiovascular disease, obesity and Feast: a History of Vegetarianism –
children’s health. is an exceptionally well-researched
She has authored a number of and detailed look at vegetarianism
guides and reports for the VVF, through the ages. He is also the
including White Meat Black Mark – author of best selling cook books
a scientific report investigating the health Green Gastronomy, Cordon Vert and
consequences of consuming white meat. The New Vegetarian.
Amanda is currently undertaking postgraduate
study in public health with the London School of Researcher/Editor: Juliet Gellatley, BSc Zoology,
Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Founder & Director, Viva! & VVF

Published by Viva!. © Viva! 2010


Viva!, 8 York Court, Wilder St, Bristol BS2 8QH
t: 0117 944 1000 e: info@viva.org.uk w: www.viva.org.uk

This is one of 20 guides by Viva!, covering everything from nutrition, health, pregnancy and
shopping to animals, the environment and recipes. Please contact us for a full list or go to
www.viva.org.uk/guides

2
A G U I D E B Y V I VA !

Cues fr om the Bod y :


We’re W heat-e ate rs , n ot
Me at-e ate rs
Basic anatomical comparisons show that people much better suited for eating starches, fruits
have much more in common with herbivores than and vegetables – not tearing and chewing flesh.
carnivores – or even omnivores! Just a look at an What many refer to as our ‘canine teeth’ are
adult’s mouth – let alone a child’s – shows that the nothing at all like the sharp blades of true
opening is too small for anything but relatively carnivores designed for processing meat.
small pieces of food. We can’t even swallow those Scientists have been saying for decades that
whole, but must chew them finely and mix them we are an herbivorous species. For example, Dr
with saliva before the ball of food will slide down W. S. Collens, research scientist at the
the oesophagus. If too Maimonides Hospital
large a piece is in Brooklyn, USA
swallowed, it can
lodge over the
H um an s – said: “Examination
of the dental
windpipe and prevent De s ign e d to structure of the
the air from getting to
our lungs.
be V egan modern man reveals
that he possesses all
Because we are so Some people still mistakenly believe that of the features of a
poorly equipped to humans are born to be meat-eaters. The strictly herbivorous
chew and swallow fallacy of the ‘meant to eat meat’ myth is animal” (Collens and
meat, choking is easy to see when the characteristics of Dobkin, 1965).
common in naturally vegetarian animals and naturally Such features
populations that eat carnivorous ones are viewed side-by-side, as include jaws that can
a typical Western outlined in the table on the next page. open and close as
diet. Thousands die well as move
each year from forwards, backwards
choking on food, usually meat products. In and side-to-side. This is ideal for biting off
contrast, carnivorous animals such as cats seem pieces of plant matter and then grinding them
not to have to chew their food, but tear off down with our flat molars.
chunks and swallow them almost immediately. In contrast, carnivores’ lower jaws have very
It is sometimes suggested that the existence limited side-to-side motion. They are fixed only
of canine teeth in humans proves that we are to open and close, which adds strength and
adapted to eat meat. However, our teeth are stability to their powerful bite.

Comparison of a cat’s
sharply pointed, true
canine teeth with the
canine teeth of a human

3
Comparative Anatomy Chart: Carnivores,
Herbivores, Omnivores and Humans
CA RNI VORE HE RB IVORE OMNIVORE HU MA N
Facial muscles
Reduced to allow wide Well developed Reduced Well developed
mouth gape
Jaw type
Angle not expanded Expanded angle Angle not expanded Expanded angle
Jaw joint location
On the same plane as Above the plane of the On the same plane as Above the plane of the
the molars molar teeth the molars molar teeth
Jaw motion
Shearing; minimal No shear; good side-to-side, Shearing; minimal No shear; good side-to-side,
side-to-side motion front-to-back motion side-to-side motion front-to-back motion
Mouth opening vs head size
Large Small Large Small
Teeth: incisors
Short and pointed Broad, flattened and Short and pointed Broad, flattened and
spade shaped spade shaped
Teeth: canines
Long, sharp and curved Dull and short or long Long, sharp and curved Short and blunted
(for defence), or none
Teeth: molars
Sharp, jagged and blade shaped Flattened to grind food Sharp blades and/or flattened Flattened to grind food
Chewing
None; swallows food whole Extensive chewing Swallows food whole and/or Extensive chewing
necessary simple crushing necessary
Saliva
Acid saliva; no enzyme amylase Alkaline saliva; much amylase No digestive enzymes Alkaline saliva; much amylase
to pre-digest grains to pre-digest grains to pre-digest grains
Small salivary glands in the Well developed salivary Small salivary glands in the Well developed salivary
mouth (not needed to pre- glands, needed to pre-digest mouth (not needed to glands, needed to pre-digest
digest grains and fruits) grains and fruits pre-digest grains and fruits) grains and fruits
Stomach type
Simple Simple or multiple chambers Simple Simple
Stomach acidity
Much strong hydrochloric acid Stomach acid 10 times less pH less than or equal to 1 Stomach acid 10 times less
in stomach to digest tough strong than carnivores. pH with food in stomach strong than carnivores. pH
animal muscle, bone etc. pH 4 to 5 with food in stomach 4 to 5 with food in stomach
less than or equal to 1 with
food in stomach
Stomach capacity
60% to 70% of total volume Less than 30% of total volume 60% to 70% of total volume 21% to 27% of total volume
of digestive tract of digestive tract of digestive tract of digestive tract
Length of small intestine
Only 3 to 6 times body length 10 or more than 12 times body 4 to 6 times body length 10 to 12 times body length
so rapidly decaying meat can length; fruits do not decay as
pass out of the body quickly rapidly so can pass more
slowly through body. Also
allows more time for the
break down and absorption
of nutrients from plant foods
Colon
Simple, short and smooth Long, complex; may Simple, short and smooth Long, sacculated
be sacculated
Liver
Can detoxify vitamin A Cannot detoxify vitamin A Can detoxify vitamin A Cannot detoxify vitamin A
Kidney
Extremely concentrated urine Moderately concentrated urine Extremely concentrated urine Moderately concentrated urine
Nails
Claws as appendages Hands/hooves as Claws as appendages Hands as appendages.
appendages. No claws No claws
Body cooling system
Hyperventilation (via the mouth) Perspires to cool body through Hyperventilation (via the mouth) Perspires to cool body
millions of skin pores through millions of skin pores

Adapted from Store, 2008 and Mills, M.R. MD, 2009

4
A G U I D E B Y V I VA !

a trip thr ough the body


On the tips of our tongues are sensors, lower levels of stomach acid than carnivores.
designed to seek out sweet-tasting foods – They are much better equipped for digesting
carbohydrates (sugars). While plant foods are plant foods – and may even increase their risk
full of carbohydrates, there are essentially none of stomach ulcers if they do eat meat.
in meats of any kind (except for a small Vegans and vegetarians have fewer peptic
amount of glycogen). Carnivores’ tongues have ulcers than meat-eaters. This is mainly
no carbohydrate sensors – they have no need because their plant-based diets are much easier
for them. Instead, carnivores’ taste buds are to digest.
pleasantly stimulated by animal proteins The human intestine is long and coiled, much
(amino acids) (Li et al., 2005). like that of apes, cows and horses. This makes
From top to digestion slow,
bottom, human allowing time to
digestive systems
have evolved to
Th e break down and
absorb the nutrients
efficiently process E xte rnal from plant foods.
plant foods.
Digestion begins in
Cu e s In contrast, the
intestine of a
the mouth with a Finally, take a look at the external carnivore, such as a
salivary enzyme differences. Our hands are made for cat, is short, straight
called amylase gathering plants, not for ripping flesh. We and tubular. This
(ptyalin). Its sole cool ourselves by sweating, like most other means that flesh can
purpose is to help plant-eating animals, rather than panting be digested very
break down complex like carnivores. We drink by sipping, not by rapidly, and the
carbohydrates from lapping like a dog or cat. remnants excreted
plant foods into The exhaustive comparisons of our body quickly, before they
simple sugars. As traits with those of other animals prove that putrefy (rot). Overall,
there are no we have evolved over aeons in an the intestines of
carbohydrates in environment of plant-based foods. We were meat-eaters are
meat, true carnivores made to be plant-eaters, not meat-eaters. noticeably simpler
don’t need this We are now paying the price for straying than those of plant-
enzyme. Their from our design with chronic illnesses and eaters like people.
salivary glands don’t premature death. The difference in
synthesise it. transit time (time
The stomach juices taken for food to
of meat-eating animals are highly acidic. They make its way from the mouth to the anus)
have to be, so that they can break down the between humans and carnivores is what really
large quantities of muscle and bone materials brings the anatomical differences home.
they eat. Humans – even those on a high fibre diet –
Much lower concentrations of stomach acid have an average transit time of almost 41
are needed to digest starches, vegetables and hours. In stark contrast, the average transit
fruits. Weight for weight, plant protein requires time in a pure carnivore such as the mink, is
half the amount of hydrochloric acid to digest just 2.4 hours (Milton, 1999)! This means that
it, compared to animal protein. It is also when people eat meat, it has plenty of time to
digested in half the time (Lucas, 1979). putrefy (rot) and cause the production of
Humans and other plant-eaters have much cancer-causing agents.

5
w h e at - e at e r s o r m e at - e at e r s ?

n utri tion : back


to ou r r oots
We have eaten plant foods throughout our OUR BODIE S NEE D
evolution. This has shaped our current PLANT NUT RIENTS
nutritional requirements. Our evolutionary Vitamins are essential micronutrients that
diets would have been high in fibre, vegetable cannot be synthesised by the body and must be
protein, plant sterols and other obtained in the food we consume. Since plants,
protective ‘phytochemicals’, rich in vitamin C (ascorbic
and low in harmful acid) have always been a
saturated and trans fats. reliable part of our diet,
Fruits, green leafy we have lost the ability
parts of plants, to synthesise (make our
shoots, seeds, nuts, own) vitamin C.
roots and tubers are Without it in our
the fundamental diet, our health
components of suffers
the primate dramatically.
eating pattern – In contrast,
and common carnivores have
sense tells us that never had a reliable
these foods should be source of vitamin C
the foods that humans eat, too. in their diets. They are still
Our Stone Age predecessors able to make their own from
ate three or more times the the basic raw materials
amount of plant foods that we do – in their meat diet. This
about nine servings daily of fruits and is one example of
vegetables, compared to the UK average of many metabolic
around three. Similarly, while chimpanzees processes and nutritional
are known to eat 123 different plant needs that clearly say our bodies are designed
varieties in a year, even the most health to thrive on a diet of plant foods (Carpenter,
conscious Westerner rarely consumes 1992; Milton, 1999; Milton, 2000).
more than 20 or 30. Seventy five per
cent of our global food supply comes V ITAMIN B12
from just 12 crops. Vitamin B12 is often used as a reason why
And we consume just a fraction of we cannot possibly be vegetarian in nature
the antioxidants, calcium, iron and since this essential B-vitamin is not found in
other nutrients that our ancestors ate plants. This vitamin is actually produced by
every day. bacteria in the soil and is required in only
Even without cows and yoghurts, our very tiny amounts by humans. Eating plant
ancestors also managed to get more foods with B12-containing soil particles
calcium than we do, primarily because of the attached would have been commonplace in
dark green leafy vegetables in their diet. They our evolutionary history.
racked up an impressive 1,900 milligrams (mg) Of course today we cannot rely on unwashed
a day, compared with the 1,007 mg that most vegetables providing vitamin B12, which is why
men – and the 777 mg that most women – it is vital that a daily source of this vitamin is
consume these days! provided by fortified foods such as yeast

6
A G U I D E B Y V I VA !

extracts, soya products and many breakfast highly efficient cholesterol-eliminating system.
cereals. In fact, we now know that the B12 It is also believed that evolution favoured (and
found in fortified foods is better absorbed by therefore conserved) mechanisms in the body
the body than the B12 found in foods such as which tend to raise blood cholesterol levels
meat, fish or eggs! (Jenkins et al., 2003).
Scientists have being saying for decades that Eating animal products – including meats,
while designed to subsist on vegetarian foods, fish, eggs and dairy foods – can lead to a build
man has “perverted his dietary habits to accept up of cholesterol. This can result in deposits in
the food of the carnivore,” (Collens and the arteries (atherosclerosis), in the skin or
Dobkin, 1965). And this is not without serious under the eyes (xanthelasma) and in the
consequences for our health. tendons. Bile supersaturated with cholesterol
forms gallstones. Meat-eaters are twice as likely
CHOLEST ER OL to be afflicted with gallstones, compared to
OVE R W HE LMS A PLANT - vegetarians. For further information see the
EAT E R ’S LIVER VVF’s report, White Meat Black Mark.
Cholesterol is a type of lipid (fat) called a Cholesterol can’t be avoided by choosing
sterol. The body does need some cholesterol, lean cuts of meat as it’s mainly found in the
but the liver can make all of the cholesterol lean parts. White and red meat and fish all
that the body requires. contain cholesterol. One small, grilled, skinless
It is well known that too much cholesterol is chicken breast contains around 100 milligrams
harmful to the human body. What is less of cholesterol – an amount that can add
widely known is that cholesterol is only found roughly 0.13 mmol/L (or 5 mg/dL) to your
in animal foods, and not plant foods. cholesterol level! Worse still, animal products
Meat-eating animals have an unlimited also contain saturated fat which causes our
capacity to process and excrete cholesterol livers to make even more cholesterol.
from their bodies. For example, you could It is a sad fact that cholesterol-lowering
feed a cat pure egg yolks all day long, and he medications are the order of the day for
or she would excrete all of it, never suffering modern, middle aged humans – a consequence
from a build up of cholesterol. On the other of our Westernised diet and lifestyle.
hand, people’s (like other plant-eating But scientists have managed to lower
animals) livers have a very limited capacity for people’s cholesterol levels by simply changing
cholesterol removal. Most people have great their diets. By eating more fibre, vegetable
difficulty eliminating the amounts of proteins and plant sterols – in the form of leafy
cholesterol that they take in from eating vegetables, fruit and nuts – healthy people’s
animal products. cholesterol levels have dropped by over 30 per
What appears to be an inefficiency is a result cent! This effect is comparable to the effect of
of our evolutionary design. We were made to standard cholesterol-lowering medications
consume plant foods (containing no (statins) and simply involves reverting to our
cholesterol); therefore we have never needed a evolutionary roots.

7
w h e at - e at e r s o r m e at - e at e r s ?

meat-eati ng ch im p s ?

It has passed into popular folklore that chimps estimates are that it forms just 1-1.5 per cent of
have been observed eating meat, which has the overall diet. And, of course, not all chimp
been taken as an indication that humans too groups hunt at all.
have evolved to eat meat. This is in large part Whilst our primate ancestors did eat
due to a David Attenborough film many years insects this was not in sufficient quantity to
ago in which chimps were seen hunting small provoke a change in their dentition. Primate
monkeys and baby bushpigs. Attenborough’s canine teeth are small and their molars have a
observations were first recorded by chimpanzee large grinding surface with a thick enamel
expert Jane Goodall. Her group of chimpanzees covering, making their jaws a powerful
was studied over a period of years so the crushing, grinding and chewing machine
amount of meat eaten and the number of designed to cope with vegetation.
animals killed could be exactly recorded. Over Of all the living primates, humans are the
a span of 10 years, the 50 or so chimpanzees only one to eat large animals, the rest being
killed and ate 95 mammals. They were all tiny almost entirely herbivorous. We sprang out of
– the young of bushpigs, bushbuck and this genetic breeding pool of largely peaceful
baboons – and most weighed 10lbs or less. It groups of amiable creatures that lived by eating
works out at 2.4 grams per individual per day – grasses, leaves, nuts, berries, fruits and roots.
about the size of a pea! But even this may be an There can be no doubt that our metabolism,
overestimate caused by observer disturbance in built up through these millions of years, is best
the chimp populations studied. So, meat-eating sustained by a vegan and then a vegetarian diet,
in chimps is actually incredibly rare – rough in that order.

8
ou r i ns ti ncts are
for pl an ts
While many people are repelled at the thought castaways became vegetarians. This was despite
of consuming fresh meat (especially something the fact that one of their number was a butcher,
unfamiliar such as kangaroo, rat or cat), most thus sparing the rest of the team the agony of
don’t react so negatively to any fruits and having to slit a gizzard personally!
vegetables – even unfamiliar varieties. Most Writes Daily Express journalist, Martin
people would be nowhere as reluctant to try, Plimmer: “The Taransay castaways, in a vain
and to enjoy, unfamiliar fruits for the first time attempt to remain authentic and reasoning that
– even something such as a star fruit from the it’s easier to be cruel to fish, which are cold,
tropics. Natural instincts cause people to be wet and unfluffy... decided they would up their
drawn to fruits and vegetables. protein intake by catching fish. However, in six
Viva! founder Juliet Gellatley suggests that months the fishing detail, led by... a man who
we try the following experiment with a small claimed to be a keen angler, hasn’t managed to
child. Encourage him or her to cuddle a baby land a single catch. At least, that’s what they
lamb, and then ask if they want to kill or eat it. say, though this seems inconceivable
You won’t be popular until you explain! considering Taransay is a roundabout on a fish
A televised social experiment in 2000 motorway” (Daily Express, 2000).
affirmed that our natural instincts are towards Plimmer continues: “We are so conditioned to
vegetarianism. Thirty-four TV ‘guinea pigs’ eating over-prepared food that most children and
were cast away by the BBC on the island of many adults will not eat meat or fish at all unless
Taransay. Rather than slaughter the animals it arrives in balls or fingers, hidden in a pie, or in
provided for their sustenance, several of the the shape of alphabet letters or Kievs...”

9
w h e at - e at e r s o r m e at - e at e r s ?

goi n g back in ti m e
Sixty million years ago the lower primates first They would have moved great distances,
developed – the mammals from which we all from cool to warm, from cold to hot and it is
sprang. So much of what makes us skilled as thought that the cooler northern climes helped
mammals was developed at this time. The to develop the anthropoids and led them to eat
change from clawed paw to a hand that grips more bark, the cambium beneath the bark
was invaluable for picking objects up and for (which is high in protein and carbohydrates)
using sticks and stones as tools. Our vision and the leaves of evergreens. They were all
became stereoscopic as the eyes moved from vegetarians but the diet was widening with
the side of the face to the front. These many more food choices – and a richer
overlapping visual fields produced the ability to diversity of nutrition means greater intelligence.
see in depth – vital to Around 18 million
identify predators years ago came the
from a distance. hominoids, apes
A species – in order which lack tails and
to survive and rise in have larger brains
dominance – must be and bodies than the
flexible, must adapt monkeys. They
to changing evolved in Africa and
conditions and take included one called
advantage of the Proconsul, sometimes
unexpected. All living referred to as the
creatures that depend ‘Daddy of us all’. It is
upon a particular thought that we
environment for their share this ancestor
survival are doomed with the gorilla and
to extinction if that it, of course, is
environment is another famous
destroyed. The key to vegetarian. DNA
success is not only studies show that we
flexibility but also have a close
inconsistency, the art relationship with the
of confusing your gorilla and the
predators. Lemurs, one of our earliest primate chimpanzee and that we split from one
ancestors, stayed in the trees for most of their common ancestor around five to six million
time and their diet was limited to leaves, nuts, years ago.
fruits, berries and edible stems. Their habitat Because we have the fossilised jaws to study,
has remained more or less similar for 60 we know that these primates were herbivores
million years. and ate fruits, nuts, berries and the cambium
Twenty million years after the lemurs came which grows in the spring beneath the bark as
the anthropoids, the higher primates that now the tree begins to swell. Some of us still eat it
include monkeys, apes and humans – another today and we call it slippery elm, a popular
group of vegetarians. Between five and 25 health food supplement for digestive disorders.
million years ago this group was diversifying Three-and-a-half million years ago,
and colonising Africa, Eurasia and the tropical Australopithecus afarensis, nicknamed Lucy,
Americas using the land bridges that existed at appeared. She was small, strode over the
that time. African veldt and through the forest, lived near

10
A G U I D E B Y V I VA !

water and was also a herbivore. There were that Homo habilis first scavenged his/her meat
many different types of Australopithecines and from the kill of big cats but like so much of
one was called Robustos. He has been labelled what is said on the evolution of humans, this is
a war-like killer and the source of our just speculation.
aggression. He was in fact also a vegetarian Hunting started around 1.9 million years ago
but he used the bones of large mammals as with the advent of Homo erectus, who lived
tools to dig up roots and bulbs. It was the until 300,000 years ago. Anthropologists tell us
discovery of these bones alongside his own this as if Homo erectus, from then on, just ate
that made anthropologists think they had raw meat and nothing else. In fact, Homo
found the first hunter. They were at least a erectus could not have survived on meat alone,
million years out. as large quantities of animal protein unbuffered
by fat or carbohydrates are physiologically
MEAT-E AT ING BE GINNINGS harmful (Milton, 1987).
So when did meat-eating begin? We can There was even a suggestion that our brain
roughly date hunting because of the tools development did not begin until red meat
needed to kill but before that there were some entered our diet. If there was a correlation
very basic tools used to cut, scrape and dig. between the consumption of red meat and the
These were found with the remains of Homo enlargement of brain cells, big cats would have
habilis, who lived between 1.4 and 2.3 million the largest brains and be the dominant species
years ago. Anthropologists think it is likely in the world today.

br ai n de v e lopm e n t
For the growth of brain cells, a one-to-one Thirdly, gathering green plants for their fats
balance of two groups of fatty acids is instead of fish would have been both far easier
needed – called omega-3 and omega-6 fatty for our early ancestors and a much more
acids. This balanced combination promotes guaranteed and regular source of these fats –
the growth of the cerebral cortex, the site of plants tend not to run (or swim) away! On the
intellect and reasoning in the brain. coast, the diet would inevitably have included
It is argued by some that the seaweeds and microalgae. For further
greater intakes of these long information on fatty acids see the
chain fatty acids, found in VVF’s guide, Fish-free for Life.
fish and wild game, were a It is the same argument
major reason for that can be used against
humankind’s extraordinary meat being the dominant
increase in brainpower. force in the evolution of
However this ignores three our bigger brains – meat
important facts. could never have been a
Firstly, parent sources of the omega-3 guaranteed, continued source of
and omega-6 fats are found abundantly nourishment due to the problems
in plant foods. of securing it.
Secondly, the main source of the omega-3 Killing wild animals is far from easy, and
fats in, for instance, fish, is not the fish itself if early humans had relied on meat alone
but the food the fish feeds on – green plants they would have gone without most of the
such as microalgae. Microalgae contain time. The bulk of the diet was what it
omega-3 fats called EPA and DHA, whilst always had been, gathered from wild plants
seaweed is a source of DHA. and some of it, no doubt, dried and stored.

11
w h e at - e at e r s o r m e at - e at e r s ?

The Re al Fu e l of Br ai n
E xpans ion : Cookin g
Brain expansion almost certainly could not have And researchers based at the universities of
occurred until hominids adopted a diet rich Minnesota and Harvard in the USA believe that
enough in calories and nutrients to meet the boiling vegetables, such as carrots, poached
associated energy costs. And cooking food does potatoes and boiled beets was exactly what
just that. Once plants foods are cooked, they sparked the development of bigger, human-like
become easier to bite and chew. This means that brains. This also boosted the availability of food,
more energy (calories) can be obtained per allowing females to grow almost as big as males.
minute of eating, and hence more calories can This contradicts the popular view that eating
be gained per day. This is particularly true for meat triggered the evolution of hominids into
starchy tubers such as potatoes. Homo erectus, the ancestor of modern man. It
There are nutritional advantages, too. is also backed by Chris Stringer of the Natural
Cooking breaks down the cell walls of History Museum in London, who says: “You
vegetables, releasing more vitamins, minerals, have equally nutritious food in roots and tubers
protein and carbohydrates. Cooking also but these could not be unlocked until they were
makes some poisonous tubers safe, thus cooked” (The Times, 1999).
widening the range of food available. Scientists Wrangham and Conklin-Brittain
Cooking is widely accepted to have occurred state: “Over evolutionary history the
at least 250,000 years ago (Ragir, 2000). Other adoption of cooking should probably be
evidence points to the control of fire by regarded as one of the largest ever
hominids even earlier – it is suggested that improvements in dietary quality... enabling
vegetables were being cooked 1.9 million years humans to maintain a more effective immune
ago (Wrangham et al., 1999) as primitive chefs system and perhaps contributing to the
learnt to control and work with fire as a evolution of reduced mortality” (Wrangham
weapon and a tool. and Conklin-Brittain, 1999).

Th e E volution of
Hum an ki n d
AUST R ALOP IT HECUS HOMO HABILIS
4.8-1.1 MILLION YEARS AGO 2.3-1.4 MILLION YEARS AGO
Africa East Africa
Early human-like apes, closely related to Long-armed, largely plant-eaters
chimpanzees and gorillas. They varied in height but also scavenger-hunters, 4-5
from 3 ft (0.9 m) to nearly 6 ft (1.8 m), had ft (1.2-1.5 m) tall, with
a brain one-third of the size of protruding jaws and brains half
ours, and walked upright. the size of ours. They lived in
Vegetarian. organised social groups,
used crude tools and
probably communicated with
basic speech.

12
A G U I D E B Y V I VA !

Meat-eati ng: V e ry Re ce n t
in ou r E volution ary Pa s t
Meat-eating began only in the last one-and-a- are the healthiest of all diets. The reason? It is
half million years. Contrasted with the life of the diet most similar to the diet of our
an 80-year-old evolution.
human being it Of course no-one
means that only in
the last 15 years
H um an - can deny that human
beings became
would meat have An i m al omnivorous – in fact,
been eaten. For 65 Relationship humans colonised the
years we were
vegetarian. This has
Ch an ge world because they
could adapt to the
huge significance for Hunting also helped to change our available food
our health today. relationship with animals but the biggest sources. However the
Research already change in that relationship occurred with truth is that very
shows us that well- the move from hunter-gatherer to livestock little meat was eaten
balanced plant-based farmer, from nomadic tribes to settlement compared to today’s
vegetarian and vegan and domestication. An even bigger change consumption.
diets supply not only took place with the introduction of Hunting was given a
all the nutrients that factory farming. great boost when
the body needs but The farmer owns the creature, controls its climactic changes
also reduce the risks life and death – he dominates it and here is destroyed the food
of many degenerative where speciesism begins. Only when sources in the
diseases such as heart domestication began did Homo sapiens northern climes in
disease, some cancers begin to believe that they were the the great Ice Ages.
and obesity. Diets dominating mammal, free to exploit every However in
based on fresh fruits other living creature. evolutionary terms
and vegetables, this is a very short
wholegrain foods period and the
such as wholemeal bread, plant protein sources evidence is that our bodies have not fully
such as beans, along with fresh nuts and seeds adapted to the change.

HOMO E R E CT US HOMO SAPIE NS


1.9 MILLION-300,000 YEARS AGO (Neanderthal man, modern man)
Africa, Europe, Asia 300,000 YEARS AGO TO PRESENT
Thick-set, muscular species 5-6 Worldwide
ft (1.5-1.8 m) tall, with sloping Large-brained, adaptable
forehead, receding jaw and large species with wide regional
brain (60-80 per cent of the differences. They had complex
average today). They had fire, social organisations, advanced
huts, some sort of speech, speech and tool-making skills.
specialised tools, crude rituals Modern humans (subspecies
and advanced hunting Homo sapiens sapiens) emerged
techniques. Still largely about 120,000 years ago, and
plant-eaters. displaced all rivals to colonise
the world.

13
w h e at - e at e r s o r m e at - e at e r s ?

M eat-Eati ng a s a S ym bol of
Power for th e Mi n orit y
For the greater part of our recorded history, probably have amounted to eating meat no
however, meat was the prerogative of the gods more than three or four times each year
and the powerful. From the very beginning compared to three or four times each day that
meat has meant power. is common for many
Wealth was measured in people today. Thanks to
head of cattle and wealth new research even the
meant power and traditional view of
influence in the macho carnivorous
community. The more Roman gladiators has
meat you ate the more been well and truly laid
you showed everyone else to rest. Chemical analysis
how well you were doing of the bones of gladiators
– it was (and still is in has revealed that they
many parts of the world) essentially lived on a
the gustatory equivalent vegetarian diet of barley
of the mink coat. and beans for strength –
But as far back as not meat.
3,500 BC we know that Today we no longer
some people scorned have any need to use
meat altogether and the great thinker and meat as a symbol of power. The sooner we
mathematician, Pythagoras, was one of them. reject this outdated idea the better – for our
Indeed the majority of people throughout our own moral and physical health as well as the
history ate meat only on the few religious animals and the planet that pay the price for
festival days throughout the year. This would our desire of meat.

Con clus ion


Humans are naturally vegetarian and we act as if we are one, human beings are not
ignore, at our peril, our vegetarian primate natural carnivores. When we kill animals to eat
ancestry. One of the world’s leading experts on them, they end up killing us because their flesh,
diet and health – Professor T. Colin Campbell – which contains cholesterol and saturated fat
believes that the closer we approach a totally was never intended for human beings, who are
plant food diet, the greater the benefit to our natural herbivores.”
health. Professor Campbell should know a The sooner we ditch the ‘meat maketh man’
thing or two about this – he’s been studying myth the better for our health. We were never
health and nutrition for well over 40 years and meant to eat meat, our bodies are not designed
has changed his diet to a vegan one based on to eat flesh and our health is suffering because
the findings of his work! of it. Once we exclude animal products from
Professor Campbell’s thoughts are echoed by our diets our own health, our planet’s health
William Roberts, one time editor-in-chief of the and the lives of billions of animals will be
American Journal of Cardiology who states better for it. Only then can we really claim to
that: “Although we think we are one and we be an intelligent ape.

14
A G U I D E B Y V I VA !

re fe re n ce s
n Carpenter K.J., 1992. Protein Indifference toward Sugar. PloS n Ragir S., 2000. Diet and Food
Requirements of Adults from an Genetics, 1 (1) : 27-35. Preparation: Rethinking Early
Evolutionary Perspective. American n Lucas J.W., 1979. Vegetarian Hominid Behavior. Evolutionary
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Nutrition. UK: The Vegetarian Society. Anthropology, 9 (4), 153-55.
55 (5), 913-17. n Milton K., 1987. Primate Diets and n Reader’s Digest, 2005. Reader’s
n Collens W.S. and Dobkin G.B., Gut Morphology: Implications for Digest Illustrated Dictionary of
1965. Phylogenetic Aspects of the Hominid Evolution. In: Harris M., Essential Knowledge. Belgium: The
Cause of Human Atherosclerotic Ross E.B., eds. Food and Evolution: Reader’s Digest Association Limited.
Disease. Circulation, Suppl. II, 32 : 7. Towards a Theory of Human Food n Store, D., 2008. Raw Food Works.
n Jenkins D.J.A., Kendall C.W.C., Habits. Philadelphia: Temple Raw Superfoods.
Marchie A., Jenkins A.L., Connelly University Press, 93-115. n The Times, 1999. Boiled Veg were
P.W., Jones P.J.H. and Vuksan V., 2003. n Milton K., 1999. A Hypothesis to at the Root of Man’s Evolution. The
The Garden of Eden – Plant Based Explain the Role of Meat-Eating in Times, 11 August.
Diets, the Genetic Drive to Conserve Human Evolution. Evolutionary n Wrangham R.W., Jones J.H.,
Cholesterol and its Implications for Anthropology, 8 (1), 11-21. Laden G., Pilbeam D. and Conklin-
Heart Disease in the 21st Century. n Milton K., 2000. Hunter-Gatherer Brittain N.L., 1999. The Raw and the
Comparative Biochemistry and Diets: A Different Perspective. Stolen: Cooking and the Ecology of
Physiology, 136 : 141-51. American Journal of Clinical Human Origins. Current
n Li X., Li W., Wang H., Cao J., Nutrition, 71 (3), 665-67. Anthropology, 40 (5), 567-94.
Maehashi K., Huang L., Bachmanov n Mills, M.R. MD, 2009. The n Wrangham R. and Conklin-
A.A., Reed D.R., Legrand-Defretin V., Comparative Anatomy of Eating. Brittain N., 2003. Cooking as a
Beauchamp G.K. and Brand J.G.., http://www.vegsource.com/news/20 Biological Trait. Comparative
2005. Pseudogenization of a Sweet- 09/11/the-comparative-anatomy-of- Biochemistry and Physiology,
Receptor Gene Accounts for Cats’ eating.html 136 (1), 35-46.

gloss ary
The Diffe ren t T ypes of Die t
CAR NIVORE V E GAN:
( OR ‘ ME AT E AT ER’) : a person who eats no animal products – red
an animal that gets its energy and nutrients and white meats, fish and other water
mainly, or exclusively, from animal tissue. creatures, eggs, dairy and insect products such
Carnivores that depend solely on animal flesh as honey and cochineal. That means no
for their nutrients are called obligate damaging animal protein, animal fats or
carnivores. Although they may eat small cholesterol in their diet. Far from going short,
amounts of plant material they are unable to they can – and are more likely to – pack their
digest it efficiently. They may even eat diet with a wide range of healthy, disease-
vegetation specifically to help make them vomit busting foods high in vegetable protein, fibre,
(as an emetic). So-called facultative carnivores complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and
eat non-animal food as well as animal tissue good fats

HE R BIVOR E: V E GETARIAN:
an animal that is adapted to eat plants and not a person who avoids eating red and white
meat or fish meats, fish and all other water creatures such
as prawns and lobsters; and who also avoids
OMNIVOR E: slaughter by-products such as gelatine (made
an animal that eats both plants and animals as from horns, hooves, bones etc), lard and
its main food source. They are not specifically cochineal (crushed insects). A vegetarian may
adapted to eat and digest either meat or plant or may not eat dairy products, free range eggs
material exclusively or honey

15
pri m ates
P RIMAT E : HOMINOID:
a ‘rank’ (order) of animals that includes primates can further be divided into
humans, lemurs, lorisids, galagos, tarsiers, ‘superfamilies’. The hominoid superfamily
monkeys and apes (including great apes). These includes the lesser apes such as gibbons, and
can be divided into so-called ‘higher’ and the great apes (hominids). All primates in the
‘lower’ primates. Higher primates include the hominoid superfamily lack tails and have larger
Old World monkeys and apes, including brains and bodies than the monkeys
humans, and the New World primates
HOMINID:
ANT HR OP OID : hominids (also known as great apes) form a
another word for the higher primates described taxonomic family, which includes chimpanzees,
above, ie monkeys, apes and humans bonobos, gorillas, orangutans and humans

The VVF is your corner shop

Big up
for nutritional info about
vegetarian and vegan diets.
Veggie Vitamins
Wallchart, £2
Fab in the kitchen, our

your health!
colourful, laminated
wallchart shows
where to get your vital
vitamins and nutrients.

The Complete Book of


Vegan Cooking
Tony & Yvonne Bishop-
Fish-free for Weston, hardback, £16.99
Life, £1.90 Treat yourself to this beautiful
Fantastic guide book. Its step-by-step
which unearths instructions complimented by
the research that colour photos, encourage even
the fish industry would the most hesitant of chef's to
rather ignore! It shows why plant omega-3s are whip up everything from Curried
better for you; how they help prevent and treat Leek Gratin to Coconut Sorbet.
disease and the risks from consuming fish.
Also delicious recipes with colour photos. The China Study
Professor T. Colin Campbell,
£12.99 paperback
A remarkable book from a world renowned
To order any of the above or for a cancer scientist, who explains in a very
Gifts for Life catalogue, please contact compelling style, why vegans are protected so
the VVF, Mon-Fri, 9 to 6 on much from cancers; heart disease; diabetes,
0117 970 5190 or see autoimmune diseases and more – and why
www.vegetarian.org.uk/shop and dairy is such a culprit in causing these killers.
www.viva.org.uk/shop

ISBN 978-0-9561094-1-5
£1

Published by Viva!. © Viva! 2010


Viva!, 8 York Court, Wilder St, Bristol BS2 8QH
t: 0117 944 1000 e: info@viva.org.uk w: www.viva.org.uk
9 780956 109415

También podría gustarte