Veganism is a religion, there is no science involved. The main thing they miss is brain nutrition and you can prove that anytime you want, hire one, talk with one, etc.. I hate it when they break into nutrition discussions with their brainless garbage... they will tell you to get your Omega 3's from plants but guess what, they are the wrong form, your body can't use them. The main advantage I can see to veganism is that a person is never constipated, probably their digestive health is better than the meat eaters but otherwise, forget it... The best diets seem to be 80% plant and 20% meat/eggs/dairy. The best plants do not come from modern farming methods, not at all, the quality of the food in industrialized farming areas just sucks. People growing legacy plants and eating range fed cultured Goat milk and meat and range fed chicken eggs and meat are probably getting way more bang for their nutrition buck than anybody... Anthropoligists agree with me on some things, they have found that there is not a place on earth that supplies all the nutrition a human needs without eating meat... so all you vegan assholes can stay out my way if you don't mind. can't stand you on any level..
Humans are omnivores by design. If you compare and contrast our GI tracts with herbivores, carnivores and omnivores in nature, we exactly match the attributes of omnivores. That's just one of the myriad of reasons why it's naive to think vegetarianism is an optimal strategy to obtain the best nourishment, and even the necessary, basic nutrition, that we our cells need to function properly. Murray - Venison is fantastic, especially from deer that are grass and apple fed; the backstrap and tenderloin are the most cherished parts. Have you ever had elk? Elk is probably my favorite 'game' meat. It is incredibly flavorful, and it's not greasy or strong. It has more fat than bison (which is also fantastic), but less saturated fat than beef.
I never tried any of the above, but wouldn't be opposed to it, except the muskrat. I also believe in the sanctity of treating animals respectfully, which is similar in approach to how Native Americans viewed the Bison that they depended on for survival. There is no need to prolong animal suffering, despite the necessity of their consumption for proper nutritional requirements. I find sport/trophy hunting abominable. I also believe that fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes should form the majority of one's diet, and that animal based proteins (containing essential amino and fatty acids, as well as iron, B complex vitamins) should only constitute maybe 1/4 to 1/5th of one's diet. This is generally consistent with the way Greeks on Crete eat, as well as other healthy societies, whether in Japan or Mediterranean areas.
This statement is highly questionable. A true example of an omnivore is a bear. from: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/2062/ana.HTML "In general, bears exhibit anatomical features consistent with a carnivorous diet. The jaw joint of bears is in the same plane as the molar teeth. The temporalis muscle is massive, and the angle of the mandible is small corresponding to the limited role the pterygoid and masseter muscles play in operating the jaw. The small intestine is short ( less than five times body length) like that of the pure carnivores, and the colon is simple, smooth and short. The most prominent adaptation to an herbivorous diet in bears (and other "anatomical" omnivores) is the modification of their dentition. Bears retain the peg-like incisors, large canines and shearing premolars of a carnivore; but the molars have become squared with rounded cusps for crushing and grinding. Bears have not, however, adopted the flattened, blunt nails seen in most herbivores and retain the elongated, pointed claws of a carnivore.... ...In conclusion, we see that human beings have the gastrointestinal tract structure of a "committed" herbivore. Humankind does not show the mixed structural features one expects and finds in anatomical omnivores such as bears and raccoons. Thus, from comparing the gastrointestinal tract of humans to that of carnivores, herbivores and omnivores we must conclude that humankind's GI tract is designed for a purely plant-food diet. Summary Facial Muscles CARNIVORE: Reduced to allow wide mouth gape HERBIVORE: Well-developed OMNIVORE: Reduced HUMAN: Well-developed Jaw Type CARNIVORE: Angle not expanded HERBIVORE: Expanded angle OMNIVORE: Angle not expanded HUMAN: Expanded angle Jaw Joint Location CARNIVORE: On same plane as molar teeth HERBIVORE: Above the plane of the molars OMNIVORE: On same plane as molar teeth HUMAN: Above the plane of the molars Jaw Motion CARNIVORE: Shearing; minimal side-to-side motion HERBIVORE: No shear; good side-to-side, front-to-back OMNIVORE: Shearing; minimal side-to-side HUMAN: No shear; good side-to-side, front-to-back Major Jaw Muscles CARNIVORE: Temporalis HERBIVORE: Masseter and pterygoids OMNIVORE: Temporalis HUMAN: Masseter and pterygoids Mouth Opening vs. Head Size CARNIVORE: Large HERBIVORE: Small OMNIVORE: Large HUMAN: Small Teeth: Incisors CARNIVORE: Short and pointed HERBIVORE: Broad, flattened and spade shaped OMNIVORE: Short and pointed HUMAN: Broad, flattened and spade shaped Teeth: Canines CARNIVORE: Long, sharp and curved HERBIVORE: Dull and short or long (for defense), or none OMNIVORE: Long, sharp and curved HUMAN: Short and blunted Teeth: Molars CARNIVORE: Sharp, jagged and blade shaped HERBIVORE: Flattened with cusps vs complex surface OMNIVORE: Sharp blades and/or flattened HUMAN: Flattened with nodular cusps Chewing CARNIVORE: None; swallows food whole HERBIVORE: Extensive chewing necessary OMNIVORE: Swallows food whole and/or simple crushing HUMAN: Extensive chewing necessary Saliva CARNIVORE: No digestive enzymes HERBIVORE: Carbohydrate digesting enzymes OMNIVORE: No digestive enzymes HUMAN: Carbohydrate digesting enzymes Stomach Type CARNIVORE: Simple HERBIVORE: Simple or multiple chambers OMNIVORE: Simple HUMAN: Simple Stomach Acidity CARNIVORE: Less than or equal to pH 1 with food in stomach HERBIVORE: pH 4 to 5 with food in stomach OMNIVORE: Less than or equal to pH 1 with food in stomach HUMAN: pH 4 to 5 with food in stomach Stomach Capacity CARNIVORE: 60% to 70% of total volume of digestive tract HERBIVORE: Less than 30% of total volume of digestive tract OMNIVORE: 60% to 70% of total volume of digestive tract HUMAN: 21% to 27% of total volume of digestive tract Length of Small Intestine CARNIVORE: 3 to 6 times body length HERBIVORE: 10 to more than 12 times body length OMNIVORE: 4 to 6 times body length HUMAN: 10 to 11 times body length Colon CARNIVORE: Simple, short and smooth HERBIVORE: Long, complex; may be sacculated OMNIVORE: Simple, short and smooth HUMAN: Long, sacculated Liver CARNIVORE: Can detoxify vitamin A HERBIVORE: Cannot detoxify vitamin A OMNIVORE: Can detoxify vitamin A HUMAN: Cannot detoxify vitamin A Kidney CARNIVORE: Extremely concentrated urine HERBIVORE: Moderately concentrated urine OMNIVORE: Extremely concentrated urine HUMAN: Moderately concentrated urine Nails CARNIVORE: Sharp claws HERBIVORE: Flattened nails or blunt hooves OMNIVORE: Sharp claws HUMAN: Flattened nails"
I can decimate the credibility of this entire post with one word: Gorillas. http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/omni.htm http://www.westonaprice.org/traditional_diets/gorilla.html
I don't know that you have decimated anything. We all know humans and our ape relatives CAN eat meat. The question is what our bodies are most designed/optimized to eat. Since you are familiar with this data, you are likely aware that Jane Goodall as well as the Price article indicate that Chimp's (our closest relatives) meat eating is culturally driven (meat is the only food they share) and meat is a tiny portion of their diet.http://www.ecologos.org/chimphunt.htm BTW, gorillas are classified as herbivores. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorilla#Food_and_foraging
Gorillas are definitely omnivores. I won't debate this fact with you, because facts are not ripe for debate. Believe what you will, but at least do some basic research from a credible source. Gorillas eat meat, not because they can, but because they have evolved to do so. If this wasn't the case, they would not. Almost all other primates are omnivorous, as well, including Chimpazees and Baboons - those closest to humans anatomically and genetically speaking. Also, pigs are omivores, and are also closely related to humans, from a genetic standpoint. Much medical research involves primates and swine as their digestive and other systems closely emulate that of the human species.