Are Humans Carnivores?
Mr. Piraro,
I am responding you your article, “Are Humans Carnivores?”- I only ask the you read it, as I took the time to read yours.
First of all, in your second paragraph, “Herbivores have small ‘canine’ teeth for biting into tough fruit.” Canine teeth are what we, as omnivores, and carnivores use “primarily for firmly holding food in order to tear it apart, and occasionally as weapons” (source). Also, herbivores, they don’t even have canine teeth. “Many herbivores do not have upper incisors, cutting the grass with lips instead. All herbivores need their molars for grinding the mouthfuls of plants. Their molars are big and ridged for better grinding…” (source)
Also- there are at least 2 very publicized occasions where humans were able to rip into flesh and meat: Ozzy Osbourne bitting the head off of a bat and Mike Tyson bitting Evander Holyfield’s Ear off
Your 3rd paragraph- about the jaw movement. Our jaws move up and down, and side to side. Lets see how this works out. Up and Down- eating meat and vegetation. Side to Side- eating vegetation. We are omnivores. We do both. That is a moot point . If our jaws only moved side to side, you might have something.
“A carnivore is quick, cunning….blah blah blah….kill animals efficiently and without remorse”. You have got to be kidding me. Animals can’t feel something called compassion. No animal can. I know it’s not something you want to hear, but animals act on instinct. When an animal thinks, “I’m hungry” they find food. And sure, I have felt sorry for an injured puppy. I don’t eat puppy. Injured cow? Kill and eat it.
As for, “For the vast majority of human history we have been without tools weapons or fire.” Now you are making things up.
“What we know of Paleolithic man may be summed up as follows: he was a hunter and fisher; his habitation was a cave or a rock shelter; his implements were in the main roughly shaped flints; he had no domestic animals save possibly the dog and the reindeer; he was practically ignorant of the art of making pottery; he had no belief in a future life, at least we have no evidence that he buried his dead after the manner of those folk who have come to hold such a belief.” (source). You should really read that whole thing. If your into reading. You seem to like to make things up. Paleolithic Time is t he earliest known time period of man. He was a hunter. And used roughly shaped flints. As for fire…
“Before the end of the age man had learned the use of fire, as we know from the traces of fire found in the caves which were his abode, and had invented the bow and arrow, as is evidenced by arrowheads of flint and of bone which have been discovered. This important invention gave man what was to be one of his chief weapons in the chase and in war down to and even after the invention of firearms late in the historic age.” Well how about that. (same source, by the way).
I don’t even want to touch that cancer statement. Just remember this: everything causes cancer. Overindulgence in general is bad. Even too much water can harm you .
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to do real research and get your facts straight. If you want to make valid points, don’t make stuff up. Cite your sources. It is clear that you do not know what you are talking about.
Have a nice day.
–
Joseph Casabona
ps- for more reasons why you are wrong, you can read my post about your other article, the one that tells people they have to be vegan, here
pps- since you publish your work online, as long as I give you credit for what you said, i can use it. Feel free to publish this on your site. However, this email is for your use only. Make sure you give credit where credit is due- this includes the sources I cited.
- He compares the intestines of herbivores and carnivores. We have both (small and large…)
- Eating raw food: Sushi. And, you can eat a raw chicken. You get salmanila from chicken feces they may have eaten.
Dave Sweet
September 11th, 2006/7:19 PM
Are Ozzy Osbourne and Mike Tyson the best examples you can come up with that humans are designed to rip into flesh and meat? How about this example?
Let’s assume you’re a 150-200 pound man. A carnivorous cat of that same weight would have no major problem stalking, chasing, killing and eating a deer. Could you? Since man on average runs 15-20 mph slower than a deer, first you would have to catch it. Then could you bring it down with your “claws” and administer the killing bite to the nape of its neck? Have fun nursing your dislocated jaw and looking for your broken teeth on the ground.
Joe Casabona
September 11th, 2006/7:52 PM
Well, “Dave”, 1st- your example is speculation. NOT fact, as I presented in my article. 2nd- Now, no I would not be able to. Some, no doubt, would. Long ago, when we were ‘hunters and gatherers’ we were able to do that.
Humans are designed to eat meat. If we were not designed to eat, we would get sick from it.
Dave Sweet
September 12th, 2006/11:22 AM
Sorry, “Joe”. You’re two feeble ” factual examples” don’t prove anything. Man is also physically capable of eating at a bowl of hemlock, but does that mean man is designed to eat poisonous plants?
“Long ago, when we were ‘hunters and gatherers’ we were able to do that.”
Where is your reference for this speculation? Considering a healthy man at his fastest can run between 20-25 mph, and a healthy deer between 35-40 mph, I doubt very much man could imitate a true carnivore like a cat and catch and bring down a deer.
“Humans are designed to eat meat. If we were not designed to eat (meat), we would get sick from it.”
Epidemiological evidence seems to indicate we are getting sick from it. Heart disease is our biggest killer, and while meat consumption is certainly not the only causative factor, you’ll find precious little data that supports meat consumption as a way of circumventing cardiac problems. Most of the longest-lived populations on earth eat very miniscule amounts, if any, of animal protein. And by the way, how often do you eat raw meat? You don’t see any other carnivore cooking its kill, or cutting it up with a knife and fork. True carnivores bolt their food down without chewing. Humans must chew their meat thoroughly to avoid choking on it. Just because we are capable of eating something does not mean we are physiologically designed to do so, nor that it is best for our health, human ears and bats’ heads to the contrary.
Joe Casabona
September 12th, 2006/5:18 PM
Trackback to post in entry An Open Letter to “Dave Sweet”
greg terlecky
September 12th, 2006/9:41 PM
ummm people use technology to do it’s killing ever hear of a spear or bow and arrow….or maby a gun
we were given a brain to get food not claws
Dave Sweet
September 13th, 2006/3:23 PM
In reference to “An open letter to Dave Sweet” link above.
To Joey and “Eric”:
First of all, Eric, why do you feel the need to tell me you’re attending college? Am I supposed to be impressed and ascribe a certain level of intelligence to you? Also, comments like “penile brain” reflect poorly on someone who purports to know how to debate. The refuge of someone without a valid argument is slander and sarcasm. Most children receive education in Grade 1 about name-calling.
“However, you say a man can eat hemlock. HE CAN’T.”
A man certainly can eat hemlock. He may die from it, but he can most assuredly physically eat it, much as he can munch on a human ear, bat’s head or cardboard box.
“I mentioned that we do not get sick from eating meat. Which, we don’t.”
Joe, you can check out the link below, since it appears sometimes we do get sick from eating meat:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/poison.html
“Long ago, when we were ‘hunters and gatherers’ we were able to do that.”
Both of you have misinterpreted what I said about the above quote. Joe, the above was your response to when I asked you if you could chase, catch and kill a deer. I was not asking for a reference to the fact humans were hunters and gatherers. I was asking for back-up on the ‘we were able to do that’ part, which you said in response to my initially asking you about pursuing and killing a deer. I also made mention again of the deer and man running speed comparison, so that should have been another indication I was referring to the “we were able to do that” part of your quote.
Can you cite any other omnivores that find it necessary to cook their meat?
“Just because we can eat meat doesn’t mean we are physiologically able to do so”… what does that mean, and on what grounds did you make that argument?
Eric, if you’re going to use quotation marks, please quote me correctly. My statement was, “Just because we are capable of eating something does not mean we are physiologically designed to do so, nor that it is best for our health, human ears and bats’ heads to the contrary.”
What that means is that just because humans are physically capable and able to consume meat, or hemlock or glass for that matter, does not mean that meat is a necessary or beneficial part of our diet. I made that statement on the grounds of what I wrote in that same paragraph. I assume you read the whole thing.
I don’t eat lettuce. I don’t consider it a nutritional superstar.But for your own edification, check it out: http://nutrition.about.com/od/askyournutritionist/f/lettuce_info.htm.
I hope you now feel better about yourself, Eric.
“First of all, I see what you are doing by putting MY name in quotes. However, My readers know my name is Joe. It’s on the about page. It’s in the URL. I don’t know what your name really is. That is why I used quotes.”
What I was doing, Joe, is the same thing you did to my name. Just because your name is on a website is no proof that that is your real name, but I believe it is. My real name is Dave.
It must be an infrequently visited website if it took over a year for somebody to put forward an opposing view, but I give you full credit for posting them. A sound viewpoint should be able to withstand being assailed on all fronts, so you should welcome posters that have different beliefs than you.
“I am giving you some tips on how to argue.”
Thanks anyway, Joe, but I think I’ll pass.
Revenge of the Nerd » Blog Archive » An Open Letter to “Dave Sweet”
September 13th, 2006/4:06 PM
[...] UPDATE: Dave responded to THIS post on the old post here. He says some more stupid shit that I’d love to refute but lack the time nor the engery. I really just hoped he would stop commenting on my site- I feel like I am being spammed. Like I said, it’s not opposition that bothers me, it’s the stupidity. And bashing my site. Maybe my readers just agree with me. Idiot. [...]
Dave Sweet
September 13th, 2006/6:10 PM
I think you’d love to refute, but you can’t. Please don’t give up so easily. It’s all in good fun.