By Reza Ganjavi
Also see my article about why I don’t eat meat: https://www.rezamusic.com/health/vegetarian#h.jwl1va2p4aq2
Also see my article: Eating tips for vegetarians: https://www.rezamusic.com/health/vegetarian#h.efbsokl5a8ki
I wrote the following comment about a video a friend posted about the Canadian Veal Industry: They don't let the poor creatures move so that human who like to enjoy their veal can have it tender. If the poor creature moves it builds muscle and deprives the humans from their tender veal. If only those humans knew what is going on behind the scenes... And I'm sure none of the people I know who eat meat have the heart to murder one of those animals with their own hands because it's cruel, ugly, brutal, and inhumane. It's absolutely not necessary.
I haven't eaten meat for decades. I'm not a vegan -- still eat organic probiotic yogurt sometimes preferably from goat or sheep -- and I like eggs though I try not to eat them much and I feel better when I don't eat them. Cheese, I minimize but love and only eat organic cheese made from raw milk, preferably goat or sheep, and without animal rennet (microbial or vegetarian enzyme is not from animal stomach lining).
But there's no need to eat meat. After I quit for a month, years ago, couldn't handle the irony taste of blood anymore. And I feel so much better.
One of the key things meat eaters don't realize is that their bodies is always in a state of mild fear but they get used to it so it's not noticeable -- that's the fear that comes through the meat because when the animal is killed it's afraid. And, all the talk about compassionate killing is utter nonsense. Come here sweetie, and zap. There's no such thing as compassionate killing.
Killing is killing but it has different degrees. Killing a carrot is a lower form of killing than killing a cow. I have the heart to kill a carrot but I don't have the heart to kill an ant let along alone a cow.
There are many reasons not to eat met. I discussed it more here: https://www.rezamusic.com/health/vegetarian
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7iMlWGWy5M
Pythagoras As long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seeds of murder and pain cannot reap the joy of love.
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) It is my view that the vegetarian manner of living, by its purely physical effect on the human temperament, would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind.”
Isaac Bashevis Singer, writer and Nobel laureate (1902–1991) People often say that humans have always eaten animals, as if this is a justification for continuing the practice. According to this logic, we should not try to prevent people from murdering other people, since this has also been done since the earliest of times.
Leo Tolstoy, Russian novelist (1828–1910) As long as there are slaughterhouses there will be battlefields.”
Mark Twain Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it. - "The Lowest Animal"
Leo Tolstoy "A man can live and be healthy without killing for food.. Therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite.. And to act so is immoral."
George Bernard Shaw, writer and Nobel laureate (1856–1950) While we ourselves are the living graves of murdered beasts, how can we expect any ideal conditions on this earth? Animals are my friends...and I don't eat my friends.”
Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi: "To my mind the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being. I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man."
Socrates: Would this habit of eating animals not require that we slaughter animals that we knew as individuals, and in whose eyes we could gaze and see ourselves reflected, only a few hours before our meal?
Leonardo DaVinci: "I have from an early age abjured the use of meat, and the time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men." DaVinci claimed that flesh eaters were using their bodies as "grave yards."
Charles Darwin: "The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man."
Thomas Edison: "Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages."
Nikola Tesla was a humanitarian who loved animals. He argued that animal slaughter was “wanton and cruel” and eventually became a vegetarian.
Voltaire was an advocate of civil rights and freedom. He also believed in the virtues of vegetarianism. He once wrote that "men fed upon carnage, and drinking strong drinks, have all an impoisoned and arid blood which drives them mad in a hundred different ways." This sounds like an early precursor of the phrase "you are what you eat."
J Krishnamurti: Don’t kill animals. You follow? Don’t kill them to eat. It’s so unnecessary. It’s part of the tradition which says, you must eat meat. Therefore, sir, all this comes to a sense of deep, inward seriousness, and that seriousness itself brings about attention, caring and responsibility and all that we have discussed. It isn’t that one has gone through all this. One sees it. And the very perception is action which is wisdom. Because wisdom is the ending of suffering. ~ 18th Conversation with Dr. Allan W. Anderson, San Diego, 1974
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Reprinted by Permission
This article is copyright © Steve Pavlina
Intestinal tract length. Carnivorous animals have intestinal tracts that are 3-6x their body length, while herbivores have intestinal tracts 10-12x their body length. Human beings have the same intestinal tract ratio as herbivores.
Stomach acidity. Carnivores’ stomachs are 20x more acidic than the stomachs of herbivores. Human stomach acidity matches that of herbivores.
Saliva. The saliva of carnivores is acidic. The saliva of herbivores is alkaline, which helps pre-digest plant foods. Human saliva is alkaline.
Shape of intestines. Carnivore bowels are smooth, shaped like a pipe, so meat passes through quickly — they don’t have bumps or pockets. Herbivore bowels are bumpy and pouch-like with lots of pockets, like a windy mountain road, so plant foods pass through slowly for optimal nutrient absorption. Human bowels have the same characteristics as those of herbivores.
Fiber. Carnivores don’t require fiber to help move food through their short and smooth digestive tracts. Herbivores require dietary fiber to move food through their long and bumpy digestive tracts, to prevent the bowels from becoming clogged with rotting food. Humans have the same requirement as herbivores.
Cholesterol. Cholesterol is not a problem for a carnivore’s digestive system. A carnivore such as a cat can handle a high-cholesterol diet without negative health consequences. A human cannot. Humans have zero dietary need for cholesterol because our bodies manufacture all we need. Cholesterol is only found in animal foods, never in plant foods. A plant-based diet is by definition cholesterol-free.
Claws and teeth. Carnivores have claws, sharp front teeth capable of subduing prey, and no flat molars for chewing. Herbivores have no claws or sharp front teeth capable of subduing prey, but they have flat molars for chewing. Humans have the same characteristics as herbivores.
But aren’t humans anatomically suited to be omnivores?
Nope. We don’t anatomically match up with omnivorous animals anymore than we do with carnivorous ones. Omnivores are more similar to carnivores than they are to herbivores. For a more detailed summary table that compares the properties of carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores side by side, see this page:
Comparative Anatomy & Taxonomy
The link above also debunks the opportunistic feeder theory, which states that because humans can eat like omnivores, that we must therefore be omnivores. And this is of course false because mere behavior doesn’t indicate suitability. There are plenty of things we can do as a species that would threaten our survival if we all considered them suitable default behavior, such as shooting each other, lobbing hand grenades, or sending spam.