Alright, my meat-eating friends. I am going to break this down for you—

What if I told you that something you do almost every day is completely unnatural? Most of you probably know that eating too much meat or eating it prepared improperly can make you sick, but modern research suggests that humans shouldn’t eat meat at all.

According to studies backed by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, eating meat causes humans to become obese, have higher blood pressure, have a higher risk of heart disease and several cancers, and have a much higher risk of chronic constipation and/or “foodborne illness. [x]” The studies in this article are important and telling because many of them used Mormon subjects. Mormon people abstain from caffeine and alcohol, two substances that can cause similar health problems as meat, so using Mormons as subjects yields stronger evidence that it is meat causing these health problems and not anything else.

Aside from the long term ailments meat can cause, most of you have probably noticed that outbreaks of food poisoning are usually caused by animal-based foods or foods that have come in contact with animal-based foods. Very few bacteria that cause food poisoning begin in plants.

Medical doctors and anthropologists alike are beginning to conclude that humans get sick from eating meat because we are not built (for lack of a better word) to do so. By refuting the arguments that we’ve always eaten meat, our bodies are capable of digesting meat, and that our bodies are designed to eat meat, I hope to persuade you that humans are naturally herbivores, as opposed to omnivores.

A common argument used to support humans being naturally omnivorous is that we have always eaten meat, which is not even true. Archaeologist Derek Wall says that the “mighty hunter” image of the early human is quite faulty and tools originally thought to be hunting tools are now appearing to be planting and harvesting tools [x]. Still, humans have obviously been eating meat for a very long time. Before our technology had progressed to the point where we were the most powerful species on the planet, we were forced to compete with other animals for our plant-based food, which threatened early humans with a potential endangerment. Based on our superior ability to imitate, it is theorized by many anthropologists that humans learned to hunt by copying other animals to survive ecosystems with limited or unsafe vegetation. This means that, while we did a good job at preserving our species, there is no substantial evidence to suggest that humans have the instinct to hunt in the same way that natural meat-eaters do.

Another common argument is that humans are capable of digesting meat, which means to many that it is natural for us to do so. Well, many animals are capable of digesting food that they are not necessarily meant to eat. Domestic cats are natural carnivores, yet they are capable of digesting the vegetables and grains in their manufactured food. Just because an animal is capable of digesting something, does not mean it should. Herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores all have separate anatomical correlations that decide what their diets should be. This means that you can tell by looking at an animal both internally and externally whether they are an herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore.

Many claim that humans are omnivores because our bodies are designed to eat meat, which is not true. As mentioned before, an animal’s anatomy decides their diet, and human anatomy matches that of herbivorous animals more than that of carnivorous or omnivorous animals. To show you the striking resemblance between humans and herbivores, I will use a comparison of humans, herbivores, and omnivores conducted by Dr. Milton R. Mills [x]:

Omnivores’ jaws can move very well up-and-down, but hardly at all side-to-side, while herbivores can move their jaws both up-and-down and side-to-side very well to allow the crushing of plants. I’d like you all to take a moment to move your jaws from side-to-side. This may seem pretty silly, but most of you can probably do it because the average human can move his/her jaw the same as an herbivore.
Omnivores have bodies that are optimal for hunting, including long, sharp, curved canines, reduced facial muscles that allow a large mouth-opening compared to the head size, and sharp, curved claws. Herbivores, as well as humans, have short, blunt canines, defined facial muscles that allow a smaller mouth-opening compared to the head size, and flattened nails, or hooves for some nonhuman herbivores. While humans have successfully hunted with tools, we could not hunt using only our teeth and fingernails like true omnivores do.
Humans sleep much less than omnivores. Dogs are true omnivores. Have you ever noticed how much of the day your dog sleeps? Cats sleep even more as carnivores. Animals that are anatomically meant to eat meat sleep up to 90% of their day to preserve energy for the hunt, while herbivores only sleep 5 to 10 hours. How much do you guys sleep? 5 to 10 hours in a 24-hour cycle or 13 to 20 hours?
Omnivores can swallow raw meat whole while herbivores must chew quite a bit before swallowing. I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t just swallow mouthfuls of food at a time; I have to chew quite a bit.
An omnivore’s stomach acidity is 1 or even less with food inside. The stomach pH of herbivores, including humans, is only 4-5 with food inside.
An omnivore’s intestines are only 4-6 times its body length, while herbivores and humans have intestines between 10 and 12 times their body length. Just like meat rots quickly laying out in the heat, it rots inside the body during digestion. Animals truly designed to eat meat have short intestinal tracts to allow a short digestion and prevent the rotting of meat inside. Humans are truly meant to get our nutrients from plants. It takes longer to absorb sugar from fruits and vegetables, which is why herbivores, as well as us, have long intestinal tracts that allow a longer digestion.

So, in summary, humans are not omnivores because we have not always eaten meat, many animals are capable of digesting things they should not, and human anatomy matches that of an herbivore more than that of an omnivore.

There are two things you can do from here if you started reading this post as a meat-eater. You can either continue to eat foods based on animal products, which is unnatural and leads to health problems for most, or you could try to cut back and maybe even eliminate animal products from your diet. It is not easy to eat only plant-based foods, but when you consider that it is the most natural way for humans, maybe it won’t be so hard.

If you’re still reading, thanks for giving me your time.