Carnivores and Humans--How do we compare?

One of the most popular statements (among a few other common repeats) I encounter from meat eaters as a vegan and animal advocate is  "In the wild animals kill and eat other animals to survive so what is the difference if we do the same thing?"

A popular second to this is "It's cool that you don't eat meat but I'm a carnivore."

My response to  these statements is this. First of all we are not living in the wild and can easily live, in-fact we thrive on a plant based diet without killing animals for food. There is a HUGE difference between carnivorous animals eating other animals and humans eating animals. I think the most important differences to consider are the differences between carnivores, omnivores and herbivores. I am going to  describe these differences without getting into the nutritional aspect of the issue or discussing the health issues associated humans eating animals and/or their secretions. 

Animals that kill for food (carnivores) are behaving naturally. They could not survive otherwise. That is not the case with humans. Carnivorous animals hunt without weapons, they have claws and sharp front teeth capable of subduing prey. They eat the animals they kill raw. Humans have the same characteristics as herbivores, as they have no claws or sharp front teeth capable of subduing prey, they have flat molars for chewing. If humans were meant to eat meat, then they would eat all of their meat raw and bloody.

The Carnivorous Tiger

The Carnivorous Lion

The Herbivorous Zebra

Another big difference is food digestion and the shape and size of  the intestines. Carnivorous animals have intestinal tracts that are 3-6x their body length, while herbivores have intestinal tracts usually 10-12x their body length. Human beings have the same intestinal tract ratio as herbivores, at about 10x the length of the human body.

A carnivore has bowels that are smooth, shaped like a pipe, so that rapidly decaying meat can pass through quickly. Herbivore bowels are bumpy and pouch-like, so plant foods pass through slowly for optimal nutrient absorption. Human bowels have the same characteristics as those of herbivores.

A carnivore doesn'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 is not a problem for a carnivores 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.

The saliva of a carnivore is acidic. The saliva of a herbivore is alkaline, which helps pre-digest plant foods. Human saliva is alkaline. 

A carnivores stomach is 20x more acidic than the stomach of  a herbivore. The human stomach acidity matches that of herbivores.

It is important to note that omnivores are more similar to carnivores than they are to herbivores. 

The Omnivorous Raccoon

The Omnivorous Bear

The differences between a carnivore, herbivore and omnivore compared to a human.

Feature - Facial Muscles

Carnivore-Reduced to allow wide mouth gape

Herbivore-Well-developed

Omnivore-Reduced

Human-Well-developed

Feature - Jaw Type

Carnivore-Angle not expanded

Herbivore-Expanded angle

Omnivore-Angle not expanded

Human-Expanded angle

Feature - 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

Feature - 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

Feature - Major Jaw Muscles

Carnivore-Temporalis

Herbivore-Masseter and pterygoids

Omnivore-Temporalis

Human-Masseter and pterygoids

Feature - Mouth Opening vs. Head Size

Carnivore-Large

Herbivore-Small

Omnivore-Large

Human-Small

Feature - Teeth: Incisors

Carnivore-Short and pointed

Herbivore-Broad, flattened and spade shaped

Omnivore-Short and pointed

Human-Broad, flattened and spade shaped

Feature - 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

Feature - 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

Feature - Chewing

Carnivore-None; swallows food whole

Herbivore-Extensive chewing necessary

Omnivore-Swallows food whole and/or simple crushing

Human-Extensive chewing necessary

Feature - Saliva

Carnivore-No digestive enzymes

Herbivore-Carbohydrate digesting enzymes

Omnivore-No digestive enzymes

Human-Carbohydrate digesting enzymes

Feature - Stomach Type

Carnivore-Simple

Herbivore-Simple or multiple chambers

Omnivore-Simple

Human-Simple

Feature - 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

Feature - 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

Feature - 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

Feature - Colon

Carnivore-Simple, short and smooth, no fermentation

Herbivore-Long, complex; may be sacculated, may ferment

Omnivore-Simple, short and smooth, no fermentation

Human-Long, sacculated, may ferment

Feature - Liver

Carnivore-Can detoxify vitamin A

Herbivore-Cannot detoxify vitamin A

Omnivore-Can detoxify vitamin A

Human-Cannot detoxify vitamin A

Feature - Kidney

Carnivore-Extremely concentrated urine

Herbivore-Moderately concentrated urine

Omnivore-Extremely concentrated urine

Human-Moderately concentrated urine

Feature - Nails

Carnivore-Sharp claws

Herbivore-Flattened nails or blunt hooves

Omnivore-Sharp claws

Human-Flattened nails

Feature - Thermostasis

Carnivore-Hyperventilation

Herbivore-Perspiration

Omnivore-Hyperventilation

Human-Perspiration

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 "You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit. If it eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I'll buy you a new car." -Harvey Diamond

"Though there are more herbivorous animals in the world than carnivores, they’re never used as the example of what is “natural.” We don't point to our molars and say “Look! Just like the herbivores of the world!” We align ourselves with the carnivorous lion rather than the vegetarian elephant, justifying behavior we aren’t compelled to by nature but driven towards because of habit, tradition, convenience, or pleasure." -Colleen Patrick Goudreau 

The Herbivorous Elephant

Vegan thoughts about children

The other day I was watching Jeopardy and at the beginning when the contestants have to tell a interesting or funny story about themselves, one contestant says that when he was a child his mother was teaching him to help plant the family garden and he decided to plant a pork-chop....to grow some more pork-chops.  Which quite obviously did not work out the way he thought it would.  Of course, everyone in the audience and on the show laughed, but to me it was one of the saddest things I've heard in a long time.  Just thinking of a child's pure heart and innocence breaks my heart.

Isn't it interesting how a child shown how food grows from seed in the dirt, would automatically assume that all the food they are given to eat would come to be just as simple?  I find it terribly sad how children are lied to from the moment they are able to understand words, about the food that they are given to eat.  Children are not told that a "pork-chop" is really a murdered and cut up pig.  A pig, that the child, if given the chance, would naturally identify as a friend.  Kids are not told that the "hot dogs" they love so much are really ground up pigs. They are not told that the milk that their parents give them everyday was really meant for a calf, that was stolen within days of birth from it's mother, only to be stuffed in a crate not even big enough for the baby to stand up or turn around, left to sit and suffer in it's own excrement until it is sent to be murdered and chopped up, all so their family can eat "veal" for dinner.

None the less, after being desensitized and removed from the reality of the situation the child grows up with such a distorted view of the world they live in.  Maybe they will be upset when they learn that animals have to die to put the food they eat on their plates, but after being repeatedly lied to and shielded from the horrors that are the truth, they eventually accept it and move on. They grow up to be very much disconnected from it all. If we tell children that it is okay to kill certain animals and or use them for whatever purpose we see fit, where does it stop?  Just what are we really teaching our youth about the sanctity of LIFE?

Please teach love, kindness, compassion and Respect for ALL LIFE.