Preview

Humans, Omnivorous or Vegetarians? Essay Example

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
674 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Humans, Omnivorous or Vegetarians? Essay Example
Informative Essay
“Omnivorous or vegetarian?”

Some people are ‘meat lovers’ while others fiercely reject the idea of humans eating meat. Perceptions and love/hate for meat vary according to each ideological frame and culture. However, this informative essay will not address the perceptions and preferences that people might have. It depends on a scientific debate with those who think that prehistoric man was vegetarian in nature and therefore humans should not eat meat and those who think that humans have always been omnivorous which means that we can eat seeds, grains, plants, fruits, but also animals. Through this essay I will defend that it is normal and natural that humans eat meat, in contrast with the vegetarian’s arguments, however it is healthier if we do not eat great amounts of meat per week.
An argument defending human as vegetarian is centered on the characteristics of the human body compared to carnivorous animals. It argues that because humans don’t have claws or pointed teeth we shouldn’t eat meat. However, I found that the digestive and dental system of homo sapiens serves as an example on omnivorous adjustment because the incisor teeth and canine are good to tear cooked meat into pieces, whereas the molars are needed to grind vegetable matter. Furthermore, vegetarians argue that carnivorous animals have smaller intestines than humans because raw meat needs to be defecated faster, so it won’t turn bad before it can be digested. However one argument to counter this position is that humans can’t be totally vegetarian either because plant material containing fiber and cellulose cannot be efficiently broken down by the enzymes our stomachs secrete and because humans have simple-chamber stomach while herbivores have multiple-chamber stomach. This reinforces the argument that humans are omnivorous because our bodies are not totally prepared for such big amounts of meat, like carnivorous animals, nor for all kinds of plants. Rather we should have a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    We, as humans, have developed such a bizarre and uncomfortable relationship with non-human animals. In her short essay, Makenna Goodman describes how for dinner she had her guests come over and one had to kill a chicken for their meal. Goodman also discusses the efforts made by farmers to supply their families with farm-fresh food that has been prepared in an ethical way. Goodman introduces her article by sharing with us about her own life as a farmer and how it explains her opinion about killing what we eat. Indeed, for some people, the connection to the food that we eat is vital and offers explications on the backstory of what we consume.…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pollan, Michael. “The Feedlot: Making Meat.” The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. (2006): 70-84. Print.…

    • 317 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Have you ever thought about how the food you’re about to eat was prepared? I know I rarely do, and many of us never pay any mind to what exactly is on our plate. David Foster Wallace’s essay will almost definitely make you ask yourself a few questions regarding meat consumption. His piece talks about the controversy behind killing lobsters and questions people’s general views on that matter, making his audience think about morality.…

    • 1039 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Over the course of mankind, “meat has been closely associated with power and privilege—a staple for the gentry and a rare treat for the peasants” (Ruby, Heine 448). Linking back to Campbell’s 1940 beef soup advertisement, beef is illustrated as a “For MEN Only” diet. There is a possibility that the ad’s secret message conveys’ females as being vegans’ since “people’s perceptions of vegetarians found that women were more accepting of vegetarians than men (Walker, 1995)…” (447). Furthermore, “[women’s] attitudes toward vegetarians were predominantly positive, especially among those [that scored] low in authoritarianism (Chin, Fisak, & Sims, 2002), and that omnivores tend to rate vegetarians as good, but weak people (Monin & Minson, 2007).” (447). In other words, women and vegetarians are seen as inferior compared to those who eat meat – though this is seen a generalization/perception in society. On the other hand, vegetarians are also perceived as people that have “a stronger sense of virtue and morality in those who abstain from eating meat” (450), since they abide by “four principal reasons: concern for animal welfare, concern for the environment, concern for health, and disgust at the sensory qualities of meat (e.g. Fox & Ward, 2008; Santos & Booth, 1996; Worsley & Skrzypiec, 1998).” (447). For males,…

    • 1817 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    watchmen vs dark knight

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages

    On the other hand, Alan Herscovici argues that there is no reason to stop eating meat, He talks about how meat is an excellent soucre of 12 essential nutrients, including protein, iron, zinc and vitimain B , and his research also says that todays meats are lean eliminating the excessive fat that can be harmful.Herscovici argues that people have rarely been vegeterian by choice, most often, vegetarianism is the unfortunate result of poverty.Therefore, after analyzing, Pace has the stronger argument.…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    People tend to pay as much attention to food as they do brushing their teeth. I urge you, however, to take a step back, slow down, and really think about the food you eat. Eating is a complex thing. It may surprise you. And when you actually think about eating, you will eventually come to think about eating meat. This is no accident, meat has it's pull on humanity. And on our world. The choices we make matter. According to the best-selling author Jonathan Safran Foer, eating the meat we know "is certainly the single worst thing that humans can do to the environment"(457). Foer has been recognized by Rolling Stones Magazine and Esquire for his many accomplishments. In one of his works, "Against Meat", Foer covers the relationship of meat and…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Have you ever wondered where your food comes from? The Omnivore’s Dilemma, written by Michael Pollan, digs deeper into this question. He explains the different food chains and argues that some are more wholesome and healthy than others. In this way, he solves “the omnivore’s dilemma”; when people can eat everything, what should they eat? Pollan proves that guidance is necessary in order to improve people’s eating habits by writing about healthful food choices from the past, how our senses are fooling us to make the wrong food choices, and how culture impacts the food on everyone’s plates.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Everyday millions of people are consuming hazardous rations. Meat is consumed in huge amounts every year. The nutritional benefit of consuming less meat, body systems that are improved, and the horrors that are not discussed when meat production occurs will enlighten one and change lifelong choices. Vegetarianism contrary to popular belief is the healthier life style choice and one that will not be regretted.…

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The consumption of meat is a better or dietary option then vegetarianism. Not only does it have added health benefits that vegetarians don’t receive. It is also a easier harvest to produce. Author Barbara Kingsolver writes about the importance of livestock harvests and how the resources for animal harvests are much smaller than the resources for vegetable harvests. In her essay you can’t run away on harvest day she also talks about the geographical locations that can’t grow vegetables and the native people who can only survive on the harvest of livestock. David Biello talks about the resources that go into agriculture and the negative affects like deforestation or wasted produce in his essay will organic food fail to feed the world.’…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ever since the beginning of human race, meat has been a primary source of food. From our ancestors hunting animals for meat, to our generation going into a fast food restaurant and ordering a cheeseburger, meat has always been a huge part of our food consumption. Today there are certain groups that look at meat industry as a slaughter house. They do everything in their power to “stop animal cruelty”, as they put it. This story, “Carnal Knowledge” revolves around this dilemma. It’s a story of a man whose perspective on meat changes throughout the story after he meets Alena Jorgensen, a Vegan.…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Phil. outline

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages

    i. Regan suggests that by basing the case for vegetarianism on animals’ rights Singer could dish out with the need to investigate systematically the likely consequence of changing our eating habits.…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first perspective is of a carnivore’s. The taste of meat is one of many things in life that you can’t just recreate and expect it to have the same taste as the original. It has a unique taste and texture that only the mastication of flesh in between your teeth can satisfy. The tenderness, juiciness, and taste is what leaves people wanting more. Speaking from my past love for meat those were all the reasons I was head over heels in love with it. Although after I learned what these poor creatures have to endure for me enjoy such a delicacy I became a vegetarian. Some meat eaters know about what goes on in factory farms and how their food is processed but they continue to enjoy their consumption of meat. Although it is a good source of protein…

    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Trust is one of the most essential feeling that anyone would want in themselves, and in other. Trust gives us the confident to support one’s point of view, and believes. There is no doubt that we can perfectly relate this to Michael Pollan’s essay “An Animal Place”. Pollan addresses the animal rightist claim that animals should be giving more rights, while other think that animals do disserve to have right since they are less intelligent than us humans. Pollan’s main objective is not to persuade his audience to stop eating meat, but rather to study the ethics of eating animals and to find out the way meat is processed by building a sense of trust with his audience. He effectively abutment his main opinion about the problem in the industrialized…

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There has always been a battle between meat eaters and vegetarians. There is so much controversy regarding what the human race should or should not be putting in their bodies. Vegetarians often try to convert the meat eaters with their bias information and vice versa. The truth is, no one should be worried about what the other person is eating. Unless that person is responsible for providing the food, he or she should not worry about what the other person is consuming. What another decides to put in their body will in not affect some else’s body. Which is why everyone should learn the truth about both diets and decide which is better for them.…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bill McKibben’s essay “The Only Way to Have a Cow” establishes a sense of comfort as his approach to the meat eating controversy is superbly logical. The current industrial approach to livestock has birthed an issue pertaining to the sustainability and healthy feeding of our lives. Yet there is another problem in relation to our consumption, which tends to be overlooked. If the pricing of meat reflected in the damage done to our environments, feedlot beef would cost more than grass-fed beef both financially and environmentally. It is the rapid, inhumane dietary feeding of the cow which is insulting, not the consumption of it, and taking no responsibility for the run-off is an offense to the earth and it’s inhabitants. These costs alone are part of the reasoning for the current system which is inefficient and uneconomically feasible. The…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays