"It's our natural instinct."

[AnimalAvenger]

How can eating meat "be our natural instinct?" I don't know about you, but when I see a random animal out in the wild, I don't say, "Ooh, I'm going to run after it and eat its flesh!" I know no one who has a drive to kill these animals. They may come after an animal and try to shoot the animal with a gun, but I do not believe they have an instinctual drive to kill the animal.

[GYARADOS.]

i could understand humans eating already dead animals, but look at us! we're no match for a cow/bull or even a deer! i cannot imagine a human jumping on a cow or bull and trying to kill it with our tiny K9 teeth and lack of claws.

[streamofpassion]

a quote I saw on another forum: "If you put a baby(toddler) in a playpen with a bunny and an apple, and the baby eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I'll give you a million dollars."

anyway, if humans were truly all born with the instinct to eat animals, why are even most omni's disgusted and repulsed to witness the actual process of killing and cutting open an animal (to retrieve its flesh for their consumption)? why can't humans eat raw meat without getting parasites and becoming horribly sick? why hasn't nature equipped us with the kind of body that can chase down an animal, tear open it's skin with our nonexistent big teeth or claws, and digest the flesh properly?

it's not in human instinct to eat animals, it's merely something that's drilled into our heads from the moment we're born by misguided parents/family members, general society, and the media.

[GYARADOS.]

beautifully put, avery!

[Snowpaw]

I know this is kinda late but I want to start this again

Click on the link and at the bottom click on read more

www.goveg.com/naturalhumandiet.asp

[Linn]

Hm. I'm not sure about instincts, but it doesn't seem terribly abnormal. We can survive with meat as a large part of our diet, and our ancestors ate it. Early humans figured out a way to catch and/or kill animals despite the fact that our bodies can't do it without the use of tools.

We're a pretty weak species overall. We don't have big claws or teeth. We don't have thick fur to protect us from the elements. We're more prone to illness, and infection. I mean, honestly. How often does your dog catch a cold? While we get them once or twice a year. So we evolved to use our brains more than our bodies. We figured out how to kill things, and use their skins for warmth. And how to do a lot of other things.

I think that way back when, when killing large animals meant the difference between your tribe surviving the winter or dying off, the hunters of the tribe did have an instinctual need to kill. That instinct may have devolved, since very few of us do the killing, or even have anything to do with it. We walk into the grocery store, grab our pre-packaged meat, pay for it, and leave. And we've been doing that for quite a while now. That doesn't involve personally killing anything, so why would our instincts urge us to do so?

Also, I think that most humans are disgusted or disturbed by the butchering process because we haven't had to be a part of it for so long. Well, aside from the people who's job that is. A person who grew up in the city would be appalled if they were suddenly asked to live in the country, where the creek is your shower and there's dirt everywhere. (Not the best comparison, but it's 1:30 in the morning.) So for a human who didn't grow up with slaughter and butchery as the norm, yes, it would be disgusting and disturbing.

I know that I'm not disturbed by it, if it's done in a humane way. I look at raw meat, and it looks delicious enough to eat as is. Blood and all. Somehow, it looks less appetizing when cooked. (Of course, that's all a moot point anyway. I don't eat it.) And I've never seen an animal butchered, or killed. At least, in real life.

Of course, this could mean that I'm mentally disturbed or unstable and have nothing to do with being human, or human instincts. But if eating meat was against my instincts, I wouldn't have that reaction would I?

I think that in matters of survival, humans don't ever fall back on their instincts nowadays, unless they're in an actual survival situation. Life is very cold and impersonal. You learn from an early age that food comes from stores. Water comes out of a bottle, or faucet. Use a lighter to make fire, or put on a blanket to keep warm. Our lives are so calm and mundane, and so spelled out, that we don't need our instincts for much anymore. For the most part anyway.

Or maybe I'm just overthinking again.

Either way. I don't think it's our natural instinct anymore, but that once it was. But I don't think that it goes against our natures either. Eating meat is just another learned behavior, another part of everyday life that most people overlook and don't tend to spend any thought on.

[brittybop]

way back when there were no guns or anything we needed meat to survive but now that we dont we shouldnt be eating it at every meal or even half of them

[Linn]

No, we probably don't need to. But it's a very old habit that's hard to break. Especially when it tastes so good. XD