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Humans have always eaten meat
Jan 28, 2008
Focus: Science
Action Request: Think About
Location: United States
this awesome article comes from: http://wegetarian.com.pl/alt.animals.ethics.vegetarian/44193,Humans_have_always_eaten_meat.html

* Human ancestral diets changed substantially approximately four to
five million years ago with major climatic changes creating open
grassland environments.

* We developed a larger brain balanced by a smaller, simpler
gastrointestinal tract requiring higher-quality foods based around
meat protein and fat.

Journal Human Evolution
The human adaptations to meat eating: a reappraisal
Hladik C. M. 1 and Pasquet P. 2
(1) Laboratoire d'Ecologie, Éco-Anthropologie, CNRS (FRE
2323) and Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 4 avenue du
Petit Château, 91800 Brunoy, (France)
(2) Dynamique de l'évolution humaine CNRS (UPR 2147) 44,
rue de l'Amiral Mouchez, 75014, France
Received: 10 April 2001  Accepted: 28 December 2001

Abstract

In this paper we discuss the hypothesis, proposed by some authors,
that man is a habitual meat-eater. Gut measurements of primate species
do not support the contention that human digestive tract is specialized
for meat-eating, especially when taking into account allometric factors
and their variations between folivores, frugivores and meat-eaters. The
dietary status of the human species is that of an unspecialised frugivore,
having a flexible diet that includes seeds and meat (omnivorous diet).
Throughout the various time periods, our human ancestors could have
mostly consumed either vegetable, or large amounts of animal matter
(with fat and/or carbohydrates as a supplement), depending on the
availability and nutrient content of food resources. Some formerly
adaptive traits (e.g. the "thrifty genotype") could have resulted from
selective pressure during transitory variations of feeding behaviour
linked to environmental constraints existing in the past.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/rr78052089583418/

'Frugivory is an intellectually demanding feeding behaviour demanding
the development of strategic planning, whereas the folivores feeding
behavior engages relatively simple tactics. According to Caroline E. G.
Tutin et al. 'Allometric analyses suggest a relation between brain size
(relative to body mass) and diet, with frugivores having relatively larger
brains . . . Maintaining a frugivorous diet presents huge intellectual
challenges of memory and spatial mapping compared with the relative
ease of harvesting abundant foliage foods.
..
Anthropologies 'Man The Hunter' concept is still used as a reason
for justifying the consumption of animal flesh as food. This has even
extended as far as suggesting that animal foods have enabled or
caused human brain enlargement. Allegedly this is because of the
greater availability of certain kinds of fats and the sharing behaviour
associated with eating raw animal food. The reality is that through
natural selection, the environmental factors our species have been
exposed to selected for greater brain development, long before raw
animal flesh became a significant part of our ancient ancestors diet.
The elephant has also developed a larger brain than the human brain,
on a diet primarily consisting of fermented foliage and fruits. It is my
hypothesis that it is eating fruits and perhaps blossoms, that has, if
anything, contributed the most in allowing humans to develop
relatively larger brains than other species. The ability of humans to
develop normal brains with a dietary absence of animal products is
also noted.
...
Given a plentiful supply of fruits the mother does not have to
risk expending much of her effort obtaining difficult to get foods
like raw animal flesh, insects, nuts and roots. Furthermore, fruits
contain abundant supplies of sugars which the brain solely uses
for energy. The mother who's genes better dispose her for an
easy life on fruits would have an advantage of those who do not,
and similarly, the fruit species which is the best food for mother
and child nutrition, would tend to be selected for. There is now
little doubt amongst distinguished biologists that fruit has been
the most significant dietary constituent in the evolution of humans.
...
What are the essential biochemical properties of human metabolism
which distinguish us from our non-human primate relatives? One,
at least, is our uniquely low protein requirement as described by
Olav T. Oftedal who says:

"Human milk has the lowest protein concentration (about 7% of
energy) of any primate milk that has been studied. In general, it
appears that primates produce small daily amounts of a relatively
dilute milk (Oftedal 1984). Thus the protein and energy demands
of lactation are probably low for primates by comparison to the
demands experienced by many other mammals." The nutritional
consequences of foraging in primates: the relationship of nutrient
intakes to nutrient requirements, p.161 Philosophical Transactions:
Biological Sciences vol 334, 159-295, No. 1270

One might imagine that given our comparatively 'low protein' milk,
we would not be able to grow very fast. In fact, as the image on the
right shows, human infants show very rapid growth, especially of
the brain, during the first year of life. Human infants are born a full
year earlier than they would be projected to, based on comparisons
with other animals. This is because of the large size their brains
reach. A human infant grows at the rate of 9 kg/year at birth, falling
to 3.5 kg/year a year later. Thereafter its growth rate is about half
that of a chimpanzees at 2 kg/year vs. about 4.5 kg/year. Humans
are relatively half as bulky as the other great apes, thus allowing
nutrients to be directed at brain development and the diet to be less
demanding. The advantages of such an undemanding metabolism
are clear. Humans delay their growth because they 'catch up' later,
during puberty as seen on the graph. Even so, the growth rate never
reaches that of a newborn infant who grows best by only eating
breast milk.
....
According to Exequiel M. Patińo and Juan T. Borda 'Primate milks
contain on the average 13% solids, of which 6.5% is lactose, 3.8%
lipids, 2.4% proteins, and 0.2% ash. Lactose is the largest
component of the solids, and protein is a lesser one'. They also say
that 'milks of humans and Old World monkeys have the highest
percentages of sugar (an average of 6.9%)' and when comparing
human and non human primate milks, they have similar proportions
of solids, but human milks has more sugar and fat whereas the non
human primate milks have much more protein. They continue 'In
fact, human milk has the lowest concentration of proteins (1.0%)
of all the species of primates.' Patińo and Borda present their
research in order to allow other primatologists to construct artificial
milks as a substitute for the real thing for captive primates. It is to
be expected that these will have similar disasterous consequences
as the feeding of artificial bovine, and other false milks, has had on
human infants.

Patińo and Borda also present a table which compares primate
milks. This table is shown below and identifies the distinctive
lower protein requirements of humans.  [see link]

Undoubtedly these gross metabolic differences between humans
and other mammals must have system wide implications for our
metabolism. They allow us to feed heavily on fruits, and may restrict
other species from choosing them. Never the less, many nutritional
authorities suggest that adult humans need nearly double (12% of
calorific value) their breast milk levels of protein, although it is
accepted that infant protein requirements for growth are triple those
of adults. The use of calorific values might also confuse the issue
since human milk is highly dilute (1% protein), and clearly eating
foods that might be 25 times this concentration, such as meat, are
massive excesses if constantly ingested. Certainly the body might
manage to deal with this excess without suffering immediate
problems, but this is not proof of any beneficial adaptation. It also
needs to be pointed out that berries, such as raspberries, may yield
up to 21% of their calorific value from protein, but are not regarded
as 'good sources' of protein by nutritional authorites. There are
millions of fruits available to wild animals, and blanked
generalisations about the qualities of certain food groups, need to
be examined carefully, due to some misconceptions arising from
the limited commercial fruits which we experience in the domestic
state.

The weaning of a fruigivorous primate would clearly demand the
supply of a food with nutritional characteristics similar to those
of the mothers milk. We must realise that supportive breast
feeding may continue for up to 9 or 10 years in some 'rimitive'
peoples, and this is more likely to be representative of our
evolutionary history than the 6 month limit often found in modern
cultures. This premature weaning should strike any aware
naturalist as being a disasterous activity, inflicting untold damage.
However, what we do know of the consequences is that it
reduces the IQ and disease resistance of the child, and that the
substitute of unnatural substances, like wheat and dairy products,
is pathogenic.

Finally we need to compare some food group compositions with
human milk in order to establish if any statistical similarity exists.
This would demonstrate that modern humans have inherited their
ancient fruigivorous metabolism. This data is examined below in
the final sections of the article.
.....'
http://tinyurl.com/dahps
* Anthropological evidence from cranio-dental features and fossil
stable isotope analysis indicates a growing reliance on meat
consumption during human evolution.

See below.
* Study of hunter-gatherer societies in recent times shows an extreme
reliance on hunted and fished animal foods for survival.

'Ethnographic parallels with modern hunter-gatherer communities have
been taken to show that the colder the climate, the greater the reliance
on meat. There are sound biological and economic reasons for this, not
least in the ready availability of large amounts of fat in arctic mammals.
>From this, it has been deduced that the humans of the glacial periods
were primarily hunters, while plant foods were more important during
the interglacials. '
http://www.phancocks.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/naturalhistory/devensian.htm
* Optimal foraging theory shows that wild plant foods in general give
an inadequate energy return for survival, whereas the top-ranking food
items for energy return are large hunted animals.

'It has long been held that big game hunting is THE key development
in human evolutionary history, facilitating the appearance of patterns
in reproduction, social organization, and life history fundamental to
the modern human condition. Though this view has been challenged
strongly in recent years, it persists as the conventional wisdom, largely
for lack of a plausible alternative. Recent research on women's time
allocation and food sharing among tropical hunter-gatherers now
provides the basis for such an alternative.

The problem with big game hunting

The appeal of big game hunting as an important evolutionary force
lies in the common assumption that hunting and related paternal
provisioning are essential to child rearing among human foragers:
mother is seen as unable to bear, feed and raise children on her
own; hence relies on husband/father for critical nutritional support,
especially in the form of meat. This makes dating the first
appearance of this pattern the fundamental problem in human
origins research. The common association between stone tools
and the bones of large animals at sites of Pleistocene age suggests
to many that it may be quite old, possibly originating with Homo
erectus nearly two million years ago (e.g. Gowlett 1993).

Despite its widespread acceptance, there are good reasons to be
skeptical about the underlying assumption. Most important is the
observation that big game hunting is actually a poor way to support
a family. Among the Tanzanian Hadza, for example, men armed
with bows and poisoned arrows operating in a game-rich habitat
acquire large animal prey only about once every thirty hunter-days,
not nearly often enough to feed their children effectively. They
could do better as provisioners by taking small game or plant
foods, yet choose not to, which suggests that big game hunting
serves some other purpose unrelated to offspring survivorship
(Hawkes et al. 1991). Whatever it is, reliable support for children
must come from elsewhere.

The importance of women's foraging and food sharing

Recent research on Hadza time allocation and foraging returns
shows that at least among these low latitude foragers, women's
gathering is the source (Hawkes et al. 1997). The most difficult
time of the year for the Hadza is the dry season, when foods
younger children can procure for themselves are unavailable.
Mothers respond by provisioning youngsters with foods they
themselves can procure daily and at relatively high rates, but that
their children cannot, largely because of handling requirements.
Tubers, which require substantial upper body strength and
endurance to collect and the ability to control fire in processing,
are a good example.

Provisioning of this sort has at least two important implications:
1) it allows the Hadza to operate in times and places where they
otherwise could not if, as among other primates, weaned offspring
were responsible for feeding themselves; 2) it lets another adult
assist in the process allowing mother to turn her attention to the
next pregnancy that much sooner. Quantitative data on time
allocation, foraging returns, and changes in children's nutritional
status indicate that, among the Hadza, that other adult is typically
grandmother. Senior Hadza women forage long hours every day,
enjoy high returns for effort, and provision their grandchildren
effectively, especially when their daughters are nursing new
infants (Hawkes et al. 1989, 1997). Their support is crucial to
both daughters' fecundity and grandchildren's survivorship,
with important implications for grandmothers' own fitness.
....
http://www.cast.uark.edu/local/icaes/conferences/wburg/posters/oconnell/oconnell.html
* Numerous evolutionary adaptations in humans indicate high reliance
on meat consumption, including poor taurine production, lack of
ability to chain elongate plant fatty acids and the co-evolution of
parasites related to dietary meat.

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-33032987_ITM

'Analyses of data from the China studies by his collaborators and
others, Campbell told the epidemiology symposium, is leading to
policy recommendations. He mentioned three:

* The greater the variety of plant-based foods in the diet, the
greater the benefit. Variety insures broader coverage of known
and unknown nutrient needs.

* Provided there is plant food variety, quality and quantity, a
healthful and nutritionally complete diet can be attained without
animal-based food.

* The closer the food is to its native state - with minimal heating,
salting and processing - the greater will be the benefit.
...'
http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/01/6.28.01/China_Study_II.html
INTRODUCTION

Anthropologists have long recognised that the diets of palaeolithic
and recent hunter-gatherers (HGs) represent a reference standard for
modern human nutrition and a model for defence against certain Western-
lifestyle diseases. Boyd Eaton of Emory University (Atlanta) put this
succinctly: 'We are the heirs of inherited characteristics accrued
over millions of years, the vast majority of our biochemistry and
physiology are tuned to life conditions that existed prior to the
advent of agriculture. Genetically our bodies are virtually the same
as they were at the end of the palaeolithic period. The appearance of
agriculture some 10,000 years ago and the Industrial Revolution some
200 years ago introduced new dietary pressures for which no adaptation
has been possible in such a short time span. Thus an inevitable
discordance exists between our dietary intake and that which our genes
are suited to'. This discordance hypothesis postulated by Eaton could
explain many of the chronic 'diseases of civilisation'. (1) This
review presents an anthropological perspective on what HG populations
may have actually eaten.

'Anthropologically speaking, humans were high consumers of calcium
until the onset of the Agricultural Age, 10,000 years ago. Current
calcium intake is one-quarter to one-third that of our evolutionary diet
and, if we are genetically identical to the Late Paleolithic Homo sapiens,
we may be consuming a calcium-deficient diet our bodies cannot adjust
to by physiologic mechanisms.

The anthropological approach says, with the exception of a few small
changes related to genetic blood diseases, that humans are basically
identical biologically and medically to the hunter-gatherers of the late
Paleolithic Era.17  During this period, calcium content of the diet was
much higher than it is currently.  Depending on the ratio of animal to
plant foods, calcium intake could have exceeded 2000 mg per day.17
Calcium was largely derived from wild plants, which had a very high
calcium content; animal protein played a small role, and the use of
dairy products did not come into play until the Agricultural Age
10,000 years ago. Compared to the current intake of approximately
500 mg per day for women age 20 and over in the United States,18
hunter-gatherers had a significantly higher calcium intake and
apparently much stronger bones. As late as 12,000 years ago,
Stone Age hunters had an average of 17-percent more bone density
(as measured by humeral cortical thickness). Bone density also
appeared to be stable over time with an apparent absence of
osteoporosis.17

High levels of calcium excretion via renal losses are seen with both
high salt and high protein diets, in each case at levels common in the
United States.10,11
...
The only hunter-gatherers that seemed to fall prey to bone loss were
the aboriginal Inuit (Eskimos). Although their physical activity level
was high, their osteoporosis incidence exceeded even present-day
levels in the United States. The Inuit diet was high in phosphorus
and protein and low in calcium.20
...'
http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/fulltext/calcium4-2.html
Contrary to views that humans evolved largely as a herbivorous animal
in a 'garden of Eden' type of environment, historical evidence
indicates a very different reality, at least in the last four to five
million years of evolutionary adaptation. It was in this time frame
that the ancestral hominid line emerged from the receding forests to
become bipedal, open grassland dwellers. This was likely

Note.
accompanied
by dietary changes and subsequent physiological and metabolic
adaptations. The evolutionary pressure for some primates to undergo
this habitat and subsequent diet change involving open grassland,
foraging/scavenging, related directly to massive changes in global
climatic conditions, primarily drier conditions followed by worldwide
expansion of the biomass of temperate climate (C4) grasses at the
expense of wetland forests, (2) accompanied by a worldwide faunal
change, (3) including the spread of large grazing animals. Thus, the
foods available to human ancestors in an open grassland environment
were very different from those of the jungle/forest habitats that were
home for many millions of years.

"Studies of frugivorous communities elsewhere suggest that dietary
divergence is highest when preferred food (succulent fruit) is scarce,
and that niche separation is clear only at such times (Gautier-Hion &
Gautier 1979: Terborgh 1983). - Foraging profiles of sympatric
lowland gorillas and chimpanzees in the Lopé Reserve, Gabon, p.179,
Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences vol 334, 159-295,
No. 1270
ANCESTRAL DIETS: ANTHROPOLOGICAL EVIDENCE

The lines of investigation used by anthropologists to deduce the
evolutionary diet of our evolving hominid ancestors are numerous: (i)
changes in cranio-dental features; (ii) fossil isotopic chemical
tracer methods; (iii) comparative gut morphology of modern humans and
other mammals;

Journal Human Evolution
The human adaptations to meat eating: a reappraisal
Hladik C. M. 1 and Pasquet P. 2
(1) Laboratoire d'Ecologie, Éco-Anthropologie, CNRS (FRE
2323) and Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 4 avenue du
Petit Château, 91800 Brunoy, (France)
(2) Dynamique de l'évolution humaine CNRS (UPR 2147) 44,
rue de l'Amiral Mouchez, 75014, France
Received: 10 April 2001  Accepted: 28 December 2001

Abstract

In this paper we discuss the hypothesis, proposed by some authors,
that man is a habitual meat-eater. Gut measurements of primate species
do not support the contention that human digestive tract is specialized
for meat-eating, especially when taking into account allometric factors
and their variations between folivores, frugivores and meat-eaters. The
dietary status of the human species is that of an unspecialised frugivore,
having a flexible diet that includes seeds and meat (omnivorous diet).
Throughout the various time periods, our human ancestors could have
mostly consumed either vegetable, or large amounts of animal matter
(with fat and/or carbohydrates as a supplement), depending on the
availability and nutrient content of food resources. Some formerly
adaptive traits (e.g. the "thrifty genotype") could have resulted from
selective pressure during transitory variations of feeding behaviour
linked to environmental constraints existing in the past.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/rr78052089583418/
(iv) the energetic requirements of developing a large
ratio of brain to body size;

Fructose and carbohydrate.
(v) optimal foraging theory; (vi) dietary
patterns of surviving HG societies; and (vii) specific diet-related
adaptations. Findings from each of these fields reveal a changing
dietary pattern away from low-quality/highly fibrous, energy-poor
plant stables to a growing dependence on more energy-rich animal
foods, culminating in palaeolithic Homo sapiens being top-level
carnivores. (4)

Changes in cranio-dental features

Early hominid fossil remains already show clear cranio-dental changes
which indicate a move away from a specialised structure suited to
coarse foliage mastication to a more generalised structure indicative
of dependence on fruits and hard nuts but also incorporating changes
that indicate meat consumption. Such changes included a decrease in
molar teeth size, jaws/skull became more gracile, front teeth became
well buttressed and shearing crests appearing on teeth, all indicative
of less emphasis on grinding and more on biting and tearing of animal
flesh. (5)

Sure... Humans tear into bloody still-warm-from-the-kill animal flesh
all the time....  (I can just see it now, ball, you and the squirrel.... 

'Natural selection dictates that primate tooth shape should reflect the
mechanical properties of foods. As shown by numerous workers,
variations in tooth shape are a means of adapting to changes in the
internal characteristics of foods such as their strength, toughness, and
deformability (Lucas and Teaford, 1994; Spears and Crompton, 1996;
Strait, 1997; Yamashita, 1998). Clearly, foods are complicated structures;
thus it is impossible to describe all of the internal characteristics that
might have confronted the earliest hominids' teeth. However, another
approach is to describe the capabilities of those teeth.

For example, tough foods are sheared between the leading edges of
sharp crown crests whereas hard, brittle foods are crushed between
planar surfaces. As such, reciprocally concave, highly crested teeth
have the capability of efficiently processing tough items such as insect
exoskeletons and leaves, whereas rounder and flatter cusped teeth are
best suited for a more frugivorous diet. Kay (1984) has devised a
"shearing quotient" (SQ) as a measure of relative shear potential of a
molar tooth. He and colleagues have demonstrated that more
folivorous species have the longest crests, followed by those that
prefer brittle, soft fruits. Finally, hard-object feeders have the shortest
crests and bluntest molars (Kay, 1984; Meldrum and Kay, 1997).

Shearing crest studies have been conducted on early Miocene African
apes and middle to late Miocene European apes. Such studies show a
considerable range of diets very much consistent with microwear
results for these same taxa. For example, Rangwapithecus and
Oreopithecus have relatively long shearing crests suggesting folivory,
Ouranopithecus has extremely short crests suggesting a hard-object
specialization, whereas most other Miocene taxa studied, such as
Proconsul, and Dryopithecus have the intermediate length crests of
a frugivore (Kay and Ungar, 1997; Ungar and Kay, 1995). Thus,
shearing crest study results suggest that Miocene apes, especially those
from the later Miocene of Europe, show a substantial range of diets.

As for the early hominids, Grine (1981) has noted differences between
Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus in molar form,
such that the "gracile" species had more occlusal relief than did the
"robust" form, suggesting a dietary difference. While no shearing
crest length studies have been conducted on early hominids, all
australopithecines have relatively flat, blunt molar teeth and lack the
long shearing crests seen in some extant hominoids (e.g., Kay, 1985).
By itself, this indicates that the earliest hominids would have had
difficulty breaking down tough, pliant foods, such as soft seed coats
and the veins and stems of leaves -- although they probably were
capable of processing buds, flowers, and shoots.

Interestingly, as suggested by Lucas and Peters (in press) another
tough pliant food they would have had difficulty in processing is
meat. In other words, the early hominids were not dentally
preadapted to eat meat - they simply did not have the sharp,
reciprocally-concave shearing blades necessary to retain and cut
such foods. By contrast, given their flat, blunt teeth, they were
admirably equipped to process hard brittle objects. What about
soft fruits? It really depends on the toughness of those fruits. If
they were tough, then they would also need to be precisely
retained and sliced between the teeth. Again, early hominids would
be very inefficient at it. If they were not tough, then the hominids
could certainly process soft fruits.

In sum, Miocene ape molars show a range of adaptations including
folivory, soft-fruit eating and hard-object feeding. This range exceeds
that of living hominoids, and especially the early hominids. While
comparable shearing crest length studies have not been conducted
on early hominids, australopithecines certainly have relatively flat
molar teeth compared with many living and fossil apes. These teeth
were well-suited to breaking down hard, brittle foods including some
fruits and nuts, and soft, weak foods such as flowers and buds; but
again, they were not well-suited to breaking-down tough pliant foods
like stems, soft seed pods, and meat.
...'
http://www.cast.uark.edu/local/icaes/conferences/wburg/posters/pungar/satalk.htm

Remember..

'There appears to be no threshold of plant-food enrichment or minimization
of fat intake beyond which further disease prevention does not occur.
These findings suggest that even small intakes of foods of animal origin are
associated with significant increases in plasma cholesterol concentrations,
which are associated, in turn, with significant increases in chronic
degenerative disease mortality rates. - Campbell TC, Junshi C. Diet and
chronic degenerative diseases: perspectives from China. Am J Clin Nutr
1994 May;59 (5 Suppl):1153S-1161S.'
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Posted: Jan 28, 2008 4:04am
Life without the meat
Jun 23, 2006
Life without the meat

http://www.fftimes.com/index.php/6/2006-06-14/25806

By Beth Caldwell

    It could be said that there are two kinds of people in the world—those who eat meat and those who don’t.

    But not many decisions in life are that black and white, including the why’s and why not’s about the consumption of animal protein.

    It’s generally known that if you don’t eat meat, but include eggs, cheese, and milk in your diet, you’re a vegetarian. If you say “no” to meat and dairy products, it’s “V for vegan.”

    And if you’re a bit of an extremist and don’t eat meat or dairy products, and your diet is uncooked and cold, then welcome to the “raw food vegan” club, where a cup of hot soup on a cold day is never realized.

    Worldwide studies have been conducted on the benefits of eliminating meat and dairy products from the daily menu. And if done right, and in combination with other aspects of a healthy lifestyle, vegetarianism stands out as a key player in longevity.

    Some people give up animal protein for love of their four-legged friends; others because of faith. Some may carve out a meat-free life half-time while others willingly trade a cold glass of cow’s milk for a quarter cup of seaweed all the time.

    The number of vegetarians and vegans in Canada is relatively small. A recent study estimated only about 250,000 vegetarians and 100,000 vegans are out there.

    Cliff Marsh of Devlin pursues a vegetarian lifestyle because of medical necessity and out of respect for his service to a higher power. He admits it’s not always easy to say “No thanks” to the part of a meal that includes animal protein, but he’s doing his best.

    “[My vegetarianism] was probably initiated as long as 10 years ago,” Marsh, 54, recalled last week by phone from his business “Northwest Solar” in Devlin.

    Marsh and his wife, Roxanne, spent 30 years in the British Columbia interior where he was a meat-cutter. His wife had food sensitivities and allergies, which prompted a food cull of sorts.

    But it wasn’t until his own health started to deteriorate did he make some drastic changes to his diet.

    “In being a meat-cutter for many, many years, I had consumed many herds of cattle on the barbecue and it led to ‘Irritable Bowel Syndrome,’” March revealed.

    “We had to start figuring out what was the problem and started doing research on natural remedies, and was eventually led to vegetarianism without any spiritual prompting,” Marsh added, referring to his membership in the Seventh Day Adventist Church, which advocates a vegetarian lifestyle, including abstaining from pork, alcohol, and tobacco.

    In fact, studies have documented that Seventh Day Adventists live about seven years longer than other people.

    Upon carving out a vegetarian lifestyle to recoup his intestinal health, Marsh was strict with his diet for about three years—until he and his wife moved back to Rainy River District and came in closer contact with their families and the occasional meat meal.

    But at home alone, they maintain a meatless diet and claim the greener lifestyle changed everything.

    “Undoubtedly, absolutely [I feel better] and I have more energy,” touted Marsh. “For sure I have no bowel trouble at all when I am sticking to my [vegetarian] diet and, in fact, I can consume a little bit of meat protein on a limited basis without causing any trouble.

    “When you get on to [vegetarianism], you don’t want to eat meat because you know what you feel like afterwards—it makes you slow down.

    “It’s not surprising that carnivorous animals, after they eat the wildebeest, they go and lie down for 24 hours,” Marsh reasoned with a chuckle.

    Meanwhile, Pat Kozik of Fort Frances has had a close relationship with vegetarianism most of her life. She was raised as a Seventh Day Adventist and remains a member of the church.

    Although she admitted to “falling off the vegetable wagon” during intermittent periods in her life, Kozik, now 81, has spent at least the last three years of her life animal protein-free.

    “It’s just a way of life. It isn’t a religion as much as it is a way of life,” she stressed earlier this week.

    True vegetarians give up the beef steak, chicken breast, and pork chops for other sources of protein, such as beans, peas, or lentils, tofu, soy milk, nuts, seeds, and eggs.

    Rooksana Randeree, a dietitian with Riverside Health Care Facilities, Inc. here, stressed the need for vegetarians to be mindful that they are receiving all the nutrients necessary for optimum health, and especially so for vegans who choose to cut out both meat and dairy products from their diet.

    Randeree also noted that while she rarely sees adult vegetarians referred to her office by their doctor, she does counsel teenagers on the subject.

    Much of the time, the young teens&mdashrimarily female—have come from their doctor with deficiencies in iron levels because they’ve approached vegetarianism without all the facts and need nutritional advice.

    “I see a lot of teenagers who come through my office who have been to the doctor and been diagnosed with iron deficiency [and yet] they say they are vegetarian,” Randeree explained during an interview at her office last week.

    “They come in here and when I ask them ‘What does a vegetarian diet mean to you,’ they say they’ve cut out all the meat and all they are eating are the vegetables and the potatoes, pasta, rice that their parents are making for them at supper time.

    “They have excluded the meat [protein portion] but they haven’t supplemented it,” she stressed.

    While Randeree deemed a well-balanced vegetarian diet healthy and safe for teenagers, she also said young women sometimes choose vegetarianism for the wrong reasons.

    They cut out the protein and dairy products from their diet to lose weight.

    “Some of these teenagers could have eating disorders, and often with eating disorders the protein portion of their food is the first thing to go,” she noted.

    “A lot of young girls think [protein] is the higher calorie food, so they exclude it and start picking at the vegetables, and then you see the milk going—another protein source—so that basically they are just living on vegetables.

    “If [teenagers] want to become true vegetarians, they can do it in a very, very healthy way,” Randeree continued. “The misconception is that you can go on a vegetarian diet and you can lose weight.

    “Our bodies are so sophisticated that if you don’t meet your energy requirements, you may lose weight for a short period of time, but your body will adjust to what you are eating and then you will stop losing weight.

    “In fact, some people who go through the cycle of under-eating and then over-eating, which is the ‘yo-yo’ diet cycle, actually end up being overweight because of that system where your body learns to conserve and preserve energy rather than utilize it,” Randeree remarked.

    Melanie Béchard, a staff writer with the Fort Frances Times, has been a vegetarian for half of her life, taking that path for the four-legged creatures of the world.

    It wasn’t easy switching to a healthy food plan minus the meat, but now at 32 years old, she’s a veteran at an alternative, balanced approach to nutrition.

    “I consider myself a vegetarian, not a vegan. I did try veganism for about three months but couldn’t do it anymore,” Béchard noted last week.

    “This is going to sound silly, but we always had dogs when I was growing up and I didn’t see the difference between killing a cow and eating it and killing my dog and eating it.

    “I just didn’t see the difference—and I decided that I thought I could live without [meat],” she remarked.

    “I think I cheated twice the first year [and] the hardest thing to give up was Kentucky Fried Chicken,” she chuckled.

    “I was a bad vegetarian the first several years, I would say, because I was probably not getting the protein that I needed and if I was hungry after supper, I would have chips and ice cream,” Béchard laughed.

    For the vegans of the world who cut out dairy products as well as animal protein, the risk for Vitamin B12 deficiency goes way up. It’s only present in animal products and if those sources of food aren’t included in one’s diet, supplements are in order, Randeree warned.

    “Vitamin B12 [deficiency] is mainly associated with anemia because it’s necessary in the formation of red blood cells.

    “And of course, protein is the building blocks of our cells, so we need it for the regular wear and tear of red blood cell formation—all the repair that goes on within our body and for muscle development, as well,” she reiterated.

    Green leafy vegetables (like “Popeye’s” spinach) are sources of iron, but not the same kind of iron as found in animal protein. Called “non-heme” iron and vegetable-based, it is not as well-absorbed by the human body as that found in the “heme iron” in animal protein.

    Anyone journeying into a vegetarian lifestyle also must be aware of their continued need for calcium. This is especially important for teenagers.

    “If they just suddenly decide to become vegetarian and start cutting out the meat and then [as vegans] the dairy products, and are only eating vegetables, they are not going to be meeting their calcium requirements,” Randeree noted.

    “During the teen years, that’s when the bone density is actually reaching its peak and that’s very, very important because what teenagers [consume in calcium] when they are 15 years old is going to affect them, in terms of osteoporosis, when they are 60.

    “But they can’t see that relationship because they think they’ll never get old,” she smiled.

    And what about the raw food vegan approach? Brrr!

    Randeree believes it’s probably a better idea to cut out the fast food, high fat, processed products in our diet than opt for eating a cold, raw meatless, diary-less diet.

    “Even something a simple as your kidney bean. Well, a kidney bean is cooked [when you eat it] so being a raw food vegan really limits you,” she said.

    “There’s always extremes, but I think research has shown that moderation ‘middle of the road’ is where to be,” Randeree concluded.

    In an article published in the November, 2005 issue of National Geographic entitled “The Secrets of Living Longer,” three groups of people around the world were deemed to be among the longest living on Earth—each with its own core of centenarians.

    And although each group has its own set of beliefs, they all share in the enjoyment of a vital—an active existence well into their 90s.

    The hot spots of longevity include Sardinia, Italy, where they drink red wine, share the workload with their spouse, and eat pecorino cheese, in Okinawa, Japan, where they eat small meals, have purpose, and nurture friendships, and in Loma Linda, Calif. among the Seventh Day Adventists, who rely heavily on faith, nuts, and beans, and observe the Sabbath.

    Only a third of the world is meat-eating and two-thirds vegetarian.

    “When you look at the big picture, why wouldn’t you want to prolong your life? Why wouldn’t you want to live into your 70s, 80s, and 90s and still have a good mind, still go hiking, riding your bike, and enjoy a quality of life instead of being in your 50s and 60s and starting to feel the rigors of your lifestyle and be restricted,” Marsh challenged.

    For more information on vegetarian food guidelines, go to www.nutrispeak.com
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Posted: Jun 23, 2006 12:56pm
SHOCKING NEWS FOR MEAT EATERS
Apr 29, 2006
Focus: Politics
Action Request: Think About
Location: United States
SHOCKING NEWS FOR MEAT EATERS
By Peter Knopfler (www.americanchronicle.com)

THE HEAT ON MEAT

April 26 - Since 2000, America's agribusiness firms have donated over 140 million dollars to candidates running for Congress and the Presidency. In 2004 alone, the McDonald's Corporation gave 77% of its political donations to Republicans; the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, 81%; National Restaurant Association, 90%. In return the Bush administration and the Republican majority in Congress have worked hard to serve these private interests at the expense of public health.

Full article:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=8697
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Posted: Apr 29, 2006 12:48pm
WORLD MEAT[sic] CONGRESS 2006 TO WELCOME INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS
Nov 27, 2005
WORLD MEAT[sic] CONGRESS 2006 TO WELCOME INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS

Nov 25 - More than 500 of the world's most influential players in the global meat[sic] industry will descent upon Brisbane for next year's World Meat[sic] Congress.

A number of notable speakers were this week confirmed to address the world's biggest meat[sic] industry conference, to be held on April 26-29.

President of the Terrestrial Animal[sic] Health Code Commission in the World Organisation for Animal[sic] Health (OIE), Dr Alex Thiermann, will be arguing the importance of international animal[sic] health standards in global trade and presenting an insight into the trade policy needed to sustain the industry towards 2020.

"The importance of international standards in the trade of animals[sic] and animal[sic] products cannot be overstated," Dr Thiermann said.

"The emphasis in the Terrestrial Animal[sic] Health Code has shifted from a strict focus on country disease freedom to risk-based recommendations on the safety of commodities traded and dependent on credible surveillance and monitoring systems - the key to a safe and sustainable international meat[sic] industry."

Also speaking at the World Meat[sic] Congress will be president of the OIE Animal[sic] Welfare Working Group, Dr David Bayvel.

Dr Bayvel will discuss key issues and trends in community expectations within the animal[sic] welfare arena.

Chairman of the 2006 World Meat[sic] Congress, Mark Spurr, says the key themes of the 2006 World Meat[sic] Congress will focus on the consumer, the community, supply and trade policy.

"This is the biggest and most important meat[sic] industry event on the calendar," Mr Spurr said.

"It will gather the key decision makers in one place, at one time, to discuss current and future issues facing the world's meat[sic] industries."

The 2006 World Meat[sic] Congress is conducted by the International Meat[sic] Secretariat and hosted by Meat[sic] & Livestock[sic] Australia, the Australian Meat[sic] Industry Council and Australian Pork[sic] Limited.

It is held every two years in a leading meat[sic] producing nation.

Source: www.farmonline.com.au
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Posted: Nov 27, 2005 1:38pm

 
 
 
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