If humans are meant to eat meat then why cant they eat raw meat?

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Why does it have to be cooked?

If humans are meant to eat meat- then why can they survive without eating meat and still be healthy?

Just because you can do something it doesn't mean you are meant to do it. Just because you were born into a society were something is the norm- it doesn't mean it was meant to be that way. Just because something has been happening for thousands of years it doesn't mean it has to continue happening. All these arguments that are made for meat is weak.

What we meant to eat?

Reply 21

Rather_Cynical

I think the assumptions involved in asking the question is wrong. Mankind can consume raw meat without incident, it just happens to be energy inefficient to do so and require pretty specific conditions to avoid food borne pathogens.

The GI system is host to a massive amount of bacteria, but they are relatively benign and help protect you from invaders, known as gut flora. The gut flora makeup of a being that eats a lot of starch based products is not compatible with the gut flora of a carnivore, so modern diets have stopped us from being able to eat raw meats.

The other reason is to do with the modern agricultural system, which tends to overcrowd animals (much more likely to cause infection), and the animals are not fed their evolutionary diet. To worsen it, industrialised evisceration tends to spew guts everywhere, so all meat has to be cooked to kill off any gut bacteria.

Whole muscle meats from carefully eviscerated animals, like beef can be left quite rare.

In Japan, chicken sashimi (think tartare made with raw chicken) exists and is safe to eat, but equally you're not advised to eat raw chicken from the supermarkets unless you want campylobacter or salmonella.

Reply 22

pilock

Original post by Inazuma

It doesn't.
You need to get out more if you've never heard of steak tartare, or sashimi or osyters etc.
People tend to cook it because it's safer. Animals have no such concept, hence why they die far more often than we do from rotten meat etc.

The animals that eat others dont get sick after eating raw flesh where as humans do.. Yes its safer cooking raw meat because it wasn't meant to be eaten.

Just because you read lots of veggie propoganda and haven't tried sushi doesn't make your post accurate either.

Its not propaganda. This is scientific facts.

Reply 23

Rather_Cynical

Original post by pilock

You can eat raw potatoes and not get ill.

I don't think so - not in the wild anyway. Potatoes are engineered by humans, the wild cousins are poisonous nightshade. It'd lead to a very quick death if you did eat them.

Reply 24

pilock

Original post by Rather_Cynical

I don't think so - not in the wild anyway. Potatoes are engineered by humans, the wild cousins are poisonous nightshade. It'd lead to a very quick death if you did eat them.

I eat them all the time mate.

Reply 25

Jack22031994

Volunteer Team

Original post by pilock

Just because you can do something it doesn't mean you are meant to do it. Just because you were born into a society were something is the norm- it doesn't mean it was meant to be that way. Just because something has been happening for thousands of years it doesn't mean it has to continue happening. All these arguments that are made for meat is weak.

You can use the same argument for the Internet which using right now. What about driving? Flying? Watching TV? Living in a house? I could go on and on.

Reply 26

Rather_Cynical

Original post by pilock

I eat them all the time mate.

If you're not going to have a meaningful discussion, why are you on this forum?

Reply 27

username2313507

Original post by pilock

The animals that eat others dont get sick after eating raw flesh where as humans do.. Yes its safer cooking raw meat because it wasn't meant to be eaten.

But if you read the other replies, you'll know that humans used to be able to eat more raw meats without getting sick.

It's mostly due to our widened diets that make it unsafe to do so in the modern age rather than some natural weakness we've always had.

Reply 28

pilock

Original post by Jack22031994

You can use the same argument for the Internet which using right now. What about driving? Flying? Watching TV? Living in a house? I could go on and on.

I am questioning why we should eat meat when we don't have to and can live without it. If you want to create a thread asking why we drive when we dont need to then by all means go make one.

Reply 29

Atlas Thugged

Original post by pilock

You cant do that without getting really ill. Deal with it you liar.

You're a fool. It's not bad for you generally speaking, that red stuff is haemoglobin not blood, I wouldn't recommend raw mince but raw steak is low risk.

Reply 30

pilock

Original post by Rather_Cynical

If you're not going to have a meaningful discussion, why are you on this forum?

I am having a meaningful discussion. He said something that was wrond ad i simply corrected him.

Reply 31

Inazuma

Original post by pilock

The animals that eat others dont get sick after eating raw flesh where as humans do.. Yes its safer cooking raw meat because it wasn't meant to be eaten.

Its not propaganda. This is scientific facts.

Errr...
What?

Clearly you've never seen a fox or a cat throw up after eating off food, or a dodgy mouse.
I have.

Ergo, your first "fact" there, is not fact.

All animals get ill from various foods. We're just smart enough to cook it.
Also, some animals (and people) are better at tolerating raw meat etc - animals are accustomed to bacteria from food, whereas we no longer need to eat it raw regularly, so have lost our adaptation to doing so.

Reply 32

UWS

Original post by pilock

I am questioning why we should eat meat when we don't have to and can live without it.

Because we choose to live this lifestyle. You choose to eat lettuce and rabbit food, we choose to eat meat.

Reply 33

pilock

Original post by TelAviv

You can survive without it and eating it raw makes people sick so this is prove that humans aren't MEANT to eat meat like its always claimed.

Reply 34

sindyscape62

We can eat some raw meat but raw meat is much more likely to contain harmful bacteria than cooked meat, and our stomachs have evolved to eat cooked meat so can't kill bacteria as well as most animals. The reason why we evolved like this is that when meat is cooked it breaks down molecules in the food and makes it easier to absorb, so you can get nutrients and energy out of cooked meat faster, which advantaged us.

Carnivores aren't completely immune to the effects of bacteria in raw meat- many get parasites from the animals they eat, which we avoid.

Also I'd disagree that we're "meant" to do anything as a species. In Prehistoric times it was an advantage for humans to be able to eat many different food types, so we still can. I don't think anyone's advocating for meat eating because we can and therefore have to.

Reply 35

pilock

Original post by Inazuma

Just because one lion did it, it doesn't mean every animal does it. . Humans get sick by eating raw meat- that is a fact.

Reply 36

pilock

Original post by UWS

Because we choose to live this lifestyle. You choose to eat lettuce and rabbit food, we choose to eat meat.

But we don't HAVE to. So the claim humans are MEANT to eat meat is false.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 37

username2313507

Original post by pilock

You can survive without it and eating it raw makes people sick so this is prove that humans aren't MEANT to eat meat like its always claimed.

You're missing my point

Humans used to be able to eat lots of raw meat. This disproves the idea that we aren't "meant" to eat meat, because we've previously been able to do it just like any other carnivorous animal.

If humans had never started cooking meat and didn't eat such a range of other foods, we'd still be able to eat raw meat without issue

Reply 38

Rather_Cynical

Original post by pilock

I am questioning why we should eat meat when we don't have to and can live without it. If you want to create a thread asking why we drive when we dont need to then by all means go make one.

The thread title and original post is not the moral grounds of meat-consumption, it specifically asked about the nutrition and health reasons for avoiding raw meat. There are a lot of people responding to you telling you that we could eat raw meats in certain conditions, but you appear militant and tunnel-visioned and offer very little in response except a few rhetorical questions and personal attacks.

If you want to ask about the moral reasons, then edit your first post. Humans thrive best on omnivore diets, vegetarian diets require a lot of supplements and vegan diets are not possible outside rich countries where you have every kind of pill necessary to keep you from dying on a vegan diet.

Reply 39

pilock

Original post by Atlas Thugged

You're a fool. It's not bad for you generally speaking, that red stuff is haemoglobin not blood, I wouldn't recommend raw mince but raw steak is low risk.