Quote Originally Posted by Shwenn View Post
Fair enough but you can't really express certainty on this point. It's very debatable and very speculative.

Once you walk into the realm of 'what nature intended' or start using terms like 'genetically designed', you're in a quagmire. And that is especially true when you are talking about homo sapiens sapiens. We're bipedal mammals with the highest brain size/body size ratio who use tools and have a highly sophisticated language.

We still have no idea how any of these things impacted each other, which of them came first, which were causes and which were effects.

Let's look at humans as they are now.

I think it would be great if humans ate meat on rare occasions, the way chimps eat monkeys (doesn't that seem like cannibalism? I know it isn't but it still creeps me out). But that isn't how we do it. Not even close. Don't you agree at least that that is a problem?
I agree that determining which came first is speculative at best, since no one was there at the time. However, it is fairly well agreed upon that the addition of meat to our ancient ancestors' diets played a significant role in their survival, and learning to cook that meat made it even more important, as denuseri has noted. Meat allows us to take in larger amounts of protein per pound than vegetables, and in the type of environment they lived in that was important.

Besides, there are many kinds of vegetables which require a lot of processing before they are able to be eaten. Some can be poisonous if not prepared properly. So I don't think the need for cooking can be considered an indicator of a problem.

And as for looking at us the way we are now, there are some of us who enjoy meat and some who don't. Personally, I'll take a good steak over a salad any day. So what if it's not as good for me as the salad? It's my life. If I want to shorten it by eating things I enjoy, who are those animal rights fanatics to deny me that? What about my rights?

And besides, I don't consider it healthy to be so concerned over every gram of food I put into my mouth, worrying about cholesterol and fats and trans-fats and all that other crap. If I enjoy something, I'll eat it. If I don't, I won't.