Originally Posted by
rrooster
No. Take this from someone whose father has a Ph.D in biophysics and researches cures. This ain't one of them.
Maybe
Again, no. Chimps and apes, for the record, are omnivores.
No/maybe. I'll concede most cows used to produce milk probably don't live very happy lives.
You'll probably feel hungry, since most anthropologists will tell you that the reason we were able to leave the trees, while our ape-cousins were not, is because our sub-species discovered fire and implemented it to speed up the absorption of nutrients, thereby reducing the need for complex digestive tracts and redirecting the gained energy to our brains...
I can respect vegetarianism/veganism for moral arguments as a lover of animals, since my dad is one of those (vegetarian), but even he'll tell you that veganism for health reasons is a crock of crap.
-I'm sorry but most doctors are not even trained in nutrition (less than 10%). Nor do they focus or care about diet and nutrition as ways of bettering the body. They look for 'cures' and create new drugs to prescribe (very expensive, money making drugs at that). I think it's becoming more and more apparent that cancer and many of the diseases humans are coming down with are much to do with the way we live, the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. There is much research showing the power of using diet and health as a way to reverse cancer and other ailments. The Gerson Institute has been doing this since the early 1900's, curing several cancers with something as simple as massive doses of Vitamin C! (why you ask these natural remedies have not been touted widely? well, they just aren't profitable!)
-Chimps/gorillas eat a diet mostly based on plants, with the exception of bugs and insects. It is highly debated whether humans were 'made' or have adapted to eat meat or not. Our digestive tract (or large intestine i'm not sure which) resembles that of herbivores (i believe around 12 ft)- longer so food can be digested and nutrients extracted. Carnivores on the other hand have a digestive tract of less than half that of herbivores, so the meat they consume can be quickly passed through the body without releasing toxins and bacteria into the body. The effects of humans eating meat is obvious- the food is not able to pass quickly like it should, thus doing the body more harm and consuming more energy to digest it.
-Although cooking makes it easier for us to digest some foods, almost if not all plant foods lose most nutrients when cooked. As far as being hungry goes, I questions your basic knowledge of food. Fruits and Vegetables are loaded with fiber (meat is fiber free), the stuff that makes you feel full and pushes the food through your digestive tract, scrubbing the walls of your intestines. There is a large movement of Vegan body builders whom exceed at muscle gain and strength, how about you ask them if they are ever hungry?
Anyone else who is seriously questioning the legitamcy of veganism or whether or not raising and consuming is a bad thing should really look into this. I suggest watching the 3 following documentaries/lectures:
Food Matters -
http://btjunkie.org/torrent/Food-Mat...a68d453182155f
Earthlings -
http://btjunkie.org/torrent/Earthlin...355ab79789b98e
Lecture by Mark Lyman -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68WSPU7w7EE
Lyman is extremely reputable when it comes to the meat industry and its effects on the world/humans. He was once a big time cattle rancher, and then the leading authority on the mad cow disease issue. He is now a strong vegan who gives talks about it and has written a great book.