He Said, She Said

“Humans are classified as omnivorous creatures. This means that humans are capable of surviving on a variety of food sources, and indeed thrive on a broad-spectrum diet that includes grains, fruits, vegetables, and protein sources.” (Opposing Viewpoints), a quote from the article “Vegetarianism” from Opposing Viewpoints, the rest of the article explains how humans we in fact meant to eat meat, which is a topic that has been debated in and out. Well wouldn’t the meat industry love that. Humans were meant to eat meat, it is natural so buy more meat products. While humans are consider omnivores, it is shown through the millions of vegetarians and vegans across the world, that you can survive and thrive on a meat free diet. A Huffington Post article by Kathy Freston, titled “Shattering The Meat Myth: Humans Are Natural Vegetarians,” explains, “our hands are perfect for grabbing and picking fruits and vegetables. Similarly, like the intestines of other herbivores, ours are very long (carnivores have short intestines so they can quickly get rid of all that rotting flesh they eat).” (Freston, 5), The rest of the article explains the biological reasons as to why humans are actually meant not to consume flesh.  We only have one pair of sharp teeth that are generally meant to cut through tough materials like meat. We do not have sharp talons to catch and shred apart prey. We are a general feeble species, offering little intrinsic defense, relying on outside tools to protect ourselves. The debate as to whether or not humans should eat meat is in the air. Obviously, we can, but should we? Well we can survive off of a vegetarian diet and it is socially acceptable It is all a matter of preference, but if you are to eat meat, just be conscious of the choices that you make. A steak can represent something so much more, a long line of factory farm abuse and neglect.

      The number of animals used for science and research is well into the millions. The Opposing Viewpoint, “Research Animals” states, “Live animals are used in modern medical research because some of their bodily systems mimic those of humans. This makes them useful test subjects for drugs, vaccines, and other products intended for humans.” (Opposing Viewpoints). This is both costly and constantly ethically questioned. The alternative is a bioassay, where tissue similar to that of a human is grown, and tested on. They can measure the potency of a chemical inside in of a product. These are grown in a lab, not involving any live animals. This whole topic is striving to prove the ethical considerations of animal testing.
It is natural for humans to disagree, it is natural for humans to be compassionate, what is not natural is forcing animals to do jobs to fill human needs. People will always dismiss vegetarianism as a diet for hippies, and say there is nothing wrong with testing on animals because it will benefit humans in the end. It all comes down to choice, whether or not you chose a product that is tested on animals, or eat a quarter pounder. Hopefully someday the choices the majority of the public makes will be beneficial to the natural world in addition to our own.

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      "Vegetarianism." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

         Freston, Kathy. "Shattering The Meat Myth: Humans Are Natural Vegetarians." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 11 June 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

        "Research Animals." Animal Rights. Kim Masters Evans. 2009 ed. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Information Plus Reference Series. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.