If we didn't evolve to eat meat and plants, we wouldn't have teeth as we do (molars as well as canines).
If we hadn't at some point eaten plants, we would not have vestigial appendices, which at some point probably helped us digest leaves as they do in herbivorous animals today.
If we didn't evolve to eat meat and plants, probably our closest relatives (chimpanzees and bonobos) wouldn't eat both themselves. They are over 98% similar to us and the genetic drift is somewhere in the 5 million year range.
We're also not too terrible at eating raw meat, at least, not when looking back in history. People saying that today typically are referring to people in developed nations who has had thousands of years of cooking meat. There have been cultures (and are cultures presently) that can/do eat raw meat. Not just sushi, either. We probably used to be better at digesting both plants AND animals; we've sort of been domesticating ourselves for thousands of years.
I also have a theory that I plan on trying in the future based on recent data that shows occasional fasting may actually increase longevity, plus the effectiveness in Atkins/Lindora diets that limit carbs: I think humans (at least, humans further from the equator or tropical environments) have bodies that are probably adapted largely to eating mostly meat in the winter (when crops were not in season) and eating more carbs and sugars in spring/summer months. I think part of the reason obesity is an increasing problem is because we have such wide access to these things all year round even though for most of us they were only available seasonally.)
I think we very likely, as you say, were scavengers (though it also seems likely we always engaged in hunting cooperatively since time immemorial. Chimps and bonobos hunt in groups today, and it would also explain our evolution to be able to walk incredibly long distances.) I don't understand why people take either extreme about meat/plants. If you think people should go vegan due to environmental/moral reasons, don't try to believe conspiracy theories that we're actually herbivores when no data suggests that.
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2018-02-23 02:54 am (UTC)If we hadn't at some point eaten plants, we would not have vestigial appendices, which at some point probably helped us digest leaves as they do in herbivorous animals today.
If we didn't evolve to eat meat and plants, probably our closest relatives (chimpanzees and bonobos) wouldn't eat both themselves. They are over 98% similar to us and the genetic drift is somewhere in the 5 million year range.
We're also not too terrible at eating raw meat, at least, not when looking back in history. People saying that today typically are referring to people in developed nations who has had thousands of years of cooking meat. There have been cultures (and are cultures presently) that can/do eat raw meat. Not just sushi, either. We probably used to be better at digesting both plants AND animals; we've sort of been domesticating ourselves for thousands of years.
I also have a theory that I plan on trying in the future based on recent data that shows occasional fasting may actually increase longevity, plus the effectiveness in Atkins/Lindora diets that limit carbs: I think humans (at least, humans further from the equator or tropical environments) have bodies that are probably adapted largely to eating mostly meat in the winter (when crops were not in season) and eating more carbs and sugars in spring/summer months. I think part of the reason obesity is an increasing problem is because we have such wide access to these things all year round even though for most of us they were only available seasonally.)
I think we very likely, as you say, were scavengers (though it also seems likely we always engaged in hunting cooperatively since time immemorial. Chimps and bonobos hunt in groups today, and it would also explain our evolution to be able to walk incredibly long distances.) I don't understand why people take either extreme about meat/plants. If you think people should go vegan due to environmental/moral reasons, don't try to believe conspiracy theories that we're actually herbivores when no data suggests that.