We’re omnivores

“Humans are omnivores. We’re literally designed to eat meat and plants.”

We are omnivores and of course we can digest meat. We’ve also eaten it for a very long time, so how am I going to be the first one in my generation to say no?

It must be insanity, right? How can I go against millions of years of evolution and cultural habit?

See-food diet

An omnivore essentially sees food and eats it. We can get nutrition from both plants and animals. It describes what our bodies are able to handle, digestion-wise. It means that we can be flexible in our diet and aren’t strictly limited to one type of food, like how cats are obligate carnivores and beavers are herbivores.

If I were an obligate carnivore, then I wouldn’t need to worry about all this morality stuff at all. However, I’m not, and I’m able to get all my nutrition from plants (with the help of a B12 supplement). Even the world’s largest group of dietitians says well-planned vegan diets are healthy at every stage of life.

So being an omnivore means I can eat meat, but it doesn’t mean I should.

Let nature take its course

Even if our bodies were designed for meat, that only tells me what I’m able to do and not what I should do. We might consider our omnivorous nature as a justification, but that’s the appeal to nature again.

We’re able to do loads of things that we choose not to, because they cause unnecessary harm. For example, just ’cause we have wee pointy teeth doesn’t mean we have to eat meat.

Omni-tricks

Yes, I’m an omnivore. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean I have to eat meat. In fact, it means I have the freedom to choose a plant-based diet without compromising my nutrition.

So I guess I have to pick the side that aligns with my values. Lucky Aloo 🐱, with his obligate carnivore nature, doesn’t have to think about these moral dilemmas.