There's no doubt that human beings are well-suited for eating meat. Our eyes are in the front of the head, where most predator's eyes are located, rather than on the side. Our incisors are handy for tearing flesh off the bone. We have a digestive system that can handle meat.
But just because we can eat meat, must we?
There's also no doubt that human beings are easily able to reproduce in their early teen years. But just because a 14-year-old boy can impregnate a 12-year-old girl, should he? Must he?
Arguments from nature against vegetarianism are perhaps the most dubious. Some protest that animal-rights oriented vegetarians are dragging human beings down to the level of mere animals. Then they turn right around and point to the carnivorous state of animal affairs, and our own carnivorous capacity, to justify eating meat. Even mandate it.
Well, you can't have it both ways. Are we mere animals, or aren't we?
There are good and not so good reasons for vegetarianism. But a lot of the condemnation of vegetarians seems to be motivated by a gut-level feeling that their diet and/or lifestyle is "unnatural." Biology isn't deterministic in that way.
Besides, as Christians we know that our nature, such as it is, is fallen nature. But that leads to a consideration of vegetarianism and eschatology, which really deserves its own post.
In Carol J. Adams' _The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory_, she actually argues pretty coherently that the human is in fact designed to be vegetarian, making a good argument about teeth where other vegetarian animals do have one set of incisors (I think), and the length of our digestive track, and a few other things. It's been a while since I read this, but it is worth at least a look.
I'm 'mostly' a vegetarian these days, meaning I only eat meat if I have to travel to the midwest or if it is served to me, i.e. hospitality is a higher good than my own preferences.
Btw, I've really been enjoying your blog since you started it back up a few months back!
Peace,
Eric
Posted by: Eric Lee | 25 January 2007 at 12:08 PM
Doesn't our relatively high demand for iron nutrionally point to the likelyhood that our meat-eating is indeed rather "natural"? Not a nutritionist... but I am a prime rib lover. Mmmmm. Prime rib.
As for "are we animals or not?"... the answer is YES. We are definitely animals. Many animals are quite a bit more refined and compassionate than most humans. Too many years in living in college dorms versus assisting a veteranarian proved that to me long ago.
Not that we can't rise above such a fallen state, some of the time... but at our core...left to its own devices... it ain't pretty. Humans as carnivors... not my concern... humans dangerously close to murderous cannibals after just a few shots of Cuervo and a lost football game... that's what concerns me. Best argument for going vegan... pile up all the corn one needs to grow/feed a steer before reaching slaughter wt.... if we grew that same quantity as sweet corn you'd feed a whole village corn for weeks instead of a village for one good grill out. Now, goats... if ya could stand to eat 'em... might make more carnivorous sense in terms of feed source/meat output ratio. You can grow goat meat on thistles and poison ivy!
Posted by: sky bison | 25 January 2007 at 05:35 PM
So, Marvin, you are saying that even though science teaches us that we have a certain orientation, that Christian theology teaches us that our nature is fallen, and that we therfore don't have to indulge what we feel like doing, becuase biology is not deterministic. Am I hearing you correctly? If so, I think you have a strong argument.
Posted by: Jonathan Marlowe | 25 January 2007 at 09:59 PM