Meat Eating and Human Evoluation

There seems to be a connection between meat eating and human evolution. Man started eating meat about 2.5 million years ago. Even though there are many debates, it seems to be clear that meat eating and human evolution have developed together.

During the age of the cave dweller, humans did not consume meat. All evidence demonstrates that people were not configured to be carnivores, but father herbivores. What triggered an omnivorous diet may have been a number of reasons. One, there might have been a famine in human dwellings. It has been seen that such a catastrophe is capable of wiping away all forms of vegetative foods to the extent that grains, fruits or other plant parts are either unavailable, or inedible. If this were the case, the humans of that time may have started by eating small rodents before this later became a trend.

Secondly, the primitive people could have scavenged for dead animals in their quest to supplement their diets. In a civilized society, putting together a balanced meal from plants is easy. However, this could not be possible to a cave dweller. It is likely that these inhabitants started to crave for meat, probably from dead animals, because their bodies were deficient in some nutrients. Unknown to them, this was bound to bring satisfaction and therefore a pattern was formed. This could have evolved to later instill hunting skills.

Historians say that in ancient Egypt, some people could fall seriously sick by consuming cow’s milk. But, humans seem to have adapted to this liquid for milk allergy has been fading over the years. The same case applies to dogs. Created as pure carnivores, it is evident that these animals can now be bred comfortably with table leftovers alone. This goes to show that humans might have adapted to eating meat. But the question remains as to what the implications of this change are.

Some studies have suggested that meat, red meat, is poisonous to man. Although this has been disputed by some, the scare is still noticeable. Some argue that there needs to be a comprehensive study putting into consideration grass-fed versus finished meat. Before conclusive evidence is established concerning the safety of eating meat, a thorough analysis of the impact it has on the human population should be carried out. Towards this end, one may say that it could have been detrimental to the populations through the years. Another might say that the law of natural selection may have deployed its forces to eliminate those who would have been the weakest as far as meat toxins are concerned.

Whatever the case, annalists seem to agree that there might be a link between meat eating and brain size. If this be the case, other transformations that have occurred to the human body and intellect might also be associated to eating animal protein. Prior to confirming these assumptions, people will continue to consume what they feel most delicious and nourishing to them. And whether or not meat is good, it seems that human evolution and meat eating will continue to grow together as they have over the years.