zen_mistress wrote:
I didnt say that chimps aren't omnivores, or that we aren't. I am saying that we, and chimps are opportunistic omnivores. We eat what we can get hold of. But many people can live without meat- 40% of India's population does, and many others in India eat meat infrequently. I know of an Indian man I met who is vegetarian, and his grandfather, who was also vegetarian, lived till 91. So, clearly his diet did that man no harm.
I really wouldn't survive on a vegan diet anyways, considering allergies and all. Plus as a counterpoint to the last part. My family eats PLENTY of meat (We don't do much in the way of fried foods, plus most of the meat we eat is in the way of seafood or white meat, plus yeah, plenty of fruits and vegetables along with it) and my great grandparents are still alive other than one who got black lung from coal mining. (96 for the youngest, 102 for the oldest). The only one in a nursing home is my great grandmother who ended up falling down a flight of steps recently. The rest live on their own with minimal assistance. So I am just gonna make the point that your DNA also plays quite a bit into it. Also how the food is prepped matters. We also don't usually go to a supermarket for food, we usually turn to local farmers and the butcher shop. (my area is big on the open range or whatever its called where the livestock aren't all cooped up either.)