My response to people that say humans HAVE to eat meat...

I was born with incisors and canine teeth.

If humans weren't supposed to eat meat, then why do we have those pesky incisor teeth. They are for ripping and tearing....meat. And yes, most eastern cultures survive on non meat diets......and they are 5'2" and way 100 pounds. They don't eat meat because they can't affort it, not because it's a choice. Let's go stand in some communist chinese families house. You can hand them a bowl of rice and some broccoli and tell them how awesome their non meat diet is. I'll be sitting in the corner not saying a word with a four 18 oz Ribeyes. I'm willing to bet they will beat you silly with a bottle of soy sauce and join me for a real dinner.

Gee, here is a photo of a carnivore. I assume that next to your post, that is your picture. You know something, your teeth do not look the same. Here is some advice for you:

Stalk a big, feisty watermelon, as big as you can find. Jump it, and bring it down. Go for the soft underbelly or the genitals. Then when it is on the ground break its neck. Then dig into the juicy red meat.

Awaiting your report.

If humans weren't supposed to eat meat, then why do we have those pesky incisor teeth. They are for ripping and tearing....meat. And yes, most eastern cultures survive on non meat diets......and they are 5'2" and way 100 pounds. They don't eat meat because they can't affort it, not because it's a choice. Let's go stand in some communist chinese families house. You can hand them a bowl of rice and some broccoli and tell them how awesome their non meat diet is. I'll be sitting in the corner not saying a word with a four 18 oz Ribeyes. I'm willing to bet they will beat you silly with a bottle of soy sauce and join me for a real dinner.

Gee, here is a photo of a carnivore. I assume that next to your post, that is your picture. You know something, your teeth do not look the same. Here is some advice for you:

Stalk a big, feisty watermelon, as big as you can find. Jump it, and bring it down. Go for the soft underbelly or the genitals. Then when it is on the ground break its neck. Then dig into the juicy red meat.

Awaiting your report.

You STILL aren't answering my question. :grumble:

The obesity rate is higher than what you posted: 33. 7% of adults and 17.3% of children are considered obese in the United States. That's 50 percent of the population!

You are correct that many health problems can be resolved by loosing weight. Meat and dairy are two of the fattiest foods around. Dairy, tooted as being needed for its calcium content, is the worst of the two. The calcium in dairy is miniscule compared to that in plants. Additionally, it is very difficult to absorb calcium from dairy products. On top of that, the cassein in dairy products is high and is linked to cancer as well as many other health issues. A slice of cheese has quadruple the cassein than what milk has, so eating cheese is really bad for one's health.

As for meat, I have watched enough videos about meat glue and other products used to make inferior meat into what appears to be a superior product that I don't think a piece of beef has passed my mouth since. I used to work for the FDA, inspecting slaughterhouses. The atrocities that I saw there made me puke at times. Carcasses being hacked open so quickly that feces flowed onto the meat which was later sent on down the line, carelessly rinsed off, and then sent on for processing. Meat also got dropped on the floor where feces and other things flowed. The other inspectors forced me to look the other way. Instead, I quit.

Yes, we have irradiated meat these days. That's irradiated feces to me. I don't eat feces, thank you. I really loved an article I read that said that to avoid food poisoning, use a dishwasher because it sterilizes the dishes and any food on them. That doesn't help you avoid contaminated meat and other foods, like eats and vegetables. It is time that the industry cleans up its act and starts to take care in the production of American's food.

Now for a story with a happy ending:

I am an RN. I was working on a med-surg unit and had a patient that was admitted with high blood pressure. During his stay, he found out that he had obstructive sleep apnea, fatty liver disease, gastric reflux (which can lead to esophageal cancer), and diabetes. He was young, around 28 years of age, and had three small children. He was told by the ER physician to write his will while in the hospital because his blood pressure was spiking over 200 systolic and 100 diastolic.

I sat with him one evening because he was despondent. The social worker had come and given him information about wills and advanced directives. He had pretty much given up. He said to me that he was sad to leave his three children fatherless and really wished that he could do things over again. I said to him that the problem was all here and patted my stomach. "What do you mean?" he asked. "The problem is all here." I patted my stomach again. He still looked confused and so I repeated my statement, but patted his stomach instead.

"You mean that if I lose all this weight I will possibly live?" he asked. I told him that many health issues are caused by the extra weight that we carry and the lack of exercise. Diabetes and heart issues have been very well linked to obesity. With all the fat in the abdomen, pressure is pushed up on the diaphragm, leading to gastric reflux and obstructive sleep apnea. He was discharged the next morning so I didn't get to say goodbye. I could only hope that he did well.

About one year later, this man came on the floor with his wife and three children in tow. His wife was noticeably pregnant. He had a dozen roses in his hand. I didn't recognize him and walked on by. He called out my name and I immediately recognized the voice. I turned and was totally blown away by how he looked. He was buffed and you could tell that he was a healthy 29 or 30 year old man. They all thanked me, even the children, for helping their dad see that he needed to lose weight in order to live. All his health issues had resolved.

As a nurse, I have seen many people with so many problems from being obese. It is so sad when you have a 16 year old patient who is over 500 pounds and can barely move from bed because of the weight. I have seen many of these same patients order in chicken wings, pizza loaded with meat, etc. or have family members bring in double cheeseburgers, KFC, or other food.

Most people on this site have weight issues. You need to ask yourself what role eating meat played in making you overweight/obese. Many Americans don't have a clue about what one serving of meat looks like which leads to the overconsumption of meat.

If you do not look at the way you used to eat and just continue to eat the same way with only changing the amount of food ingested, you have a good chance of gaining back the weight once you are done dieting. If you dramatically change the way that you live, your whole lifestyle, including cutting out certain things in your diet, such as red meat, sugar, and fats, you have a better chance of losing the weight and keeping it off.

I am not putting meat-eaters down here. I am still eating meat, mostly wild caught fish. Never beef. Very occasionally chicken. But I plan to go back to being a vegetarian. I used to weight 294 pounds and went on a vegetarian diet. I lost over 100 pounds. Unfortunately, I lapsed and went back to eating meat, gaining about 25 pounds. That is what meat does to me.

The added bonus is that my cholesterol labs were very, very good. High HDL, low LDL, very low VLDL, and my triglycerides...well, my doctor said he never had seen lower levels. All because of being vegetarian. I can't wait to get back to vegetarian. Actually, why am I waiting. I think I will start today!