Evolution question

[spilota_variegata]

I've thought about this a bit and was wondering what other people think. I've noticed a few digs at vegetarians in some of the threads - my question is this:

Do you think if the human species were vegetarians, would they have evolved to be:

1. Equally intelligent
2. Of lesser intelligence
3. Of greater intelligence

Interested in your thoughts.

 

[The-Guy]

well that would depend if you believe in evolution....

 

[alex_c]

think of it this way look at leftists alot of them are vegetarian and then look how they act and follow eachother like sheep. and believe anything another leftist or conspiracy nut tells them instead of researching and coming to their own conclusion and opinion. so hey thats gotta mean something lol:lol:

 

[spilota_variegata]

I certainly do This question came to mind because most carnivorous creatures have to be more intelligent than their prey. I couldn't see the human race evolving beyond the capabilities of say a public servant if the most difficult evolutionary problem was how to outsmart a cabbage...

Sorry to any public servants out there ....

 

[Hetty]

Depends on what said meat eaters eat. If they ate smart animals, like dolphins, then they would evolve to be smarter.

But in all seriousness, I can't see how there would be a difference if vegetarians got the right balance amino acids in their diet. If vegetarians eat corn and beans, they will get the 8 essential amino acids in their diet.

 

[Australis]

The skills needed to hunt compared to say eating leaves off a bush! sure would select for intelligence.

There isnt a great deal of room for debate, it is how it went for us.

 

[0_missy_0]

I don't see how they would be any less intelligent than meat eaters:|

The only difference I could think of is different skills as Australis has pointed out. No less intelligent, just diferently skilled. But then again, who here hunts for their own food?!

 

[alex_c]

but you have to think harder to hunt so therefore it makes the carnivore or omnivore smarter

 

[Dodie]

Hmm well why not start a thread titled, The uses of Meat Vs Plants...

Plants have many more uses than just food and the amount of time experimenting with them and all of the wisdom gained would have far greater benefits for humans.

I believe that plants can potentially cure all ailments in humans and more research just needs to be done to find them..

Bit of a tangent I know but don't under estimate the power of plants

 

[SlothHead]

This is a pretty interesting topic, and there are a few real good journals dedicated to the subject. I also think there is a documentry based on the evolution of man which directly deals with this question.

As prior mentioned by Australis, the problem solving skills needed of a meat eater compared to this of a vegetarian are different. But it doesnt stop there,

What has been found is that the major leaps forward in human intelligence came about when they started ingesting meat. Many proteins in meat are not found in plants, and as such a diet consisting of primarily vegetable doesnt supply the nutrition for brain development.

So the evolutionary offshoot saw that the vegetarians of the day could not compete with the tribes which also ate meat. Their brains were more developed, thus making them better problem solvers etc.

The next major leap was when cooked meat started to be ingested. I think the figures are somewhere in the vacinity of, the nutrition gained from cooked meat in one hour is comparible to the nutrition gained from raw meat in 8 hours.

So the advent of cooking the meat saw another leap forward in intellect as so much more nutrients coould be consumed in a much less time. As such people would develop faster, and again compounding the problem solving ability.

In human evolution there were complete natural vegetarians. However, they died out. I am not sure of the exact names i.e. ergaster, erectus etc, and which one each was. But i am sure a little net surfing would provide those answers.

So i guess in conclusion, we wouldnt have evolved to where we are now, if that one person didnt think "hey i wouldnt mind taking a bight out of the rear end of that cow"

 

[peterjohnson64]

maybe if we were vegetarian we would have evolved into Cows

 

[kandi]

man is supposed to be vegetarians we have molars for teeth and besides meat just putrifies in the gut , anything in moderation is good

 

[alex_c]

if that was true we wouldnt be on top of the food chain and humans would be smaller and weaker.

 

[hornet]

man is supposed to be vegetarians we have molars for teeth and besides meat just putrifies in the gut , anything in moderation is good

where are you getting your information from? Man evolved to be omnivorous, every wonter why we have canine teeth? If meat if just rotting in your gut you have problems and i would see a doctor asap lol. Now to answer the question, if our decendents never ate meat we would not be like we are today, as said before the skills to find leaves and fruit wouldnt be as hard to learn as making tools to hunt food etc etc. Primates, as far as i know, are all either carnivores or omnivores, its how we evolved to be.

 

[Retic]

Put it this way, what is more intelligent a Tiger or a Sheep ?

 

[motman440]

Heres my thought on the matter...... Its harder to catch an animal than it is to pull a vege out of the ground. Hunting forced early humans/apes/whatever it was back in the day to think. The Selective pressure would have favoured more intelligent people. these intelligent people would then breed and thus the offspring would be intelligent.

collecting plants is hardly an intelligent task and would put no selective pressures on the species.

so summing up. Humans would be less intelligent if they were vegetarians.

 

[spilota_variegata]

I sometimes wonder about the "survival of the fittest" theory. I am sure hundreds of thousands of years ago this would have meant the meanest, largest, most fearless predecessor of man would have survived over the less powerful - and often smarter - rival. Size is no longer a prerequisite to superiority in humans. I say this because I have never been in prison, where I am sure size could sway your odds in the survival race.

IMO, humans are the only animals where size is not the key to survival - whether this means literally or by perpetuating your DNA by getting the female.

Does anyone know of any exception to this rule?

 

[cris]

I personally dont even think any evolution needs to take place, true vegetarians/vegans generally lack a grasp of natural order and are in denial about what species they are. To me that says something about intellegence(no offence). Humans are omnivores, what are vegetarians?

Animals are made out of food for a reason, so you can eat them

 

[Veredus]

I sometimes wonder about the "survival of the fittest" theory. I am sure hundreds of thousands of years ago this would have meant the meanest, largest, most fearless predecessor of man would have survived over the less powerful - and often smarter - rival.

Who do you think has a better chance of catching food and therefore greater chance at survival. The giant muscly Cro Magnon with his bare hands or the quick nimble and clever Cro Magnon with the long hunting range of a thrown spear?

Fitness in terms of natural selection is measured in how many viable offspring are produced. The more intelligent spear hunter has more time to procreate and more food to feed his children than the man who has to bring down the gazelle with his bare hands.

 

[aspidito]

I personally dont even think any evolution needs to take place, true vegetarians/vegans generally lack a grasp of natural order and are in denial about what species they are. To me that says something about intellegence(no offence). Humans are omnivores, what are vegetarians?
Animals are made out of food for a reason, so you can eat them

Your right, God told Noah after the flood that all the plants & animals are there to eat, I cant see the debate