To Our Vegan/Vegetarian Friends

 Commentary by walford

If our ancestors did not eat meat, we would not be sitting at our keyboards arguing this point at all. Period.

After the australopithicines diverged from the genuses that later became the apes [we are not descended from apes; we are related, via a common ancestor] there was a split in the evolutionary tree.

One of these was Homo, which later became man. The other was Paranthropus, which was a strictly plant-eating anthropoid. This creature had a crest at the top of the skull, much like the modern -- and herbivorous -- gorilla.

This cranial structure served to anchor the jaw muscles necessary to be able to chew on raw plant matter. These muscles, however, limited the possibility for brain development.

The Homo genus on the other hand, was omnivorous and had to develop brain capacity to overcome its physical disadvantages in order to take game -- oftentimes much larger than itself.

The physical difference between Paranthropus and the gorilla is that the former had a human-like body, with an ape head, while the latter was many times more powerful. Put simply, Paranthropus was stupid, weak and slow.

Consequently, this was a failed experiment and Paranthropus left no progeny that carried on into the present day. It was a genetic dead-end.

So if you wish to emulate this extinct species to make you feel better about yourself, know that you are being just as stupid. Now if you'll excuse me, I have steaks to put on the grill.