EtsyVeg

Saturday, November 21, 2009

It Just Isn't Natural. Literally.

Have you ever given any thought to what humans are really supposed to eat? I mean, biologically. Because it's definitely not hamburgers and twinkies. Before humans learned to make fire, we were gatherers and foragers. We. Ate. Plants. And according to our bodies, we are still supposed to be eating plants.

Anatomically speaking, human digestive systems, even after all these thousands of years of evolution, are still not meant to digest meat. Some cultures of the world (Britain, U.S.) have evolved to a point where over half of the population can tolerate drinking the milk of other animals after infancy, but most humans are still lactose intolerant, evolution aside. People in these places never ate dairy in the first place. As a whole, our culture has more stomach problems than any other culture in the history of the world. I highly doubt that this is coincidental.

Think about why we are the only animal on earth that has to cook it's meat in order to make it "safe" to eat? Think about E. coli and Salmonella. Animals that are naturally carnivorous have digestive systems that can process these bacteria naturally with no harm to the individual. Humans cannot do that, and for good reason. Compare our teeth to that of your cat. A cat's teeth are pointed and the canines are much longer than the rest. This is typical of carnivorous animals, and of course, they need them to rip apart raw meat. Our teeth actually look more like that of a rabbit. Our incisors are semi-sharp, meant for tearing plants. Our jaw is designed so that we can grind our flat molars back and forth in order to properly chew plants. Same premise applies to claws vs. nails. See where I am going here?

Carnivores have incredibly short intestines, only a couple feet in most average size animals. This helps them get nutrients from the meat and process it before it begins to rot inside of them. Humans, on the other hand, have very, very long intestines. Once again, this is typical of herbivores, as plants break down much more easily than animal products.

If you would like to be healthier and at the same time score some major karma points, you should try cutting out animal products. It brings a whole new meaning to the catch phrase "just like nature intended." Most people would look at this as having to give something up, but really, we were never supposed to be eating this junk in the first place.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Neeewww Veggieeeees!

EtsyVeg has had another amazing group of new folks join our fabulous team of veggies!

Firstly, I'm so pleased to inform you that a former member has returned- Lori ("Lo") of lochristine (creator of unique sterling silver beaded jewelry) is baaaack! Yay!!! Welcome, Lo- you've been missed! :D

As for brand newbies, we're excited to welcome the talented Amanda of arksendeavors, creator eco-friendly clothing and accessories; Carl of geekinesis' laser cut designs; and Ashlee of MomBabyMe, who handmakes diaper bags, purses and baby accessories.

Sending you all a warm, happy welcome! So glad to have you as part of the family!

Anatomical Vegetarian Ad

This is an ad by the International Vegetarian Union that my fiance and I really like! It is an anatomical veggie ad that states at the bottom "Vegetables are all your body needs." I especially love the cauliflower lungs. Yum!

[via BoingBoing]

From the blog of Lauren of Etsy's LostMitten