Abstract

Eating animals is integral to the deep history of humanity. Human bodies have evolved to eat animals as well as plants: we are heterotrophic omnivores. We produce stomach acids which break down elastin; we need vitamin B12 to live; and our intestinal morphology strongly suggests an adaptation to a higher-energy-density diet. ¹ Although it is perfectly possible (and arguably ethically and ecologically desirable) to be a vegetarian, the majority of people economically able to access meat choose to eat it. Globally, well over 50 billion animals are slaughtered annually for human consumption. ²