Expert Article

We Owe it to the Steak

How eating meat made us… well… us.

You sit there, grasping that juicy burger, ready to take a bite. That 1/2 pound patty with melted cheese and crispy bacon is waiting for that glorious first bite. But have you ever stopped to think... thanks to that burger, you are here today.

The trend towards a "vegan" lifestyle is increasing. Their ethical stance and health benefits are noteworthy. But we can't forget that meat made us human. Thanks to animal products like meat and milk, we have evolved into Homo Sapiens.

Beef Almighty

Our evolution into Homo Sapiens is marked by great discoveries and advances in behavior. As early humans, we mostly spent time looking for food and eating it like chimpanzees do today. But these major breakthroughs allowed us to move past that:

• 2.6 Million years ago: Meat
• 3.3 Million years ago: Tools 
• 1 Million years ago: Fire
• 0.5 Million years ago: Cooking

Meat became an essential part of the human diet around 2.6 million years ago (Ma). This new addition to our gamut of options allowed humans to obtain more calories. Early humans scavenged for food, but the options of fruits, vegetables, and roots did not supply enough calories. These were much needed to survive, grow, and evolve. This change in diet, as anthropologist Leslie Aiello says, "was one of the major significant factors in the evolution of our own species." 

But how we consumed it had a great impact on our physical development. Early humans started using tools around 3.3 Ma. These allowed humans to process their food–starting the long tradition of "processed food.” Cutting meat made it easier to chew and therefore more efficient. This simple first step towards food preparation allowed our jaws to become smaller and left more space for a bigger brain. Less chewing also meant more time, which could be used for other things, like developing our intelligence rather than chewing. As archeologist Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo puts it: "Human brain development could not have existed without a diet based on regular consumption of meat."

Around 1 Ma we discovered fire and by .5 Ma we where chefs. Cooking made meat even easier to consume, allowing us to get more calories with less effort. As anthropologist Richard Wrangham says, "Ultimately, of course, what makes us intellectually human is our brain. And I think that comes from having the highest quality of food in the animal kingdom, and that's because we cook.” Cooking, pounding, and slicing, made meat softer and even easier to eat. It also made muscle tissue more chewable and gave tough collagen from the skin a jelly like texture. But these processes where also great for roots and starchy food, that where hard to chew and required great energy and time to eat. In the end it all comes down to what takes less time to chew, eat and digest. Therefore, cooking was an immense discovery.

The Story of Us

Although meat as a source of protein has helped our bodies change for the better, it has also taken part in changing our minds. Daily routines related to meat consumption resulted in social developments. For example, activities like:

• Hunting
• Slaughtering
• Butchering
• Cooking

These tasks required cooperation, planning, and strategy; eventually leading to the birth of language. Large animal hunting required strategy to organize and execute. Therefore, the constant need to communicate the plans for a hunt were a major contributor to language. Getting together to kill the animal would not be possible without tools. These utensils required technical skills to sharpen rocks and attach them to a handle. This information that needed to be shared, could not have been passed on without explanation of some sort. So, language was of extreme importance to sharing this knowledge between peers and generations.

Cooking also led to socialization as everyone gathered for food preparation. The ritual of gathering for food was then established, becoming an important part of a community’s socialization. The importance of animal products like meat keep influencing us later on in history. It takes a role in the creation of settlements, as animal domestication allowed people to settle down.

The Carnivore Diet

Meat helped our development, but it keeps helping us today. There are countless health benefits, and in a healthy diet, meat will provide valuable nutrients like:

• Protein
• Vitamins 
• Minerals
• Antioxidants

Protein

Meat provides us with natural “ complete” protein. It has the necessary amino acids for a healthy diet. By including it in our diet we can keep a good cardiovascular function and control blood sugar.

Vitamins

This food source also provides vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids. Meat and other animal products have Vitamin B-12, and they are the only natural source of it. Therefore their inclusion in a kid’s diet can help their brain develop better and the nervous system work like a well oiled machine.

Minerals

It also contains heme iron, which are absorbed better by the body. Because our body can obtain this easily, it helps us prevent anemia and reduces muscle loss as we get older. Also, products like beef  have great amounts of zinc, which help our immune system and our wounds heal better.

Antioxidants

Beef and lamb contain half of the selenium we need daily. Selenium prevents cell damage and helps the thyroid work properly. It also helps prevent cancer. 

Got Milk?

I once heard someone say "Humans are the only animal that drinks another animal's milk. That is just unnatural." It is true that humans are the only animals that drink milk beyond maturity. But, drinking milk is not "unnatural" if anything, it has helped us evolve faster and helped us survive as a species.

Aside from meat, other animal products have had great impact in our development. Milk, for example, due to their caloric content and ability to become products like yogurt and cheese has been crucial for our survival.

Henry Harpending and Gregory Cochran argue that the ability to digest lactose has helped humans survive famines, and colonize the world. Now, around 90% of the world population has some degree of lactose tolerance. So, our genes are a testimony that drinking milk is not unnatural. After all... we are also the only animals that read, write, and ponder about meat.

Works Cited

Choi, Charles Q. “Eating Meat Made Us Human, Suggests New Skull Fossil.” LiveScience, Purch, 3 Oct. 2012, www.livescience.com/23671-eating-meat-made-us-human.html.

Joyce, Christopher. “Food For Thought: Meat-Based Diet Made Us Smarter.” NPR, NPR, 2 Aug. 2010, www.npr.org/2010/08/02/128849908/food-for-thought-meat-based-diet-made-us-smarter.

Kluger, Jeffrey. “Sorry Vegans: Here's How Meat-Eating Made Us Human.” Time, Time, 9 Mar. 2016, time.com/4252373/meat-eating-veganism-evolution/.

“Lactose Tolerance and Human Evolution.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 7 Apr. 2009, www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/lactose-tolerance-and-human-evolution-56187902/.

Smil, Vaclav. “Should Humans Eat Meat? [Excerpt].” Scientific American, Scientific American, 19 July 2013, www.scientificamerican.com/article/should-humans-eat-meat-excerpt/.

Zink, Katherine D., and Daniel E. Lieberman. “Impact of Meat and Lower Palaeolithic Food Processing Techniques on Chewing in Humans.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 9 Mar. 2016, www.nature.com/articles/nature16990.

“12 Good Reasons Meat and Poultry Should Be Part of Your Balanced Diet. | Meat Poultry Nutrition.” Meat & Poultry Naturally Nutritious, North American Meat Institute, www.meatpoultrynutrition.org/content/great-taste-alone-shouldn%E2%80%99t-dictate-your-dietary-choices-here-are-12-good-reasons-meat-and.