The omnivores lack specialized storage and digestive sacs, such as fermenting vats. Ruminants like cattle and deer have such vats as forward sacs whereas horses, rhinos, and colobine monkeys have posterior , hindgut sacs. Conversely, humans lack such specializations.
Also, humans also have no sharp pointy teeth like those of the carnivores. Below are some of the specializations of humans that make them anatomically omnivores. The best evidence that humans are omnivores comes from the teeth.
Humans have short canines that are a functional consequence of having an enlarged cranium and associated reduction of the size of the jaws. In other primates, the canines are comparatively longer than humans as they function as both defense weapons and visual threat devices.
Interestingly though, both Gorillas and gelada baboons prefer vegetarian diets. Humans may have no need for long pointy canines as carnivores do for such use, particularly for capturing prey and threatening enemies.
They do have canines that are pointy enough to serve the purpose of tearing meat. The molars and premolars, in turn, are used to crush food. If we are to compare the digestive systems of the carnivores, the herbivores, and the omnivores, we can say that the herbivores have the most complex type in terms of having multiple chambers.
Improve this answer. Well thought through. Also I would like to see support for your claim that South Asia and Africa have a long tradition of plant based diets, any claim about native African populations a a whole is immediately suspect. I explicitly mention evidence for only one of these transitions because of the phrasing in the OP; it was asked to debunk the claim that humans are herbivores but humans show adaptions expected in herbivores.
I would have phrased it the other way around if the OP had asked to debunk the claim that humans are carnivores. I agree that this is definitely not a true statement for all modern human populations in South Asia and Africa and therefore edited the post to make that more clear i. I agree that statements about an African meta- population as a whole is definitely suspect and that is not what I meant.
I was talking about some modern human populations in Africa and South Asia, not all of them. Add a comment. James Hiew James Hiew 2 2 silver badges 7 7 bronze badges. Vegans have to take supplements, which is a modern invention, without supplements and fortified foods vegans risk serious deficiencies which can prove fatal if untreated from a lack of animal products in their diet.
We can't get sufficient b12 from plants but herbivores can because their digestive system works differently, right? Can you explain about that please if you can? But milk is actually source of animal-proteins. Whether you are getting it from a supplement or animal meat - the source of that vitamin was found in the dirt. Humans used to get it from the dirt off fruits, veggies, etc. Every bit of b12 you get comes from supplements. Behavior, we regularly eat meat.
Gall bladders. Digestion We have larger powerful livers able to breakdown toxins better than many related animals, We are also more sensitive to the smell of rot. B We can't make vitamin B John John Maximilian Press 5, 8 8 silver badges 40 40 bronze badges. JayCkat JayCkat 2, 9 9 silver badges 10 10 bronze badges. Humans seem to digest many fruits, seeds, and vegetables quite well. We just don't have the extra machinery to digest things high in cellulose, as grazers do.
Though some human groups, e. The vegetable and fruits that we eat today are no way similar to the non domesticated versions of the same plants. It is like saying bananas are very easy to eat The plants we are familiar today are the product of thousands of years of domestication. Show 2 more comments. Dave Dave 19 1 1 bronze badge. Please take a look at what is considered a good answer on this site. Some of your statements might be challenged, so please provide reference to any claims you make.
Members of the mammalian Order Carnivora may or may not be exclusive meat eaters. Those which eat only meat are carnivores. Dietary adaptations are not limited by a simple dichotomy between herbivores strict vegetarians and carnivores strict meat-eaters , but include frugivores predominantly fruit , gramnivores nuts, seeds, etc.
Individual anatomical structures can serve one or more functions and similar functions can be served by several forms. The key category in the discussion of human diet is omnivores, which are defined as generalized feeders, with neither carnivore nor herbivore specializations for acquiring or processing food, and who are capable of consuming and do consume both animal protein and vegetation.
All the available evidence indicates that the natural human diet is omnivorous and would include meat. We are not, however, required to consume animal protein. We have a choice. There are very few frugivores amongst the mammals in general, and primates in particular. The only apes that are predominantly fruit eaters gibbons and siamangs are atypical for apes in many behavioral and ecological respects and eat substantial amounts of vegetation. Orangutans are similar, with no observations in the wild of eating meat.
Gorillas are more typically vegetarian, with less emphasis on fruit. Several years ago a very elegant study was done on the relationship between body size and diet in primates and some other mammal groups.
The only primates on the list with pure diets were the very small species which are entirely insectivorous and the largest which specialize in vegetarian diet. However, the spectrum of dietary preferences reflect the daily food intake needs of each body size and the relative availability of food resources in a tropical forest. African Journal of Ecology 53 3 : — Mammal Review 46 3 : — The Journal of Wildlife Management 42 1 : — Journal of Zoology 3 : — Bird Study 35 3 : — The American Midland Naturalist 2 : The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 1 : 56— European Journal of Wildlife Research 62 1 : — The Auk 2 : — International Journal of Primatology 23 1 : 1— Categories : Wikidebates Biology Resources needing facts checked Resources needing clarification Food.
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