background preloader

Research

Facebook Twitter

Humans are natural plant-eaters -- in-depth article. According to the best evidence: our bodies by Michael Bluejay • June 2002 • Updated December 2015 A fair look at the evidence shows that humans are optimized for eating mostly or exclusively plant foods, according to the best evidence: our bodies. We're most similar to other plant-eaters, and drastically different from carnivores and true omnivores.1,2,3 Those who insist that humans are omnivores, especially if their argument is based on canine teeth, would do well to look at what the evidence actually shows.

We'll cover that below. I first wrote this article many years ago, but since then Milton Mills, M.D. published an excellent paper which covers the anatomy of eating, so let's skip right to my table-ized summary of his research: The details are in Mills' paper. The rest of this article covers mostly angles not in that paper. Summary of this article The anatomical evidence tells us that we're optimized for eating mostly or exclusively plant foods.

Looking at the evidence fairly Hardly. Nonprofit reports and Forms 990 for donors, grantmakers and businesses. Seawater Greenhouses Produce Tomatoes in the Desert. According to the World Health Organization, about 20 percent of the world’s people live in regions that don’t have enough water for their needs. With the global population increasing by 80 million each year, a third of the planet will likely face water shortages by 2025. This looming water crisis is inextricably linked to food production because agriculture accounts for 70 percent of all fresh water used, and obtaining irrigation water in arid regions has serious environmental impacts. Drilling wells can deplete groundwater, and desalination is energy-intensive and leaves behind concentrated brine. The Seawater Greenhouse, however, provides what may be an economical and sustainable way of producing fresh water and crops in hot, dry regions near the ocean.

Photo credit: World Bank Photo Collection A seawater greenhouse produces crops year-round in hot dry areas using only seawater and sunlight. Photo credit: Seawater Greenhouse Ltd. Gapminder: Unveiling the beauty of statistics for a fact based world view. - Gapminder.org.

Academic Research

Personal Research.