Naida Cakarevic

July 15, 2016

Anthropology
E-portfolio Assignment
Role of Meat Consumption in Human Evolution
Eating meat is a part of the day by day life of billions of individuals around the globe.
There are many positive and negative impacts it has made on human evolution that will be
discussed in this essay. From the start of evolution, hominids and pre- hominids have been eating
meat. A portion of the prior proof demonstrates that our pre-human precursors were eating meat
as early as 1.5 million years back. Humans are omnivores which implies we function the best
when we consume meat, our digestive frameworks are all around prepared to make full
utilization of fats, supplements, and proteins in nourishments.
Now, how has meat impacted us positively throughout the years? Consuming meat
provides you with nutrients that are essential to every day life. With that being said, the nutrients
contained in meat influenced brain growth in hominids. Without meat, it's unlikely that proto
humans could have secured enough energy and nutrition from the plants available in their
African environment at that time to evolve into the active, sociable, intelligent creatures they
became (Milton 1). Without the supplements found in meat, our brain wouldn't have developed
to the way it is currently, meaning we would lack intelligence. There are three nutrients essential
to our health that are only found in meat, those nutrients are: Vitamin B12, Creatine, and
Docosahexaenoic Acid. Vitamin B12 is a water dissolvable vitamin that is included in the

capacity of each cell in the body. It plays a major part in the development of blood and the
capacity of the brain (one reason why hominids developed bigger sized brains). Creatine is a
very known nutrient, especially by bodybuilders. Creatine is very essential in muscle building
and give us the strength we need when working the body. Docosahexawnoic Acid is referred to
as DHA which are omega 3 acids. Since DHA is the most inexhaustible Omega-3 fatty acid, it is
urgent in the brain and the advancement of the brain. With that being said, you can conclude
how essential meat is in our diet, although meat contains nutrients that are good for us, there are
many negatives that come along with humans choosing to consume meat.
While the worldwide meat industry gives sustenance and an occupation to billions of
individuals, it has noteworthy natural and wellbeing significance for the planet. Meat
consumption is expected to double by the year of 2020 (Brooks 1). By and large, in emerging
nations when individuals have more cash, they expand the meat and animal items in their eating
regimens. In order to keep up with this high demand, domesticated animal generation has
developed progressively more industrialized. A lot of the meat we are consuming is coming from
industrial meat factories, which means there is more odor being released into the air we are
breathing every day. According to a new report published by the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization, it is said that the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas
emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent 18 percent. 18 percent is a whole lot of gasses
being emitted into the air we breath! Not only are we harming ourselves by consuming the fats in
meat, we are being harmed by the gasses that are being omitted by these industrialized factories.

A lot of the world populace is going vegetarian because of the dangers connected with their
wellbeing while devouring meat. Although there are many that avoid the consumption of meat,
many will not ever stop consuming meat, which means that its very unlikely that the emission of
the gasses will be demolished.
All in all, it is entirely up to an individual if they choose to consume meat. There are
many people that are very dependent on meat and will probably never give it up even knowing
the circumstances, but there are also people like the vegetarians in our population today that
avoid meat due to all the negative impacts it has made on our health, environment, and the way
our livestock is being treated.

Reflection:
When signing up for this course, I didnt know what to expect, how hard it was going to
be, and what exactly I was going to learn. I have never been too fond of science courses like
biology or chemistry, so I decided to give human origins a shot. After going through this class,
Im glad I decided to take this Anthropology 1020 class rather than a biology or chemistry class.
I learned a lot in the time span of this course. The most interesting thing I could take from this
class and imply into life is the process of natural selection. When spring comes around, I like to
help my mom plant vegetables. Planting and farming comes with seasons, in order for plants to
survive, it depends on the climate. For example: if I were to plant tomatoes and peppers, peppers
can retain more water than tomatoes which means peppers will survive while tomatoes die out.
In this case, nature selected peppers since it was more suitable for the climate. Every season
could be different though, depending on the season, thats why natural selection exists, you see
natural selection in farming all the time.

Mcbroom, Patricia. "06.14.99 - Meat-eating Was Essential for Human Evolution, Says
UC Berkeley Anthropologist Specializing in Diet." 06.14.99 - Meat-eating Was Essential for
Human Evolution, Says UC Berkeley Anthropologist Specializing in Diet. N.p., 14 June 1999.
Web. 21 July 2016.

Rodrigo, Manuel Dominguez. "Earliest Porotic Hyperostosis on a 1.5-Million-Year-Old

Hominin, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania." PLOS ONE:. N.p., 3 Oct. 2012. Web. 21 July 2016.

Rome. "Livestock a Major Threat to Environment." Livestock a Major Threat to

Environment. N.p., 29 Nov. 2006. Web. 21 July 2016.

"The Role of Livestock in Climate Change." Livestock, Environment and Development:

Climate Change. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 July 2016.