i was looking at raw foodism on wikipedia and i came across this line "the increases in human brain-size occurred well before the advent of cooking, due to a shift away from the consumption of nuts and berries to the consumption of meat." so does this mean meat was essential to human development but not necessary now?ive met many fundamentalist vegans who say it was never "natural" to eat meat .which one is it? im a vegetarian btw.
humans cant digest meat the same way animals do. we suck at it. our teeth are made for hard plants as well. can you tear off flesh like a bear? no didnt think so

I have been thinking about switching my cats to a raw diet for quite some time. Since I’m going to be getting a dog soon, I’ve decided there is no better time than now to really work towards switching them to a new diet. I do have a couple of questions though…first of all, if I am understanding the information I have read so far correctly cats have much more extensive nutritional needs than dogs…this slightly freaks me out as I’m afraid I won’t supplement their raw diet correctly. So look online I found this pre-mix for raw foods it’s called alnutrin, does anyone know anything about this? Do you think it is quality? You have to add raw meet and water that’s it. It’s fairly cheap w/o shipping and says it makes 32 pounds of food.
Also, I can’t find anything like this for dogs…is it because it isn’t necessarily needed? Can anyone recommend a pre-mix of quality for raw diets for dogs?
Does anyone have any recipes for making a healthy dry kibble, as I would still like to free feed my cats throughout the day, or any other recommendations for switching my cats (and soon to be dog) to a raw diet?
Sorry I meant to attach this earlier this is the link for that mix stuff:

http://www.knowwhatyoufeed.com/alnutrin_with_calcium.html

Ok first of all…the reason I want to change my cats diet is because they have been eating commercial cat food which is terrible for them, my senior cat is pre-diabetic and needs to lose some weight.
Second, my cats have been exposed to dogs because I believe in socializing my animals to people and other animals…really who doesn’t do this?
Third, I think you can make homemade kibble and that’s what I would be interested in doing…PLEASE ANY RECIPE is greatly appreciated.

I got a free meal from my a school event today. It was so packed and so hard to find my friends (who don’t care to use their cell phones except at night) that I decided to grab the meal and eat at our student center, an 8 minute walk away.

When I arrived and sat down, I discovered that my sandwich, which I’m certain I picked from the "veggie" table, was actually roast beef. I’m currently a pescatarian, (seafood eater) and plan to be full vegan by the end of the semester. I’ve not eaten a bite of meat or poultry since late June, and when I sat looking at my sandwich today I was like a recovering alcoholic looking at a beer. I love the taste, but I know it’s not healthy and I can’t turn a blind eye to livestock cruelty.

I ended up taking the meat off the sandwich and tossing it. I didn’t want to be wasteful of the poor animal’s flesh, but I felt like eating it would be cheating my ethics. What do you guys think? Would eating it have been morally permissible?
Clarification: I noticed the meat before I took a bite. I opted to eat everything on the sandwich except the meat since nobody I knew was in the dining area. In hindsight I suppose I could’ve saved it for some of the cats on campus, but the cats don’t trust people so I don’t know if they’d have eaten it.

My motivations are dual: Despite loving the taste of meat, I don’t want to eat it because it’s unhealthy for me and it comes from unethically treated animals. Additionally, I feel like I’m kicking an addiction and I don’t want to even put the real thing in my mouth or else I’ll break my stride.

Ok so, I want to be a vegetarian. BUT, I’m not a big fan of vegetables :)) Like I could force myself to eat them if I was hungry and wasn’t eating anything else, but I don’t really like them. So I was wondering if you guys had any tips. Any foods that I should eat for energy and nutrition. Any foods that I should definitely stay away from. And why? And also any pluses that come with being a vegetarian…aside from animals aren’t killed, please.

Thank you.

so im going to become vegan, im already a vegetarian so i’ve been slowly giving up animal products & please don’t lecture me about eating animals b/c it is my own choice k…so this is what im planning to eat is it alright?
so BK : 2 slices whole grain toast w/ 1 tbsp. almond butter & 1/2 cup strawberries & 1/2 cup blueberries
Snack : ? i don’t know lol
Lunch : 1 whole grain wrap, 1 cup kidney beans, 1 cup vegetables, 1/4 cup soya cheese
Snack: 1 cup fruit
Dinner: 2 cups vegetables & 1/2 cup of beans or soy protein or 1 veggie burger

I will be getting a small breed dog soon and I have been doing some research on dog foods. I would like to do the "home cooked" or "raw" food diet but I would like some more information on this.

-what are some recipes?
-can this be frozen to be used later(could I make all the meals for the week and freeze them)?
-how much does this cost?
-how much time does this take per day?
-How much should I feed the dog (also include how many times a day I should feed…keep in mind it is a small dog I would be cooking for)
-Would a raw food diet be better? (reasons why/recipes for this)…I would imagine that uncooked chicken would be bad…?( i know dogs are animals but they’re also domesticated)

I’ve looked into different kibbles and decided that Blue Buffalo would probably be best as it seems healthy, had good reviews, and is available at my local pet store…but I’m unsure of this as I would imagine that the raw/home cooked diet would be best
So a few questions I have about this are…

-would it be good to mix both the blue buffalo and the home cooked diet together (how much should I give of each)?
-If I was unable to give the home cooked meal would the Blue buffalo be ok for the week?
-what are your experiences with Blue buffalo (for small breeds)?

I want to feed what’s best for my dog but I also cannot afford to spend 60 dollars on a bag of dog food that will last me a month. (I did the math and blue buffalo should last me around 2.5 months for 30 dollars….plus I can get a discount on the food)

Please let me know your experiences for both and help me make the right choice for my dog

So far, I know that animals can eat other organisms for energy, and plants can do photosynthesis. What is a third?

why do animals eat each other for energy?

…if the lion doesn’t feel any compassion for the zebras it eats out in the wild, or…
…if the bear doesn’t feel any compassion for the fish it eats out in the wild…

then why should we humans feel compassion for the animals that WE eat for energy and strength (food)?
Ah, here we go. So many claiming that humans have intellect and are therefore different from other animals. Yet the whole idea behind being vegetarian for ethical reasons is that the animals are so similar to humans in FEELING pain and what not.
SORRY, you can’t have it both ways. Your argument is invalid. Case closed.
Actually, raccoons and bears are omnivores, not carnivores.
Jessica, what’s wrong with using our intellect to do things more efficiently?

Aaaalright. I’ve posted a billion times about my cat Jezebel who was throwing up.. we took her to the vet… then she was throwing up green bile… then she seemed better….

So. I’m trying really hard to find the source – the vet didn’t feel any obstructions and I’m hoping not to get an x-ray (I’m in college… I don’t exactly have money – I’d have to borrow, steal, or beg to pay for that).

Anyways, I have a clip-on toilet cleaner in my bathroom. I keep my toilet lid down at all times because my cats sleep in there and the box says to keep animals away from it. Sometime last week.. or possibly this week… I can’t remember, my mom cleaned out the litter box before I was awake and I guess used my toilet too because the lid was up (Even though she knows to keep them down since she has a clip-on in her bathroom too).

I’m wondering if this is what is ailing Jeze – because she was super affectionate this morning, not lethargic at all. I let them out of the bathroom around 5 this morning while I was studying and she spent all morning curled up with me – and even did her kneading routine where she kneads the bed, purrs, and stares at me with loving eyes and yells at me if I stop petting her. She really seemed better! She sniffed her food, still didn’t want to eat, but she didn’t throw up when she smelled it. And she was able to keep water down.

DIDN’T THROW UP ALL DAY, which is why I didn’t take her back to the vet.

Then… our handyman came over to stick a kitty-door in our kitchen door, leading to the garage so I can get that litter box out of my bathroom….
I was gone for a few hours, came home, greeted the cats, and within 5 minutes of being home Jeze puked all over the floor. This stuff smells worse than diarrhea… I didn’t know something so nasty could come out of that beautiful face.
I went into the bathroom and saw that the handyman had put the toilet seat up (both parts of it, ick) ! I was infuriated… not at him, just at the situation.

Okay, all this to say… if the chemicals from the cleaner is what’s ailing my kitty is there something I can do (other than getting rid of the stupid clip thing) to help her – besides another vet visit (that’s obvious, i hate when that’s the only advice people give).

This could totally not even be it, but I’m considering anything at all right now.

Thank you :-)
More home-made tummy-help suggestions would be appreciated – as soon as this monsoon stops outside I’m going to try to find the oils someone was talking about and possibly the yogurt, though she won’t even eat the hairball medicine she loves…
… that’s what I said – BESIDES removing the cleaner. I’ve already done that.
Kia – thanks. I’ll try that. I reeeeeally hope this is it – it’s a lot harder watching an animal suffer than suffering through it yourself!!

I feed my 5-year-old bird the Avian Science Super: Lovebird/Conure food. He also eats with me [pasta, well-cooked meat in small amounts, etc] and has a good amount of fruits. Of course I don’t feed him chocolate or avocados since we all know that’s bad, and will not give him onions because I heard they are poisonous for animals. So until I get that clarified, he won’t be having any.

I would just like some feeding suggestions so I know how to be a better bird owner, and which fruits are better for him than the other and if there are any better brands of bird feed out there. Right now he’s eating a banana

If this helps, this is the food I feed him + the ingredients: http://www.theperchstore.net/avscsuloco4l.html

Thank you!

Do people who are on this diet actually prefer eating cold food vs. warm?
Why can’t raw meats/fish be included in this diet? I am obviously talking theoretically about safe raw meat free of diseased bacteria. Vegetables can contain poisons from the environment just as likely as an animals meat can contain harmful bacteria’s, so given this theory – why is meat and fish left out of this lifestyle?
happybid – I think you need to reread the question. It was not, what is a Vegan? It was, why does this diet have to be veggie or Vegan?
Heelbell – you too, I know that meats and veggies can have harmful things in them; this is why I was speaking theoretically, as I stated. You can get harmful bacteria at a farmers market, nothing is absolute. Besides I grow my own. This was a question of the raw diet not including meat and fish, (which by the way I would eat steak tartar and sashimi multiple times a week without a problem.) And it's not "obvious that there are a lot of people" on it. I just happend to be a very informed, intelligent person, who likes to learn new things all the time. So next time you want to answer my question I'd appreciate it if you were not so smug and answer the question asked. Not trying to be pissy here but kind of annoid.