Myth: Eating meat is natural, so it must be ethical

Quick Answer

This is the Appeal to Nature fallacy: The argument assumes: Natural = Good/Ethical But this is logically invalid because:

Supported by 4 cited sources

What People Usually Mean

The claim: "Eating meat is natural, therefore it's ethical/good/justified."

Key Points

1Humans are part of nature—everything we do is "natural" in some sense
2We selectively call things "unnatural" when convenient
3Factory farming is certainly not "natural"
4B12 supplements? Unnatural. So is filtering B12 through livestock.

Evidence Summary

Natural things that are harmful:

Disease, parasites, cancer
Violence, infanticide, rape (all occur in nature)
Poisonous plants and venomous animals
Natural disasters

Unnatural things that are good:

Medicine and vaccines
Cooked food (fire is a technology)
Sanitation and clean water
Clothing and shelter
Moral progress (ending slavery, expanding rights)

The evolutionary argument:

Yes, humans evolved as omnivores and ate meat historically. This tells us:

What we CAN digest, not what we SHOULD eat
What was necessary for survival, not what's optimal now
We also evolved to do many things we now consider unethical

What matters ethically:

Not what our ancestors did, but what we can choose now
Not what's natural, but what causes less suffering
Not tradition, but reasoned consideration of consequences

Modern context:

We have abundant plant food options
We have the knowledge to thrive without animal products
We have the moral capacity to consider our choices
The "natural" argument ignores our current situation

Evidence quality: Based on philosophy of ethics and logical analysis of the naturalistic fallacy.

Common Objections

"But Richard Wrangham showed cooking meat expanded our brains"

Wrangham's Catching Fire (2009) is often cited as proof that meat-eating was essential to human evolution. However, Wrangham's cooking hypothesis primarily concerns the caloric density unlocked by cooking any food — including tubers and other plant matter. The evolutionary past does not prescribe the dietary present.

"We have canine teeth and digestive enzymes for meat"

Humans do have physiological adaptations for omnivory. But the capacity to digest meat does not establish an obligation to eat it. As the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has consistently stated, well-planned vegan diets are "healthful and nutritionally adequate for adults (AND 2025 position; see note below)." Our evolutionary flexibility — the ability to thrive on diverse diets — is itself a key human adaptation.