Re: frugivore diet

Actually this comparison is rather misleading since it fails to take in to account a very simple fact. Animals are adapted to the foods they eat. But, animals have different means of catching prey. A lion for example will have sharper canines than humans and stronger jaws. This is because unlike humans they are reliant on their mouth to capture prey. Humans have hands that help them to capture prey. So comparing the jaws of bears to humans is like comparing a bicycle to a car.

But the teeth of humans are relatively the same as omnivores, just a little less defined since we do not use out mouth as a primary means of capturing prey.

As for the digestive system they left out that we also produce pepsin to digest proteins such as in meat, not just amylase for starches. And if we were designed to eat plants only then why don't we have stronger jaws, flatter teeth and four stomachs like a cow? Again our teeth are designed to eat both plant and animal material. Our digestive system is designed to handle both plant and animal material. In fact the longer intestine lends more evidence to meats being a part of human diets. Animal proteins are rather difficult to digest, which is why carnivores have a longer intestine to allow time for breakdown and absorption. The fermentation of plant fibers on the other hand primarily occurs in the shorter large intestine, which is why most of the flora are found here.

By the way wolves are considered carnivores yet they will eat plants. My ex-business partner had a pet wolf that kept eating all my garden pants. In nature when they make a kill one of the first areas they go for is the intestines to get the plant material fermenting in the body so the material is already being broken down. So defining carnivore, herbivore and omnivore is not really as clear cut as we think.

One last note since your post also brought up stomach acid. Non-cellulose and hemicellulose plant material is broken down by enzymes, such as amylase, that are really independent of stomach acid. The cellulose and hemicellulose are partially broken down by bacterial fermentation in the large intestine. So if the majority of plant material is broken down by enzymes like amylase, which is not acid dependent then why do we produce so much stomach acid? Yet the enzyme pepsin needed to break down high protein, such as animal flesh, is acid dependent. Our digestive system is clearly designed to handle both animal flesh and plant material.