One of my friends in the military reported about his friend eating a raw piece of chicken in order to save some time in the field.
But why can animals eat raw meat when humans can’t?
Let’s take a closer look at the question because it’s not a simple question to ask.
Wild animals will typically eat fresh meat and that is not as hard on the system as rotten meat.
Other animals like Vultures can even eat rotten meat because they have a special set of acids and enzymes in their digestive system.
They also have developed stronger immune systems in order to process the bacteria.
5 Reasons Why Animals Can Eat Raw Meat1) They eat the meat while it is fresh2) Wild animals have more acid in the stomach3) They have stronger immune systems4) They have a better sense of smell5) They don’t have a choiceCan A Dog Eat Raw Meat?Should I feed my dog raw or cooked meat?Can HUMANS Eat Rat Meat?The meat you should NOT eat rawWhat is the risk of eating raw meat?Why can Animals Eat Rotten Meat?
You might also get surprised to find out that sometimes the wild animals will actually get after eating bad meat.
Let’s start by looking into why a lot of animals can get away with eating raw meat.
You have probably seen the predators on the Savannah eat a Zebra or a Gazelle and maybe you were thinking why in the world did they not get sick from eating the animal.
There are some good answers to this question but it’s not as simple as you may think.
1) They eat the meat while it is fresh
The first reason the wild animals can get away with eating raw meat is that they tend to eat the prey just after they killed it.
This means that the flesh is still fresh and hasn’t started rotting yet.
This is not very different from you eating fresh tartar at a restaurant.
When humans eat meat we will typically go to the supermarket and buy a piece of meat that has been dead for a while.
This also means that the piece of meat had time to pick up bacteria.
But even though humans can in many cases eat raw meat you will have a much harder time doing so than a lion or tiger.
2) Wild animals have more acid in the stomach
Over time, the stomachs of animals have evolved differently than human stomachs.
The big cats on the Savannah will eat fresh and raw meat constantly so they have developed a different set of enzymes in their stomach.
They also have more and stronger acids in their digestion system which will kill more bacteria than your stomach.
Biologists have also found some animals to be resistant to several bacteria while other animals (eating the same diet) will get infected and ill.
So it depends on the species and not all animals can get away with eating an infected piece of meat.
Actually, many animals will die from a young age because they got infected with parasites or bacteria.
Wild animals are exposed to other bacteria than humans.
This also means that their immune systems have developed differently over time.
Each animal has its own unique immune system just like you and me.
Not all wild animals can get away with eating raw meat.
Lions might not be able to eat rotten meat to the extend Vultures do it.
Some biologists have suggested that dogs will eat grass in order to start vomiting whenever they eat something that’s bad for them.
According to scientists, scavengers like rats use their sense of smell in order to judge what type of meat is good and what type of meat they should not eat.
Scavengers will typically use small to find the food and it might not come as a surprise that they have a much better smell than humans.
So there’s a very good possibility that they are able to judge whether the meat is good for their system or if it has turned bad.
The last reason we could find is that animals don’t really have a choice.
They will eventually get sick from eating poisonous food and they are good hiding it.
Animals are exceptionally good at hiding their weaknesses and sicknesses.
This is because nobody in the animal kingdom wants to be the next prey because they look weak.
They will typically not show weaknesses like humans.
Can A Dog Eat Raw Meat?
Ever wondered if dogs get sick from eating raw meat?
Many people will feed their dogs’ raw meat because they think this is closer and more similar to what dogs would eat in the wild.
When wild dogs eat meat they will typically eat an animal that has recently died where the flesh is still fresh.
The meat you get from the supermarket can usually be infected with salmonella or listeria.
This is why we are always heating up and cooking the meat from the supermarket before we eat it.
Should I feed my dog raw or cooked meat?
According to the FDA, you should be very careful about giving your dog raw meat.
If you keep raw meat in the house for your pets you should freeze it down until you are using it.
Don’t handle the raw meat in the kitchen around other food as bacteria can easily spread.
TipNatural bully sticks and dental chews are great for dogs in order to keep the teeth clean and healthy.
Can HUMANS Eat Rat Meat?
There are very good reasons why you should cook your meat before you set your teeth in it.
Let’s start by looking at what types of meat you can eat raw and when you should cook your meat before eating it.
Whenever you visit a restaurant serving these types of meals you need to make sure they have a high standard when it comes to hygiene.
But as long as they treat the meat well you can definitely eat the raw meat in these meals.
A lot of people think that humans can’t or shouldn’t eat rare meat but this is not true.
Humans can easily eat rare meat as long as you make sure it’s fresh and good.
The meat you should NOT eat raw
You shouldn’t eat rare chicken meat.
The reason why we never eat rare chicken is that there sometimes are salmonella in them.
Chicken is a type of meat that easily gets poisoned so we always need to heat up chicken meat really well before we start eating it.
What is the risk of eating raw meat?
If you eat raw meat that is poisonous or maybe a piece of chicken with salmonella you will get really sick for a couple of days.
Ever wondered why Vultures, Hyenas, and other scavengers can eat rotten meat and not die?
Let’s take a closer look at the scavengers of wild nature and why they do not get infected and die when they eat other dead animals.
Vultures will even let the dead animal be for a couple of days in order for it to rot.
According to the Danish microbiology scientist Michael Roggenbuck from the University of Copenhagen, the Vultures have some very special skills when it comes to dealing with toxic bacteria.
“On one hand, vultures have developed an extremely tough digestive system, which simply acts to destroy the majority of the dangerous bacteria they ingest,”
“On the other hand, vultures also appear to have developed a tolerance toward some of the deadly bacteria — species that would kill other animals actively seem to flourish in the vulture lower intestine.”
Name (not required)
Email (not required)
Animals come in different shapes, sizes as well as species.
Some animals can feed on plants and meat, while others can only eat either of the two.
Why can animals eat raw meat?
Why can animals eat raw meat?
The belief that animals can eat raw meat without having problems is false.
In the wild, carnivores hunt and kill prey to survive.
From eating the flesh of other animals, these carnivores might develop some diseases.
Nonetheless, they eat their meat raw because they quite obviously can’t cook it.
My Beef with Meat: The Healthiest Argument for Eating a Plant-Strong Diet–Plus 140 New Engine 2 Recipes
Saying that animals can eat raw meat doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to be fresh.
However, fresh meat is easier than rotten or decaying meat on the digestive tract.
Not all animals can eat decaying animal protein because their digestive systems aren’t modified for that kind of feeding.
Science plays a significant role in helping us understand why animals can eat raw meat.
We’ve established that animals can eat raw meat.
Now, let’s look more closely at the reasons for this.
Animals can eat raw meat due to various factors, which are not as straightforward as you might assume.
One critical reason animals can eat raw meat is that they eat the meat while it is fresh.
Unlike humans, wild animals eat their prey right after they kill it.
They don’t process or store the meat for later consumption.
Eating the prey immediately after the kill ensures that the meat is still fresh and hasn’t begun to decay.
In other words, bacteria haven’t had time to grow on the flesh.
2. Well-adapted digestive systems
Animals can also eat raw meat is that they have well-adapted digestive systems.
Wild animals have more concentrated acids in their stomach.
The digestive system of some animals has even evolved to the extent that they have a built-in mechanism to flush toxic meat from their system.
The vital acids in their digestive system would kill more bacteria than the human stomach would.
Scientists have also discovered that some animals are resistant to bacteria, while others who consume the same diet could become infected and sick.
As a result, it varies by species, and not all animals can get away with consuming raw meat.
Many animals don’t live till maturity due to parasites or bacterial infections caused by their diets.
Animals in the wild can eat raw meat because of their robust immune system.
The immune system of wild animals has evolved.
This gives them the ability to resist the various infections they could contract from the bacteria they’re continuously exposed to through their diet.
Another reason animals can eat raw meat is that they have a better sense of smell.
You might ask, how does their sense of smell relate to them being able to eat raw meat?
Their improved sense of smell helps them determine what type of meat is good or bad.
It allows them to judge what type of meat they should or shouldn’t eat.
Animals, especially wild ones, don’t choose to eat raw meat; they consume it because that’s what’s available.
Animals in the wild can’t choose to have their meat prepared for them, and most of them will die without ever tasting cooked protein.
The same can’t be said for domesticated animals or pets under our care.
Can Animals Eat Rotten Meat?
Can Animals Eat Rotten Meat?
In most ecosystems, rotten meat, also known as carrion, is essential for large carnivores and omnivores.
Aside from the fact that rotten meat isn’t good for human health, it generally doesn’t taste good.
For us humans, it is better to eat fresh to avoid stomach complications.
On the other hand, some animals are well adapted to eating rotten meat.
It’s important to stress that not all animals can eat rotten meat.
Animals that eat it are known as scavengers.
Examples of such animals are vultures, bears, and snapping turtles.
They can eat meat at various stages of decay.
Instead, they wait for other animals to kill prey and eat the leftovers.
Vultures, for example, can eat decaying meat because their digestive system contains a unique set of acids and enzymes.
In some cases, vultures eat other dead vultures if they get hungry and don’t find other desirable food.
Most animals would be poisoned by eating rotten meat regularly.
On the other hand, Vultures appear to have evolved by creating extremely damaging stomach acids.
These scavengers have digestive systems designed to process high bacteria loads without causing them harm.
Why Don’t Animals Get Sick After Eating Raw Meat?
The assumption that animals don’t get sick after eating raw meat is incorrect.
Animals sometimes get ill from eating raw meat.
As a result, most of these flesh-eating animals die off very young.
It’s more acceptable to say that some animals are more adapted to eating raw meat than others.
Pure carnivores have digestive systems that are very different from other animals.
Their digestive tracts are very simple and short, unlike in herbivores and carnivores.
In that case, we’ll find that the gazelle meat is least likely to be contaminated.
This is because the gazelle meat hasn’t been exposed for long, and the chance for pathogenic bacteria to have grown on it is very little.
To answer this question, yes, humans can eat raw meat.
Although, eating raw meat isn’t as simple and without complications as just saying it.
Eating raw meat has been a common practice in many cultures worldwide for a very long time.
Carnivorous animals like wolves and lions have teeth that are built to slice through elastic animal muscle like a pair of scissors.
This makes them effective raw meat-eaters.
According to research, human teeth cannot adequately break down raw meat due to their flat surface.
Researchers also noted that early humans most likely chopped theirs up with stone tools to make it edible.
When we chew raw meat, it doesn’t split apart easily.
Hence, a few things have to be done before it can be eaten raw.
Cooking facilitates the chewing and digestion of food, helping the body absorb more of the available nutrients.
Research done by scientists indicates that a raw meat diet is very feasible.
High-end restaurants include raw meat dishes on their menu.
However, while these are all edible dishes, they aren’t always safe to eat.
Despite this, there’s still a chance of contracting bacterial infections from consuming any of these dishes.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, raw meat may also contain Salmonella, E.
The only way to destroy these microorganisms is to cook the meat thoroughly.
As a result, it’s safer to cook meat until its interior temperature has reached at least 65 degrees Celsius.
You’re probably wondering if this is true; how then have humans survived on raw fish meat over the years?
Also, what about raw fish in dishes like sushi?
Raw saltwater fish is safer to consume than freshwater fish because the water’s salt helps remove bacteria and parasites.
Another thing is that most bacteria can’t thrive at temperatures below 4 degrees Celsius.
Sushi-grade fish, also known as sashimi, is typically eaten uncooked and is usually frozen to help kill any bacteria that may linger.
Raw meat consumption is usually more common in animal diets, as they’re well adapted to this kind of feeding.
That isn’t to say that humans don’t also consume raw meat.
Raw meat is considered a fine cuisine in several places.
People eat meat at different stages of rawness.
Meat from fish is eaten raw as sushi, and beef is eaten as a steak.
While these dishes are popular in high-end restaurants, we shouldn’t make eating raw meat a regular habit to avoid complications.
Raw Veganism: The Philosophy of The Human Diet (Routledge Studies in Food, Society and the Environment)
If you are a fan of nature documentaries or are interested in animals, you have probably wondered: why can animals eat raw meat and humans can’t?
Read on to discover the interesting reasons why animals eat raw meat while humans can’t.
Table of Contents5 Reasons Why Animals Can Eat Raw MeatCan Humans Eat Raw Meat?Can You Feed Your Dog Raw Meat?Summary: Why Can Animals Eat Raw Meat and Humans Can’t?
5 Reasons Why Animals Can Eat Raw Meat
5 Reasons Why Animals Can Eat Raw Meat
5 Reasons Why Animals Can Eat Raw Meat
Humans are generally advised against eating raw meat, except for small meals such as beef tartare, sushi, and rare steak.
Yet, how is it possible for animals to chow down raw meat and not get sick?
1. They have special stomach acids and enzymes
Have you ever wondered how an animal such as a vulture can eat carcasses and rotten meat and still live another day?
That’s because nature has created a sterile environment in the vulture’s stomach, a quality that we humans lack.
Many other animals, including the vulture, boast a stomach that is well lined with potent acids that can instantly kill harmful parasites and bacteria found in raw meat.
Because our stomach lining doesn’t contain such parasites and bacteria-fighting acids, we cannot safely eat raw meat.
I should note here that these special acids and enzymes are not present in all animals.
In fact, many animals do fall sick from eating raw meat.
It is common for young animals to die after consuming raw meat.
The immune system of animals evolved differently from ours, enabling these beasts of the wild to tolerate otherwise harmful bacteria and parasites better than humans can.
Animals’ immune system is not necessarily better than that of humans.
It just means that their system is better adapted to the wild environment where all sorts of dangerous parasites, bacteria, and viruses thrive.
Like humans, each animal has a unique immune system.
Some have a strong immunity that can fight off dangerous pathogens found in raw meat.
But, some animals’ immune system is not well-adapted to protect the body against harmful parasites and bacteria.
For example, vultures can eat rotten raw meat, and nothing happens to them.
3. Most Animals Eat Fresh Meat
Think about it for a minute, when you buy meat in the deli, those lamb chops or T-bone briskets are part of an animal that has been dead for a long time, probably a few days.
When the meat is lying at the deli, it has likely picked up bacteria, and eating that meat raw can be extremely dangerous for the human body.
On the other hand, animals mostly eat their meat fresh as soon as they hunt down and kill their prey.
This doesn’t mean fresh meat doesn’t have bacteria; it likely does, but not in the amount as when raw meat is stored for even a few hours.
Lions, cheetahs, tigers, and other wild carnivores cannot cook or store their meat safely.
As a survival mechanism, they end up eating their meat as soon as they kill their prey.
Humans have evolved and adapted to their environment over thousands of years and devised ways to store their food to prevent sickness that would otherwise wipe out our species.
As part of our endeavor to evolve and attain ultimate efficiency, humans moved away from chewing their meat raw to cooking it to save time and energy.
It is widely documented that early humans ate raw meat routinely.
But this also meant they spent hours scavenging for food, spent additional time tearing the meat off the bone, and chewing it enough to be safe for swallowing.
After eating your share of raw meat, you would then have to lie down for several hours for the body to work extra hard to digest the raw meat.
Breaking down raw meat takes much longer than digesting cooked meat.
As part of evolution, humans also developed a strong repulsion for raw meat.
Why should we spend so much time and energy eating and digesting raw meat, not to mention tolerate the repulsive smell and taste of bloodied raw meat when we can grill, fry, or bake meat?
From an evolutionary point of view, eating raw meat is simply not the most efficient use of our time.
5. Animals Have A Better Sense of Smell
Even though animals are not as evolved as humans, they score well on some qualities, such as smell.
When well-socialized, a dog can smell a harmful substance from many miles away.
The strong sense of smell is why they use canines, not humans, to sniff out banned substances at the airport or crime scenes.
Animals in the wild have an equally strong olfactory system compared to ours.
Interestingly, a tiger can quickly and easily sniff out contaminated meat and stay away from it.
Humans can also mostly tell when meat is unsafe for consumption, but this is not always the case.
Sometimes, a piece of meat might neither have molding nor a foul smell but still be unsafe for consumption.
So, animals can eat raw meat and still be fine because they have become good at separating good meat from the bad type by smelling.
Can Humans Eat Raw Meat?
Can Humans Eat Raw Meat?
Technically, humans can eat raw meat.
There are still many communities that devour raw meat routinely, but such tribes are few and far between.
Even in those communities that eat raw meat, they have ways of ensuring the meat is safe for consumption.
For example, they might smoke it slightly or add preservatives believed to kill harmful bacteria.
That said, you can go to some modern restaurants to enjoy a meal of raw meats.
Popular delicacies constituting raw meats include tartar, carpaccio, sushi, basashi, and raw steaks.
Many of these delicacies are made from beef or fish, which are pretty safe to eat.
As a general rule, the poor handling of meat and meat products can result in contamination and a serious risk of disease.
While we humans can eat raw meat, you should avoid eating raw chicken and pork.
These meats are easily contaminated and can contain large amounts of salmonella bacteria.
It is important to thoroughly cook your chicken and pork dishes to avoid potentially fatal bacterial infections from undercooked meat.
Can You Feed Your Dog Raw Meat?
Most people believe dogs love raw meat and have no qualms throwing their canines chunks of fleshy, uncooked meat.
Dogs are descendants of wolves, which have no problem chowing down any meat.
However, domestic dogs lack the same immunity and digestive system as wolves to tolerate raw meat.
This doesn’t mean dogs can’t eat raw meat.
But, you must be very careful with feeding your canine pet raw meat regularly.
Raw meat, and especially chicken and pork, contain harmful bacteria such as listeria and salmonella.
Like in humans, these bacteria can make your canine buddy very sick.
Some dogs can eat raw meat, and nothing would happen to them.
Others, especially puppies and younger dogs, might be allergic to chicken meat.
If you really must feed your dog with raw meat, start with a small quantity and increase while keeping a close eye on Fido.
Aside from the risk of bacterial infection, feeding your dog with raw chicken can result in fatal choking.
Summary: Why Can Animals Eat Raw Meat and Humans Can’t?
This is a curious question, and as you can see, there are many plausible reasons why animals can eat raw meat while we cannot.
The bottom line is, animals, with the special acid and enzymes in their stomach, well-adapted immune system, and strong sense of smell, are evolutionarily suited to eat raw meat without succumbing to life-threatening diseases.
For humans, eating raw meat is really not in our best interest.
Not only does cooked meat smell and taste better, we simply do not have the time and energy to sit around struggling to bite into and then digest raw meat.