Here’s a question that has been tossed around for ages: Are humans naturally meat eaters or vegetarians?

It’s a topic veggies and carnivores have continuously bickered over, but what are the facts? Is there even a right answer? Or has the human race evolved to where a person can be either and the body adapts?

If you look up this topic online, you’ll find hundreds of veg Web sites telling you humans are, in fact, supposed to be vegetarians. But I have trouble believing Web sites and organizations that support specific causes.

So, I tried to find the most scientific facts there are. Because, you can’t often get more accurate than scientific research.

It’s irrefutable that humans are able to digest meat. But are we supposed to? Just because we can digest other animals doesn’t necessarily mean they’re supposed to be part of our diet. We can digest paper — but that doesn’t mean we should.

There is a definite link between intestine size and whether an animal is an herbivore or a carnivore. Carnivorous animals have short intestinal tracts that are only three to six times the length of their body. However, herbivores have intestinal tracts 10 to 12 times the length of their body. Humans have intestines that are 10 times the length of our bodies, which would indicate the diet of a plant-eater.

Another argument supporting the idea of human herbivorism is the saliva of carnivores is acidic while the saliva of herbivores is alkaline. This alkaline saliva helps pre-digest plant foods, and it just so happens human saliva is alkaline.

Carnivore bowels are smooth, so meat passes quickly — they don’t have bumps or pockets. Herbivore bowels are bumpy and pouch-like with lots of pockets, so plant foods pass through slowly for optimal nutrient absorption. Human bowels have the same characteristics as those of herbivores.

Now, those are just some of the most compelling facts I’ve found. However, I’m still not convinced humans are supposed to be strictly veg. As mentioned previously, we can digest meat, and that fact alone really says something.

I believe if we were not supposed to eat meat we would not be able to do it. It’s completely possible that a diet heavy with meat is not natural for humans, but the fact stands that if we can digest it, it might not be so bad.

There are two sides to every story, but in this case I don’t think there are any right and wrongs.