I know this conversation sort of ended a few days ago, but I missed Wes Smith’s post at the time. I agree with most of what he says, but I think his first sentence is problematic. He writes:

Eating meat is a natural human activity — that is, we are biologically omnivorous. In my view, this makes it entirely moral for human beings to eat meat.

Isn’t this a pretty plain statement of the naturalistic fallacy? The observation that eating meat is a natural human activity is ultimately a scientific observation, albeit a very basic one. There are lots of such observations that can be made about evil, bad, or sinful (choose your own adjective) behaviors that are also natural human activities. I do believe in “human exceptionalism” — as Wes puts it — but I’m not sure simply saying “we were meant to eat meat” will do the trick for lots of vegetarians who will gladly concede the point and then respond, “Yeah, we were meant to do a lot of things I don’t think we should do.”

Update: From a reader:

Jonah
I disagree with your analogy to “bad” behaviors for the simple fact that the “design” of our teeth is specific for the kind of diet we were “intended” to eat – both meat and veggies, and the “design” of our digestive system, its enzymes and structure, is also geared toward the omnivorous diet. The roots of the propensity of Man to murder or fight wars or any other “anti-social” behavior must be argued not from the objective physical structures of our body but rather from the subjective “soft” sciences of psychology and sociology.

Me: I figured I’d post this since I know more’s coming. I think it’s a good point (I’m pro meat-eating — more buffalo wings, please), but I don’t think it’s one that is all that helpful in persuading those who disagree. More later, right now I must take Cosmo to the vet — there’s an irony in there somewhere.

Update II: Sorry I wrote fast. There’s a more important point to make. Evolutionary biologist types will tell you that many of the things covered by the “soft” sciences are actually hardwired in us. From promiscuity to altruism to religious belief. They might be wrong or right or right but less right than they think. If it could be proven that various bad tendencies were as hardwired as the form and function of our teeth, that wouldn’t mean that those bad tendencies would suddenly become right.