Should you shun meat? The recent bird flu scare has turned many Nepalis into vegetarians. Incidentally, it has also resurrected the debate of whether it is better to eat meat or not, even without the dreaded bird flu. Physically, human body resembles herbivores in the animal kingdom more than carnivores. Carnivores swallow their food whole, while herbivores chew it. Carnivores like tigers and lions have big mouths, so that they can kill with their mouths and eat large chunks. Herbivores, on the other hand, have smaller mouths. Carnivores have sharp canines meant for tearing food, while herbivores have blunted ones meant for chewing. It is not hard to see on which sides humans fall. The intestine length, stomach size, acid content in stomach and mouth, are all closer to herbivores than carnivores, or even omnivores. Besides, primates, human beings’ closest cousins in the animal kingdom, are all vegetarian. However, according to some evolution experts, human beings would not have gotten to where they are now without eating meat. Humans used to be herbivores in their hunter-gatherer days. When jungles turned to grasslands, they began eating meat when they could not find fruits. Scientists credit this phase of meat eating for the expansion of human brains, which was subsequently was responsible for their superior intellect. Today, meat provides an easy source of proteins that are readily absorbed in the body, as well as minerals like zinc and vitamin B12 which are hard to find in plant products. Nutrition experts too are divided, as non-vegetarian experts emphasize the protein content in meat, while experts with a vegetarian bias point out that eating too much meat can lead to health risks like high cholesterol and obesity. Obesity has emerged as a menace in the US, where the diet primarily consists of meat. However, giving up meat is no surefire formula to becoming healthy or slim, since lack of activity and consuming too much greasy, sweet, or processed food can make one just as unhealthy. On their part, vegetarians can claim virtues like compassion towards other animals. In South Asia, they are also backed by religious and spiritual doctrines which have been responsible for large sections of the populace being vegetarian. Vegans take the idea of compassion further by refusing to consume dairy products, which they feel humans are not entitled to. But many non-vegetarians argue that they do not need to abstain from meat to be kind. At the end of the day, the debate is not whether eating meat is right or wrong. Meat has evolved into an important part of the diets of so many that every individual is bound to have his/her own logic for their choices. Rather, we should be more worried about what kind of food meet the nutrient needs of our body. Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets provide the required nutrition, and both can be damaging if not taken in moderation. Both vegetarians and non- vegetarians would do well to keep in mind when the bird flu scare is over and chicken is freely available again.