The Myth of the King of Beasts

 ‚Äì by David Ulrich

    We are all familiar with the phrase, ‚Äúthe king of the beasts.‚Äù Usually this honor is conferred on the male African lion, said to be at the top of the food chain because he kills other animals to survive.

    However the truth behind this myth is that lions are far from the top of the food chain. Lions, like other predators, are basically scavengers, like buzzards and vultures. Far from being masters of their domain, predators are forced to wait until animals are wounded or become ill or infirm before they dare to try and kill them. A strong, healthy animal can often injure a predator if he or she attacks.

    Every carnivore's meal triggers a new countdown. The animal must find another meal before becoming too weak to hunt. One stretch of lean times or an injury can weaken or slow him down, reducing his ability to hunt, and resulting in a slow death from injuries or by starvation, or even predation by other carnivores and scavengers.

    Contrary to the myth, the predators sit at the bottom of the food chain, teetering on the edge of life and death, fully dependent on external circumstances for their survival.

    As we know humans are essentially herbivores. The fact that our jaw moves sideways as well as up and down proves this fact. There is no carnivore (like a cat) or omnivore (like a dog) on this planet whose jaw moves side to side like an herbivore's. The reason is that only a hinged jaw can exert the pressure necessary to bite into raw muscle and bone. Humans are clearly not omnivores or carnivores by nature. Yet every day people in markets stand over pieces of carrion neatly packaged, resting in a bed of green, soaked in red food dye so it does not have the blueish cast of dead flesh.

    I wonder how many of these people, because of the ‚Äúking of the beasts myth,‚Äù believe that by eating pieces of flesh they are eating at the top of the food chain when actually they are eating from the bottom.

David Ulrich was inspired by Will Tuttle's 'The World Peace Diet' to go vegan! 🙂