Ethics and environment
Must humans eat meat because they sit at the top of the food chain?
Short answer
No. Being able to hunt or buy meat is not a duty. AND and the NHS treat a well-planned vegan diet as viable for adults — the food chain describes ecology, not plate ethics.
“Top of the food chain” in a supermarket looks like a shelf, not a savannah. Humans are omnivorous in potential, not sentenced to steak. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2025) considers a well-planned vegan diet appropriate for adults – with a B12 supplement.
Evolution explains why we can digest meat. It does not order us to eat it when tofu, lentils and a pharmacy exist. The same goes for a “canine tooth”: anatomy is not a shopping list.