Jan 19th, 2015: Vegan's Savior

[orthodoc]

Originally Posted by blueboy56

If we aren't to eat meat, why then do we have incisors, canines (teeth) and premolars.

Eventually, we would only have molars and no front jaws.

Pardon me, we are omnivores, we have always been omnivores and I intend to stay that way.

So there.

Horses, cattle, sheep, all have incisors, canines, and premolars. Their teeth are remarkably, astonishingly like ours. Incisors, canines, and premolars are used for cutting, tearing, and mashing (prior to grinding) ... of virtually any foodstuff, plants included.

We are obviously capable of being omnivores, but the question is not whether we can, but what we ought.

On that, the science is in.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by orthodoc

Horses, cattle, sheep, all have incisors, canines, and premolars. Their teeth are remarkably, astonishingly like ours. Incisors, canines, and premolars are used for cutting, tearing, and mashing (prior to grinding) ... of virtually any foodstuff, plants included.

No.
Cattle and sheep have no upper incisors which is why they can't bite off anything. They use the lower incisors to rip vegetation like you'd tear off a piece of waxed paper. Cattle have no canine teeth, and while the sheep's outside set of incisors are called canines they are hardly capable of ripping anything tougher than grass. Both cattle and sheep have premolars and molars which are strictly for chewing and grinding, because they are too far back in their mouth to bite anything.

Oh, and weresheep? Only Gromit can see them, so no worry there.