Wolf, Sheep, and Shepherd — Digestive Systems Compared
By Greg Westbrook
Is Your Shepherd A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing?
Author of When Hallelujah Becomes "What Happened?"No, this isn't about false prophets, but it is about false teachings. A common vegetarian "half-truth" for a meatless diet is that man's digestive system is patterned after that of an herbivore, not a carnivore.
Not so, according to The Naïve Vegetarian Comparison. In this article, the digestive system of sheep (herbivore), wolves (carnivore), and shepherds (men) are compared. The shepherd and the wolf have very comparable digestion, drastically different from the sheep:
- The capacity of the stomach in the shepherd and wolf is one-half gallon, but the sheep is a voluminous 8 gallons. Can you imagine filling up a stomach 8 gallons in size. Perhaps you could be a healthy vegan if you had an 8 gallon stomach.
- The shepherd's digestive tract is five times his body length, very similar in size to the wolf's digestive tract which is seven times his body length. In contrast, the sheep's digestive tract is a whopping twenty-seven times his body length.
If those two bullets aren't convincing enough, here's two more:
- The man and the wolf digestive system depend on putrefaction for digestion while the sheep's digestion works on the principle of fermentation.
- While the shepherd and the wolf never use rumination (chew the cud), rumination is a necessary feature of the sheep's digestion.
An additional point is that a wolf and shepherd's stomach is designed to empty before being refilled, while a sheep's stomach is designed to be constantly fed without emptying. You can view the entire 40-point comparison by clicking here.
On our little farm, we have raised sheep, goats, and cows; all animals that eat voluminous quantities of plant food. Any of these animals can put away huge amounts of alfalfa hay full of stubble and leaves that would choke a human being. They tend to be constant eaters, browsing for tiny blades of grass, leaves, berries and bark that would be impossible for a human to eat.
Anyone who has kept animals in a pastoral setting understands the creator's divine plan. Given enough range, animals can forage on nearly barren landscape and convert it to powerful food for the shepherd.
Another key in the Creator's design of animals is that dairy production automatically leads to a meat supply. Milk cows only give milk after they have given birth, so they are normally bred on an annual basis. Half of the calves born to milk cows are female and are usually kept for future milkers. Of course, the other calves are males that are raised for meat.
Those who say man doesn't need animal products surely don't appreciate the Creator's design, nor understand the healing power of these foods.
It's In The Book
As Christians, we don't need a 40-point comparison between a shepherd, a wolf and a sheep to convince us that we are designed to eat meat. We already know from Genesis 9:3 and from the entire spectrum of Biblical teaching on nutrition that God's design is for us to eat animal products. If there was any confusion in the mind of Noah, God made it very clear that Noah was to eat meat:
"Every living thing that moveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things." Gen 9:3
I like to say that Gen 9:3 is the first meat sandwich in the Bible because it is sandwiched in between two blessings. Gen 9:1 is a blessing on Noah, and Gen 9:7 is another blessing on Noah. Surely God was pleased with Noah and knew that Noah would need the power of animal products to "be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth." Animal products are NOT a curse pronounced on mankind, but rather a blessing given to mankind.
Shocked By The Power Of Animal Products
We found out the hard way that animal products are a blessing. Back in 1994, we began to read books by Norman Walker, Ann Wigmore and others about the power of the all-raw no-animal-product (Gen 1:29) diet; so we decided to give it a try. Little did we know that six years later, our bodies would be worn out and broken down from lack of nutrients. We have even coined a new word that describes the long-term effect of the Gen 1:29 Diet: denutrification.
We spent three years on the all-raw vegan diet, and then the three more years on the Hallelujah DietSM, which is a vegan, Gen 1:29 type diet. Because we were in touch with so many people across America through our Weigh of Wisdom Workshop, we heard the cries of others who were not thriving on these diets as well.
We knew that we would eventually have to go public with the fact that we had crashed on the Gen 1:29 Diet, but our first problem was figuring out how to recover from our years of "denutrification" on the Gen 1:29 Diet. We prayed for wisdom and went back to the Bible. It soon became obvious that we had camped on one verse of the Bible (Gen 1:29), and had ignored the entire rest of the Bible's advice on nutrition.
It took us several months to even work up the nerve to try animal products after being so steeped in the Gen 1:29 Diet movement. But being bolstered by the knowledge that it was Biblically sound, we began eating a little fish, turkey, chicken and goat's milk. Eventually we made the quantum leap to the unthinkable world of beef eating.
How could we take this message to the people? Originally, we planned to soft-pedal the issue saying that if people choose to eat meat, that would be OK, and here's how to find safe meat, dairy and eggs. But, God had other plans.
After a few months of eating animal products, we were absolutely shocked at our health gains. We knew this message could not be soft-pedaled or "slipped into" our previous teachings. It was a message to be shouted from the housetops. It is also a message that glorifies God because it gives Him credit for our health gains. After all, meat eating was God's idea, not Noah's.
Yes, we have been very vocal about the power of this "good gift" from God. We have found red meat to be especially powerful. And yes, many other Gen 1:29 dieters have also joined us and found their health blossoming again too.
Find A Way!
Some people throw up their hands in defeat, saying that mad cow and contamination of meat is so horrible that we shouldn't eat meat. But God expects people to find solutions, not problems. So, let's think about solutions.
God has not left us without a way! He has provided safe meat, dairy and eggs by calling men and women all over the world to raise animals by old-fashioned (organic) standards. These are people who will not use pesticides on their feed or on their cattle. God has placed His standards in their hearts and they will not compromise. Some of them are big-time farmers and ranchers; others are just neighbors that grow things God's way. Thank God for calling these people to do the job that they are doing.
Not long ago, I met a health minister who was on the Gen 1:29 Diet. To my surprise, I also learned that he was raising cattle on his ranch the old fashioned way, without chemicals or pesticides. He wasn't eating them, but selling them to others for their dinner tables. Now that he understands first-hand the healing power in animal foods, he is planning to start marketing organic, safe beef to people looking for this type of meat. This is the kind of creative thinking we need as true shepherds for our Lord.
We have been eating grass-fed beef from New Zealand, and natural beef from our local Whole Foods Grocery store. In most areas there are many local growers who sell clean, wholesome meat. I can't imagine where we would be in our health without this powerful food. Meat can get a little pricey, but you needn't buy the expensive cuts. Also, safe meat from local farmers can often be found that is much less expensive.
Does Meat Shorten Man's Life And Cause Cancer and Heart Disease?
Some people are afraid of animal products because they have come to believe that animal products are the primary cause of all mankind's sicknesses. This is a pity because the real culprits are junk food, sugar, artificial foods, irradiated foods, genetically modified foods, and chemically treated foods. These foods are causing disease, not God's wholesome meat and animal products. Before the advent of processed junk food beginning in the early 1900's, cancer, heart disease and diabetes were almost unheard of diseases.
Isn't it just like man to corrupt God's food, and then blame God for our troubles. We blame God for giving us meat when there is nothing wrong with clean, wholesome meat. We go to the grocery store and fill our carts with artificial foods, junk meats, and food that bears almost no resemblance to what God created and we become sick. Then we blame it all on meat! How like fallen man to blame God for our own mistakes.
Back To God's Plan:
We are now teaching the Plan B Diet™, which is as close to the full spectrum of Biblical teaching on nutrition as possible and includes "clean" animal products. You can read about the Plan B Diet™ by clicking here. One man wrote this week about the Plan B Diet™:
"Of all the dieting plans I've heard about, I still think yours is the best, especially because it takes a very comprehensive and balanced view of nutrition and health, including spiritual health."
We need quite a few shepherds to join us in a big job ahead. The fields are white with sheep that don't have any idea what is causing their health problems. And yes, there are many "wolves" teaching various diet messages that aren't nutritionally sound.
With my book and other resources, we teach the Plan B Diet™ to people across America through certified Weigh of Wisdom Workshop Leaders. God's people need to be free of their health problems so they can be released to serve God without health problems.
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