# My Theory: Vegetarians, Omnivores and Carnivores **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 7, 2021, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-vegetarians-omnivores-and-carnivores/929879 "2021-01-07T05:52:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-vegetarians-omnivores-and-carnivores/929879/21 "2021-05-06T03:12:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > ‘’’ we don’t even have a particularly strong reason to believe that the carne/herbe distinction would even be meaningful in an alien ecosystem: “Animal” and “plant” are terrestrial taxonomic categories. I came here to say this but I see **Chronos** has beat me to it. Extraterrestrials would probably be so different than us that we would have a hard time determining if they were alive or not. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-vegetarians-omnivores-and-carnivores/929879/22 "2021-05-06T07:51:21Z")
Eh. They’ll probably look like crabs. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-vegetarians-omnivores-and-carnivores/929879/23 "2021-05-06T11:50:10Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Well, you need to glue those little decorative thingies to the tub. Or just wear shower shoes. Though that makes cleaning your feet more of a challenge. But it beats a fall. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-vegetarians-omnivores-and-carnivores/929879/24 "2021-05-06T13:56:02Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Eh. They’ll probably look like crabs. That’s just what they _want_ you to think. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-vegetarians-omnivores-and-carnivores/929879/25 "2021-05-06T15:04:39Z")
Cats are only “nice” because they’re small. If they were the size of tigers, they’d tear you apart. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2021, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-vegetarians-omnivores-and-carnivores/929879/26 "2021-05-06T15:29:07Z")
I have heard that large cats can make good pets. As long as you feed them well. Roy Horn apparently failed to feed his pet tiger properly. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-vegetarians-omnivores-and-carnivores/929879/27 "2021-05-08T06:27:17Z")
The faulty premise in the OP is that herbivores will be nonviolent, which is just bunk. Plenty of herbivorous animals are quite territorial and exhibit a lot of intra-specific violence. And it’s specifically territoriality and intra-specific xenophobia which leads to nuking yourself to death, not attacking _other_ species. Never mind that herbivores can be quite brutal, not merciful. Me, I’d rather never meet aliens who evolved from hippos. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2021, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-vegetarians-omnivores-and-carnivores/929879/28 "2021-05-08T06:52:01Z")
Firstly, it doesn’t really help for the Fermi paradox, as we have no reason to think omnivores would be particularly rare. Secondly, even the grouping of herbi- carni- omnivore might not make sense on another world. Photosynthesis might fit in in a different, or very indirect way. Finally my own WAG is how aggressive a species is will be tied to group versus individual instincts. And I suspect that humans are quite close to the maximum aggression for an advanced species; we form tribes that fight each other. A more individualistic, or a more colony based species, will both be less prone to war than us. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-theory-vegetarians-omnivores-and-carnivores/929879.md?page=1)