Yes it can, however that is not the debate. Like other hominids let's take the Chimpanzees for example, our teeth are designed to process both vegetables and meat. Originally we mainly ate berries and nuts but also we also ate fish and meat. It's not natural to starve you body of proteins which you can only supplemented with vitamins and other supplements. The problem is people forget we are animals no matter how much we choose to elevate ourselves above other lifeforms, applying moral values to one of or more of our food sources is what I find perplexing. Complaining about the way animals are farmed and slaughtered on a mass scale is legitimate as there is a lot of waste and therefore unneeded suffering. However how do we know that lentils do not have feelings too? We don't. So though my body can survive without meat, I choose to continue eating meat as nature intended.