What evolutionary purpose is served by tasting good? Would not foul-tasting animals have survived better and come to dominate? NB - this is not for a debate about creationism - creationist opinions are not wanted.
2007-01-01 18:33:17 · 16 answers · asked by Simon W 2 in Social Science ➔ Anthropology
(1) they didn't evolve to taste good; you evolved to enjoy eating them. Precisely the opposite evolutionary force
(2) some animals DID evolve a means of tasting foul - slugs for example. Birds could pick them off the path easily but they don't, cos they're ganky.
(3) and then came along domestication of livestock, which is old enough to be part of our evolutionary heritage, and certainly is (in one sense) part of the evolutionary heritage of cows, sheep, goats etc. We "evolved" them to suit ourselves. Very loose meaning of the word of course...
2007-01-01 19:32:33 · answer #1 · answered by wild_eep 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
The way an animal tastes is largely dependant on its diet. Herbivores generally taste better than omnivores or carnivores. So it's more about diet than tasting good! Since animals evolve according to their natural environment, there evolutionary steps would depend on what food resources where most available.
2007-01-01 18:51:49 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
They didn't evolve to taste good, it's us that like that taste. It would make more sense if cows and pigs tasted horrid, but what predators do they have apart from us? None. We keep them as livestock and feed them up with good food for ourselves to eat. So in evolution they needed no reason for a deterrant to other predators, it's just our society that depicts them as prey.
Different people have different tastes, so it's not a case of evolution at all.
2007-01-02 04:32:12 · answer #3 · answered by Frances 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think the best tasting animals are those with other outstanding defenses. For example the scorpion fish with venomous spines is my favorite. Fleet of foot antelope can be quite tasty but its a hard meal to catch. A cow can afford to be good to eat because he has humans looking out for his welfare.
2007-01-02 04:01:36 · answer #4 · answered by JimZ 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
actually I think it's that we evolved to think they taste good, look at cats and dogs for example. they think their food tastes good because that's what they have to eat to survive, but we don't have to eat it so it would taste foul to us. we need to eat certain things so they taste good to the average human.
2007-01-03 04:57:24 · answer #5 · answered by fae 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Genesis: God created all the beasts of the Earth, and He said "Behold, it will all taste like chicken"
Or -
We just tried everything. It's all made of the same stuff as us, so most animals don't vary a lot in taste. It's their diet that flavors their meat. (Hint - don't eat Koala, they taste like rancid eucalypt)
2007-01-01 21:41:21 · answer #6 · answered by Terracinese 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
What a weird standpoint.
Tasting good serves no evolutionary standpoint, but evolution is a fairy tale anyway so the whole question is based on a false premise. So any possible 'acceptable to you' answer will also be based on a false premise.
2007-01-03 07:39:12 · answer #7 · answered by a Real Truthseeker 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Most animals that are eaten today are domesticates. Humans have used artificial selection to increase traits that we find pleasing. These modified traits are related to behavior, taste, lactation, and even skin and hair.
2007-01-02 07:18:24 · answer #8 · answered by forbidden_planet 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The question is not whether the animal taste's good, but does the animal have good taste? YOU DECIDE. I'am glad that my animal has good taste, cuz if she didn't I'd be out on the prowl.
2007-01-01 18:47:10 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Ask PETA (people eating tasty animals). you evolved to enjoy eating them,they evolved to enjoy eating things that made them taste better to us
2007-01-02 01:50:04 · answer #10 · answered by cuban friend 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋