# Do animals prefer human food? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2017, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476 "2017-12-28T18:36:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/21 "2017-12-29T16:47:37Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > If you’ve eaten wild-gathered foods (plants, not just meat) and compared them to domestic human food you might notice that human foods tend to have less bitter/sour component (we’ve bred a lot of toxins and discouraging chemicals out of them) and tend to be less chewy/fibrous (again, selective breeding). Basically, human food is, in some ways tastier and easier to eat than wild foods which might contribute to animals liking it. Add in added salt (many animals crave it) and fat/oil (a lot of omnivores/carnivores seek that out) and it’s again, better than wild foods. I think that the part about chewy/ fibrous foods has also impacted human evolution. Our teeth, jaws and jaw muscles keep getting smaller over time as hominids keep eating soft/ softer foods. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/22 "2017-12-29T17:58:02Z")
Dogs evolved from wolves to eat our scraps and garbage. So dogs basically evolved to eat a human diet. Whether people, nowadays, actually eat a “human diet” is debatable, however. My wife says the main reason we shouldn’t feed our dogs a lot of human food is because of the enormous amounts of salt we use. Sounds reasonable to me, but then, why are we eating this stuff ourselves if we wouldn’t feed it to a dog? Cats on the other hand evolved to eat our pests. Mice, rats, snakes, lizards, birds, etc. They’re not really adapted to human food. Nevertheless, I’ve known cats who love eating weird things like olives and cheese. I guess animals are individuals with individual tastes, too. The [oldest cat that ever lived](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creme_Puff_(cat)) had “an unusual diet of, among other things, bacon and eggs, asparagus, broccoli, and coffee with heavy cream”. Most wild animals are opportunists. They prefer what they were raised on and adapted to eat, but if you offer them something ready to eat with zero effort on their part, they’re liable to give it a chance. And as we all know, plenty of things that aren’t good for us still taste great. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > Huh? Have you tried raw beef? It’s delicious. I cook my meat for safety, not for flavor. I’ll eat rare meat any day, but give me a good sear on the outside for flavor. Some salt and maybe pepper would be nice too. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/23 "2017-12-29T19:46:44Z")
I worked in a research laboratory where there was a semi-resident dog. Every time anyone brought a box of fried chicken (usually Popeye’s, that being in the neighborhood), he was beside himself with excitement. My aunt had a dog who subsisted largely on a diet of cooked vegetables. What is this people-food-like stuff that chimps eat? I thought they subsisted largely on termites and grubs. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/24 "2017-12-29T20:19:06Z")
Human food tastes much better than what animals eat in the wild. It will be loaded with salt and have other seasonings. We like aromatic foods and the aroma of cooked food will be magnified in the sensitive noses of most animals. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/25 "2017-12-29T21:15:32Z")
Most animals like food that’s easy. Human food is already captured, killed, and dressed, as opposed to having to go out and chase down a bunny or something. So yes, most animals prefer it, the way most humans prefer to capture their food in a supermarket (pretty easy) or at McD’s (very, very easy). And of course deer love things that aren’t even human food, like tulip bulbs. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/26 "2017-12-29T21:39:09Z")
Also, humans generally reserve the best parts of the food for themselves. We cook & eat the meat of animals, while discarding (or feeding to our animals) the offal. (Except for Scotsmen, who eat haggis. 🙂 We also cook our food, which brings out additional aromas & flavors, and makes the food easier to digest. (Which is why humans have less guts than animals – literally, a shorter digestive tract, especially grazing animals like horses & cows. Not having such a long digestive tract allows humans to support a much bigger & energy-requiring brain.) Presumably, the better quality human food, with additional aroma & taste, would be more attractive to other animals. The additional calories with a lower expenditure of energy in digesting then would just be an additional benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/27 "2017-12-29T23:01:08Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Probably not, but it would be interesting to experiment. > > Now, sure, your dog prefers whatever you are eating but that is due to pack mentality. > > While it is true that the meme of “Alpha Wolf” is somewhat discredited, you are likely the Alpha so of course whatever you eat must be the best. 😛 Also, if you share your food, it’s a sign that you love/value them. You’re acknowledging that they’re part of your pack. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/28 "2017-12-29T23:37:46Z")
Birds are the same way, at least the social ones like parrots - sharing food, or just everyone eating at the same time, is an important way to say “we’re all part of the same flock” and is tied up with affection with those species. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2017, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/29 "2017-12-30T03:18:59Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > We also cook our food, which brings out additional aromas & flavors, and makes the food easier to digest. (Which is why humans have less guts than animals – literally, a shorter digestive tract, especially grazing animals like horses & cows. Not having such a long digestive tract allows humans to support a much bigger & energy-requiring brain.)t. But we have longer guts than carnivores. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2017, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/30 "2017-12-30T03:52:09Z")
That’s because we’re omnivores - we need a little more processing capability than dedicated carnivores, but because of our cooking technology we don’t need as long a gut as most other omnivores or herbivores. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2017, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/31 "2017-12-30T04:34:51Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Huh? Have you tried raw beef? It’s delicious. I cook my meat for safety, not for flavor. I’ve eaten pieces of beef that were fully cooked on the outside but effectively uncooked in the middle. As good as rare beef is if you can tolerate the health risk, completely uncooked beef is a huge pain to chew or even cut on one’s plate. Steak tartare works because it’s already been ground into small pieces. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2017, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/32 "2017-12-30T14:03:05Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Also, if you share your food, it’s a sign that you love/value them. You’re acknowledging that they’re part of your pack. A sandwich always tastes better when someone else makes it for you :). Maybe that’s why animals like food that people have prepared. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/33 "2017-12-31T20:45:10Z")
Do animals prefer human food? Some do, especially grizzly bears and man-eating tigers. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/34 "2017-12-31T23:42:44Z")
I’ve always wondered about the part in _Midnight’s Children_ where the super-powered Children are rounded up by the government to be spayed and castrated. Then “…certain ectomized parts were curried with onions and green chillies, and fed to the pie-dogs of Benares.” That extra detail about cooking human gonads into curry with onions and green chilies? Were the feral dogs supposed to find that more appetizing? I don’t get it. Especially since onions are bad for dogs! ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/35 "2017-12-31T23:48:28Z")
I just remembered hushpuppies. Fried lumps of cornmeal batter that are tossed to the dogs at fish fry parties to make them stop barking. That recipe uses onions too! The poor dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2017, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/36 "2017-12-31T23:53:17Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > What is this people-food-like stuff that chimps eat? I thought they subsisted largely on termites and grubs. Wild ones do, but given the chance, they really like a lot of human foods, even if they are very bad for them. When the Dangerous Wild Animals act was passed in the UK, back in '76, a lot of chimps were donated to zoos by [del]idiots[/del] people who had formerly kept them as household pets, as they weren’t willing or able to get the permits. My Dad was working at a zoo with chimps at the time, and said some arrived with long lists of food preferences like favourite cheeses and alcohol. One or two also smoked cigarettes. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2018, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476/37 "2018-01-01T12:47:00Z")
When we were traveling somewhere with one of the dogs we stopped at McDs for lunch. Not wanting to leave The Dog alone in the car for long, a recipe for disaster, we came out with the burgers in a sack to eat them in the car. As we did, TD was looking back and forth from the back seat, doing her best to let us know with big, brown dog eyes that she would surely appreciate some of what we were eating. Unable to resist I finally gave her the last bite of mine, without noticing it had the pickle slice in it. She started to wolf it down – “savor” not being part of a dog’s vocabulary – then paused suddenly. After working things around in her mouth a moment she spit (just the) pickle slice out onto the console before swallowing the rest. After doing so she examined the slice and sniffed at it then gave me this puzzled look. I had no trouble reading her mind: I thought people food was always _tasty_! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-animals-prefer-human-food/805476.md?page=1)