How did we know what to eat and what not to eat in the beginnings??? Someone must have taken the risk of eating something to find out if it was eatable or not!! A lot of people must have died eating something they should not have!! BUT, how do animals know what to eat and what not to eat?

I know for certain that wild mushrooms were fed to dogs 1`st before any of the "Tribe" (for want`s of a better word) ate any, wait 24 hours and if the dog`s ok, then they`re safe.

I assume that it would be safe to extrapolate from that practice that it`s an extension of copying other animals and eating what they ate.

 

crude but effective, for the most part.

I know for certain that wild mushrooms were fed to dogs 1`st before any of the "Tribe" (for want`s of a better word) ate any' date=' wait 24 hours and if the dog`s ok, then they`re safe.

I assume that it would be safe to extrapolate from that practice that it`s an extension of copying other animals and eating what they ate.

 

crude but effective, for the most part.[/quote']

 

 

That seems about right. But I'd say not only animals but other humans. if your father dies after eating a little red thing, chances are you won't try and eat the thing too.

Personally, what puzzles me is the reverse of that question. Who the hell is the first sick mind who thought about drinking milk from a cow?

Consider so simple and time-honored a process as the milking of a cow. The milk which should have been an intimate and almost sacramental bond between mother and child is elicited by the deft fingers of a milk-maid, and drunk, cooked, or even allowed to rot into cheese. We have only to imagine ourselves as drinking any of its other secretions, in order to realise the radical indecency of our relation to the cow.

JBS Haldane.

 

This should go in that Haldane thread, I suppose.

If you want to know the recommended procedure for determining if a plant is edible in a survival situation, check out: http://www.wilderness-survival.net/plants-1.php#uet

 

A big clue is bitterness, many toxic and or medicinal chemicals found in plants are bitter or otherwise bad tasting. You can usually determine bitterness without consuming a lethal amount. Reaction upon contact with skin is also a good indicator, if it burns, don’t eat it!

 

I imagine most animals use their sense of smell and taste to determine edibility.

seeing the reaction in animals and other humans had to have been the methods used to determine the edibility of various things. Im sure alot of people did suffer or die in the process.

If a plant may kill you, eat only a little bit and you may be lucky enough to only get sick.

All animals have instincts on what to eat and not to eat. I guess were like that and just kept expanding.