Looking past the recent vegan drama, have you ever wondered why your pet might not like particular foods? Have you ever actually tasted the food yourself?

I have, and some taste more like a chemistry lab than actual nutrition.

  • blunderworld@lemmy.caEnglish
    551·
    2 months ago

    I mean, animals don’t necessarily experience taste in the same ways humans do. What tastes terrible to me may still be very appealing to a dog or cat etc., regardless of taste.

    • ElderReflections@fedia.io
      771·
      2 months ago

      The way my dog licks his balls you’d think they taste really good, but they didn’t taste great to me

    • tom_was_taken@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
      10·
      2 months ago

      Exactly. We like sweet things as this is our way to detect glucose for our brain; salty things for minerals, etc. Our pets diets are different, so are their taste preferences. Iirc, a totally blunt piece of dried food tastes great for a cat, since they seek protein more than anything.

      • Otter@lemmy.caEnglish
        4·
        2 months ago

        Yup, cats can’t taste sweetness for that reason, while birds don’t have receptors for spice and can eat chillies easily.

        That’s just the taste buds themselves, additionally:

        • A large part of our taste response is tied to smell. This is why food tastes different when sick. It’s also hard to try yourself because you can “smell” through the back of your throat too
        • the air around us will affect taste perception, which is why some foods taste better or worse on a plane
        • genetic factors exist, such as how some people taste cilantro/parsley as soapy
        • Threeme2189@lemmy.world
          42·
          2 months ago

          I have the cilantro soap gene. Never heard of the taste of parsley being affected the same way.

        • Default_DefectEnglish
          2·
          2 months ago

          That’s why hospital food seemed so next level bland, everything smelled like “clean.”

    • over_clox@lemmy.worldOP
      610·
      2 months ago

      True. Still, have you ever tasted a chemistry set?

      I did when I was 10 years old. It’s a wonder I’m still alive. Raw chemicals are not nutrition.

      • li10@feddit.ukEnglish
        8·
        2 months ago

        Maybe these “chemicals” are the flavour the dog wants tho, I imagine it’s kinda like a really concentrated gravy?

        I don’t imagine flavour has that much to do with nutrition, in fact it’s probably lacking in nutrition if it has no flavour.

        • over_clox@lemmy.worldOP
          13·
          2 months ago

          Have you ever mixed hard kibble with soft food, only to watch your dog literally pick out all the hard kibble and only eat the soft food? And yes, before anyone asks, his teeth are fine.

          The hard food (at least that particular brand) tastes fucking awful.

      • hex@programming.dev
        2·
        2 months ago

        What constitues chemicals for you? I agree with your point- if your dog doesn’t like the treat and you find it tastes unnatural, I agree it’s maybe a bad treat/crappy quality treat.

        But “chemical” is not really a descriptor for taste- everything is chemicals. Sugar is a chemical. There are chemicals in natural foods such as meats, veggies, fruits, it’s all chemicals. I think you’re trying to say that the treats taste unnatural or overly processed?

        • over_clox@lemmy.worldOP
          2·
          2 months ago

          Maybe you’re right, maybe ‘chemical’ wasn’t the best way to describe it. I can definitely agree that those treats tasted completely unnatural.

          I mean like they taste like they were soaked in diesel fuel and dried out unnatural. That’s why I described it as a chemical taste.