Why do people across the world mostly only eat a few of the same types of meat (like chicken, beef, pork) when there are thousands of other animals to choose from?

Question

Why do people across the world mostly only eat a few of the same types of meat (like chicken, beef, pork) when there are thousands of other animals to choose from?

In: 667

Answer 1

In order for an animal to be selected for domestication it has to have a number of characteristics from the start:

* It has to be docile enough to interact with people and live in captivity
* It has to eat something that’s both readily available and not more valuable eaten directly
* It has to reproduce quickly under human direction

Goats may have been one of the first animals domesticated for use as food. They eat grass and plant materials that people can’t eat themselves. Pig eat just about anything and they can put out a litter one or two times a year. Cows make milk and chickens make eggs, so you get a secondary food source without having to kill the animal.