WHY do we have different taste in food? Wouldn’t it make more sense for everyone to like/dislike the same foods?
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Some things are received by our bodies in a totally different way person to person. Some people think cilantro tastes bad because the taste that is triggered is akin to soap, more than a leafy green. Also, allergies can prompt people to have discriminatory effects (like if I eat an orange and it affects me negatively I might have an aversion to citrus).
There’s also a cultural aspect to it, some people will eat things growing up and be used to that. This isn’t to say people won’t like foods from other cultures, but the preference is probably related to what is most familiar or easily acquired to some people.
Otherwise, we’re just all very different on many levels. Why do you prefer some types of movies while other people prefer different types? The things we’re drawn to are affected by our genetics and upbringing primarily, so some can just be predisposed to liking pasta, some to steak, some to dragon fruit, and others might not love them but eat them because they grew up with them.
Not everyone has the same resources available to them. That’s why you have different food culture across the globe. It’s impossible to like the same thing when not everyone is even eating the same thing.
Also everyone has different body chemistry. That’s why we have things like food allergies. People react differently to the same foods.
Part of it is that we crave the nutrients we expend most, so some foods are more appealing than others based on what you used the most
While there are good answers already, another aspect to point out is that while there are different specifics like flavors, generally there are some common factors as to what is popular.
Sweet and or fatty( fried foods, ice cream, chips, candy) are *generally* popular since they satisfy the part of us that was built to store a crap ton of calories to not starve to death as a hunter gatherer.
A lot of foods are an acquired taste.
So basically look at it this way: get a bunch of people from different parts of the globe all together, and don’t feed them for a day. Then introduce just a basic food, say, a bunch of cheese.
Will they all salivate and have their stomach start producing acid in anticipation of being able to eat something? Yes. So that means everyone will have the same reaction to food, as far as the body is concerned (reflexes, etc.).
Will they all like the taste of cheese? Perhaps not, but cheese and all other foods can be an acquired taste, and we may get more or less pleasure from the taste buds coming in contact with cheese, because we *learn* to like or dislike complex flavor combinations, as babies.
All babies will like sweets. Not all babies may like a chocolate cake (don’t feed babies chocolate cake). Chocolate can be an acquired taste, you grow up as a kid with it, you like it as an adult.
If we all eat the same thing, that food runs out more the larger our population gets. When food gets scarce, individuals have to compete to survive.
Diversify our food sources, greater supply of food, less competition for food and thus life.
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