I always wondered why humans eat together, such as in families or among friends as a bonding tool. What’s so important about ingesting food that we do it in a group?
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Food isn’t divisive. Everyone *needs* to eat. It’s one of the most basic requirements for living. And because of that, your brain rewards you greatly for eating, that’s why it’s so satisfying.
That means that eating is one of the great unifying activities that everyone understands. We all need it, it makes everyone feel better. That already makes it an easy activity to bond over.
On top of that, food is very meaningful. You need it to live but not everyone has an equal capacity for obtaining it. For most of human history, everyone plays a role in getting the food on the table. Whether it’s hunting the meat, finding the vegetables, fruits and nuts or simply cleaning and preparing the food. Everyone has a part in it so everyone gets a share in it.
And if you can’t take part in providing for some reason, then having food provided for you by a parent, a friend, a host or some other party is deeply meaningful. These people are helping you survive.
Humans are deeply social creatures. We *want* bonding activities that strengthen social cohesion. And few activities are so universal as eating.
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