ABSTRACT
Eating is, along with breathing, a fundamental necessity to sustain life. If a person does not breathe for some minutes, death occurs very quickly. For someone not eating, although it may take several weeks, death is no less inevitable. Perhaps this is why, throughout the animal kingdom, feeding is such a major part of the daily routine and has become in some species a part of ritual. In primates in particular, feeding routines have assumed particular importance, and are regularly used to placate aggressors. In humans, mutual feeding has also evolved as a major mechanism for showing affection or sexual interest (Morris 1967).
