Chapter 12: Food and Resource Sharing
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to
- Describe the role of Optimal Foraging Theory in the study of food acquisition and sharing.
- Identify the importance of food sharing (especially meat) to the evolution of cooperative groups.
- Explain the different types of food sharing seen in foraging societies.
- Describe the Tragedy of the Commons and how it disrupts sharing.
- Analyze game theory and the impact on types of resource distributions.
Chapter Introduction
What do we know about the way humans and other species share food? After all, if the goal is to survive and reproduce, shouldn’t food sharing be restricted to self and offspring?
In truth, many species share their resources. This is one of the easiest and most beneficial ways to build the very mutualistic relationship that leads to cooperation. Despite this, there is not a one size fits all approach. And what happens when someone cheats and takes more than their share?
Though we might think of food sharing as a cultural practice, it has deep, evolutionary roots. Like the question, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” food sharing inspires cooperation and kinship, yet sometimes it takes both of these to start food sharing in the first place.
Watch the below video as students at University of Dayton discuss their experiences participating in “Breaking Bread” as a way to share culture through food – building community along the way.
