Why do children dislike vegetables?

Toxins in plants taste bitter to discourage us from eating them - children have probably evolved a stronger aversion to bitter tastes to help them learn.


Asked by: Jake Bogdan, Switzerland

Our evolutionary ancestors lived with lots of toxic plants and we evolved a gene that makes the toxins in these plants taste bitter to discourage us from eating them. Children probably evolved a stronger aversion to bitter tastes because they haven’t yet learned which plants are dangerous. We learn which plants are safe and lose half of our taste receptors by the time we are 20, making vegetables taste less bitter.

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