EAT TO LIVE OR LIVE TO EAT ...

Eat to Live or Live to Eat…

                          the concept of foraging behavior.

Food is the foremost need of the organisms in order to survive, grow and reproduce. He may be an specialist or the one who subsists on an specific kind of food. Or he could be a generalist, the one that subsists on any kind of food.

With the present economic condition of the Philippines wherein supply of food is becoming scarce due to production damaged by different catastrophes such as typhoon and flashfloods. Being a foraging specialist could no longer applicable to practice. Take the issue of “bocha”; this is the practice of eating dead animals which in fact only saprophytes are capable of eating dead organism. Take the issue of scavengers who eat left over foods, which actually intended for lower form of animals such as pig, dogs and cat and yet children in the dumping site enjoyed upon finding one because it would save one meal time. I don’t say that this is right because, such practice may entail some health problems. What I am trying to emphasize here is, because of certain conditions, organisms are forced to eat matter which are not intended to eat by them.

Hence, the concept of foraging behavior among organisms for me depends on the availability of food. One may not be that selective of particular to a kind of food if his prepared food is not available. So the tendency of the organism is to eat what is at hand. In this manner the specialist becomes a generalist. All the organism wants is to get the energy required by his body in order to survive so that he can look for a food that he wants.

                   The case of eat to live and live to eat.

 At present, as long as the food is edible, safe and could provide energy one must take them if he wishes to continue on existing.