Nutrition Q & A

Monkeys Who Won't Eat Vegetables.....

Q: What should I do when my monkey won't eat vegetables? He doesn't like them.

A: Monkeys who don't like vegetables are generally choosing foods that are sweeter, higher in carbohydrates or richer tasting. If you have human kids, this will probably sound familiar, since studies in Rhesus macaques show that their monkey taste buds are quite similar to human ones!

The secret with monkeys is to practice more "tough love" when it comes to diet. A monkey who is given frequent access to "treat foods" (sugar cereals, chips, desserts with sugar) is going to ignore the veggies and just wait for those better tasting foods to appear again.....