Why do humans love booze? Monkeys might have some answers… Read on!

Why do some people enjoy booze so much? It’s tough to remark on someone’s preferences and dislikes, especially when it comes to food and drink. Nonetheless, research and studies can assist comprehend why a person prefers to eat/drink something more or craves it.

Take, for example, liquor. According to new research on monkeys, some of our ‘ape relatives’ deliberately seek out food containing alcohol. The fruits grow mature enough for the carbohydrates to ferment, yielding around 2% alcohol. According to Science Daily, monkeys have consistently devoured alcohol-containing fruit, a phenomenon that may offer insight into humans’ desire for drink.

The ethanol level of fruit consumed by spider monkeys in Panama was investigated by biologists from the University of California, Berkeley. They discovered that the fruit carried alcohol on a regular basis, ranging from 1% to 2%. The scientists also obtained urine samples from the monkeys, and the majority of the samples contained secondary ethanol metabolites. The findings indicate that the animals were using the alcohol for energy.

The study was spearheaded by primatologist Christina Campbell of California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Victoria Weaver, a graduate student at Campbell, also assisted by collecting fruit consumed and abandoned by black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) in Panama. According to the study, the findings give more evidence that our primate ancestors preferred fermented, alcohol-containing fruit, most likely due to its higher nutritional content. According to the study, ‘we may have inherited this propensity for ethanol’ from our forefathers.

‘For the first time, we have been able to prove, without a doubt, that wild monkeys ingest fruit-containing ethanol in the absence of human intervention,’ said Campbell, a CUSN professor of anthropology who received her Ph.D. in anthropology from Berkeley in 2000. The new study backs up a theory proposed by UC Berkeley scientist Robert Dudley, who cited the ‘drunken monkey’ notion. In 2014, Dudley published a book claiming that our ape and monkey predecessors realized that the aroma of alcohol led them to ripe, fermenting, and nourishing fruit millions of years ago.