Apes Prefer Organic

Apes Prefer Organic
2003 by Agence France-Presse

COPENHAGEN, Jan 27 (AFP) - Monkeys at Copenhagen Zoo are going ape over organic bananas and other fruits, rejecting traditional foods left in their cages, zookeepers said Monday. "For one reason or another, the tapirs and chimpanzees are choosing organically grown bananas over the others," keeper Niels Melchiorsen told the magazine Oekologisk Jordbrug (Ecological Agriculture).

"Maybe they are able to tell the difference, and their choice is not at all random," he suggested. "The chimpanzees are able to tell the difference between the organic and the regular fruit," Melchiorsen reported: "If we give them organic and traditional bananas, they systematically choose the organic bananas, which they eat with the skins on.

But they peel the traditional bananas before eating them," he added. Copenhagen Zoo, which hopes to be awarded a "green label" as an environmental zoo, began last year feeding its animals at least 10 percent organic products.

Haha... "Maybe they are able to tell the difference"? Gee, ya think?

That's great that people are starting to think about feeding zoo animals organic produce!

I know i can taste the difference and so can my kids! Imagine eating the skins too, with no chemical residue, they must be full of nutrients. Would be interesting to see how their health improves, too bad they didn't have a "control" group...

Makes you wonder if they aren't smarter than us, doesn't it?