Evolutionary models of food sharing

Evolutionary biologists have developed various theoretical models to explain the evolution of food-sharing behavior—"[d]efined as the unresisted transfer of food" from one food-motivated individual to another^[1]—among humans^[2][3][4][5] and other animals.^[6][7][8]

Models of food-sharing are based upon general evolutionary theory. When applied to human behavior, these models are considered a branch of human behavioral ecology. Researchers have developed several types of food-sharing models, involving phenomena such as kin selection, reciprocal altruism, tolerated theft, group cooperation, and costly signaling. Kin-selection and reciprocal-altruism models of food-sharing are based upon evolutionary concepts of kin selection and altruism. Since the theoretical basis of these models involves reproductive fitness, one underlying assumption of these models is that greater resource-accumulation increases reproductive fitness. Food-sharing has been theorized as an important development in early human evolution.^{[9][10][11][12]}