The relationship between a snake and mouse is quite curious. Often, that dynamic consists of a predator and a prey. However, snake owners have informed me that occasionally something odd happens. Every so often, they have to switch their pet’s food supply to frozen mice. The reason for this being that sometimes when the snake and the mouse are together, they begin to play. Yes, the guzzler and the meal start to run and goof around together. One could say they become friends.

This rare relationship that can form between snakes and mice instills a sense of fascination in me about the relationships that humans have with our potential sources of food. Sometimes I think this fact slips our minds, but humans are still animals. We have many animalistic instincts and characteristics that affect our everyday life. One of those instincts is a predatory drive.

Vegetarianism and veganism are on the rise. Therefore, one could say this demographic is the non-predatory exception, but I wonder if this evolutionary instinct is still ingrained. In a sense, I suppose you could still say they are more likely to be friends with their potential prey than carnivores similar to the snake and the mouse. In the case of us meat eaters, however, we choose our prey and our friends very curiously and much more exclusively.

The way we deem animals edible and inedible is quite fascinating. This discernment may have a cultural foundation. A lot of Americans love our cow, pig and chicken any way we can get our hands on them. Indians, on the other hand, typically do not eat cows. They’re considered sacred. I wonder why this is.

It’s possible that if we form a relationship with an animal, we will be less likely to eat it. Perhaps many Indians have a close relationship with cows, therefore they would not eat them.

However, I’ve also heard stories of Americans growing up on farms and forming a relationship with a cow or lamb in their youth. As they become their friend, they would never consider eating the animal. Sometimes, it is only a specific animal—Old Bessie or little Lou. The others, they may still possibly eat. I think it’s dependent on the person and the animal. In this sense, our judgment of edibility can also be individualized. It’s very intriguing how we humanize these animals and disregard our potential predatory nature.

Another cultural phenomenon in the pet vs predator dynamic is that of cats and dogs. Many Americans have a trusty canine or feline by their side, but in other countries such as China, is not uncommon to hear wok and dog in the same sentence. The cultural disparity is quite astounding. It’s the same animal but a completely different perspective. This attitude, again, may be rooted in the idea of forming friendships.

This concept of relationship-based meals reminds me of a line in Finding Nemo: “Fish are friends, not food.” Fish could very easily be food for sharks. Dogs could very easily be food for humans. Or mice for snakes. However, they can just as easily be a friend and that could make all the difference. Friend or food—perhaps edibility flourishes from the extent of intimacy.