Why Do We Not Eat The Peels?

Today one of my best friends, Kristen, told me that if she had a blog, she would blog about why people don't eat the peels of most fruits. It made me start to think...why is that? For some fruits, the peel is just as healthy as the actual fruit. Pomegranates' peel helps to keep hearts healthy. So why not eat them?

I think it's mainly because it's gross. The peel, to my knowledge, is almost always tasteless, yet eating the whole fruit just seems so much more practical! Why take the time to peel a fruit? Oranges always seem to give me trouble. Maybe it's the texture or how difficult it is to eat the peel. Or maybe it's just the fact that peels have never really been enjoyed by society all throughout history. It could just be that we don't eat the peels because no one else does. As I think about it I begin to realize that no one ever eats the peels (I'm not counting apples, I'd hardly call that skinny coat of skin around an apple a peel...psh). In fact, during softball a girl once ate a peel in order to receive a drink. It's not a highly desirable piece of food. I just wonder though why that is. Who knows? Maybe in some countries the peel of a fruit is seen as a splendid delicacy and yummy snack. In countries such as India citizens enjoy eating some fruits whole with the peel still on. It is something that is completely normal there. It could just be the society in which I live that makes peels seem so unattractive. I also wonder, who thought to peel the fruit and only eat what was inside? How did someone figure out that they would need to peel the fruit and totally disregard that peel? It doesn't seem like something that is completely comprehensible at first. I probably won't ever get an answer to that though.