Can demons eat human food?

Summary

• Demons cannot eat human food because it would make them vomit quickly, similar to the ghouls from Tokyo Ghoul.
• Lady Tamayo and Yushiro are exceptions, who can consume at least some human food due to body changes.
• Demons can eat animals in the blink of an eye, but human flesh remains their food of choice.

Warning: The following contains spoilers for the Demon Slayer manga. Demon Slayer is now streaming on Crunchyroll.

IN Demon Slayera demon's main diet consists of human flesh and blood. One of the biggest and most terrifying changes that occurs to a person when he turns into a demon is the desire to consume people. The longing isn't just for distress either, for demons needs to consume human flesh and will eventually starve to death if they do not. But is human flesh really the only way to satisfy a demon's hunger and prevent them from starving? Could a good bento or plate of sushi have been enough to keep the biggest threat to the people of Japan in the series at bay?

It's hard to imagine that they can, because then surely some demons would have already done it. Of course, that would also be a silly response to the biggest and darkest threat in the Demon Slayer. But it's still an interesting question to ponder, and rest assured there is an answer.

Can demons eat human food?

And if not, is human food poisonous to them?

Demons cannot eat normal human food, and if a demon were to try, they would find it revolting and quickly regurgitate it, similar to how spirits from Tokyo Ghoul is. Unfortunately, there is no example of a demon eating human food and throwing it up in the anime and manga. The only reason this fact is known is because it is written in Kimetsu no Yaiba Official Fanbook 2.

That said, you probably can't poison a demon and kill them by force-feeding them human food. Even if the food somehow manages to get into their bodies without them throwing it up, they'll probably only get indigestion, but nothing close to fatal. Also, a demon can literally just rip open their stomach and physically remove the food from their body, so human food isn't even a choking hazard to them, unlike if a human eats something they shouldn't. They can simply recreate the gaping hole in the body in no time anyway. This means that unfortunately the demon slayers can't just attach a carrot to an arrow and fire it at a demon to kill them.

Lady Tamayo and Yushiro, the exceptions to the rule

Lady Tamayo and Yushiro are probably the only two demons that can at least eat some human food. Due to the modifications she made to her own body, Lady Tamayo can now survive without having to eat human flesh, but a lesser-known effect of the modifications is that she can now drink tea without putting it up. By extension, Yushiro should also be able to do this since Tamayo used the same modifications on him.

There is an argument to be made that Nezuko can eat human food because, like Tamayo, she has resisted the urge to consume humans. But her body never changed through any modifications, and she hasn't shown any particular desire to eat regular food, so it's hard to say if she can.

Can demons eat animals?

It's probably not their preferred meal, but surprisingly yes

Oddly enough, they can. A demon is seen eating an animal in Demon Slayer: Tomioka Giyuu Gaidenwhich confirms that they do not regurgitate animals when they eat them. This fact makes things interesting though, as it begs the question of what exactly is in human food that causes them to rebel against demons? Maybe they are just pure carnivores, and every bit of vegetables, fruits, spices and other non-animal products in their food triggers something in their bodies? Or maybe cooking is what it does for them, and they can only eat raw meat?

Another possibility is that Muzan only decides what is and is not edible for them. Perhaps he simply lets them eat animals as a last resort if they are ever in an emergency. In any case, it doesn't seem like Demon Slayers can be trusted to feed demons livestock, as human flesh is still their first priority when it comes to food.

Does every human's flesh taste different from demons?

Or does everyone taste the same to them?

Okay, so demons don't really have much variety in their diet, but is there at least some variety in the taste of the humans they eat? Well, it's hard to say if every human tastes different, but apparently some people have more “nutrition” in them for demons. People with Marechi blood, such as Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa, are highly desirable to demons because their blood is like a delicacy to them.

It's unclear what exactly “more nutritious” means, as it could be that their flesh just fills a demon more, but there's also the possibility that it actually tastes better to them. Demons are so dependent on Marechi blood that they can become intoxicated by it and lose focus in battle. Even the Upper Rank Demons are susceptible to this, which happens during the Infinity Castle Arc.

Demon Slayer is now available to stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix. The release date for the next season of Demon Slayer, the Infinity Castle Arc, has not been announced yet.