Dietary conservatism (DC) is a foraging strategy in which individuals show a prolonged reluctance to eat novel foods, even after neophobia has been overcome. Within any given population of foragers, some will exhibit DC and some will exhibit adventurous consumption (AC), an alternative strategy in which individuals readily accept novel food immediately after neophobia has waned. It is important to emphasise that DC and neophobia are distinct processes distinguished by the persistence of an individual’s reluctance to eat over repeated encounters with novel food and over long time periods.