Taste/scent is actually a connection to the essence of the thing being tasted/smelled. The taste of death of something decaying isn’t merely something like an optimal neurological response to dissuade someone from eating something that’s decaying; the taste of an orange isn’t simply arbitrary quales assigned to specific nutritional properties for evolutionary ‘purposes’ (speaking loosely) of optimal diet. The taste of death and decay actually acquaints you with the essence of death and decay; the taste of an orange connects you to the essence of the orange. Why? Because everything is connected in a living world. How? I have no idea.
