Yep. And the longer a piece of food has been clinically dead...the less useful it is in an edible sense...as should be fairly obvious if one stops to think about it.

Vultures and other such scavengers don't mind, though, if something's have been dead a long time...so it all depends what species you are most closely attuned to, I guess. ;-) I like my food fresh, and as close to its natural state as possible. That's why I like Japanese cuisine in particular. They do not tend to overcook things.