I think so, for 3 reasons - 1 - in eating basically all the senses take place to create a satisfying sensorial experience, just like food taste better when it's served in a beautiful presentation, food would taste better when it create an enjoyable touch feeling whether in the mouth or in the hand. 2 - fruits and vegetables get oxidize from the touch of metal, and some of the nutritional value they have evapporate touching knife or forks (that's also why, to maintain the nutritional value of them while making a salad, it's better to cut it into big chunks) While bringing the fruits and vegetables straight into the mouth with the hand would keep them from loosing some of the nutritional value and flavor. 3 - Personly, when I eat with my hands, I'm less worried about keeping my manners and have more brain space to enjoy the food.