According to an infobox on HowStuffWorks (now owned by Discover Channel), humans cook food because it's easier to eat and digest:

"Why Humans Cook Food
http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/eating-raw-meat1.htm
Some scientists and anthropologists believe that humans are biologically inclined toward cooking food. Raw meat is much tougher to chew, and raw plant food is too fibrous for humans to easily digest. Although some countries, such as Japan, integrate raw meats into their diet, research has not uncovered a civilization that has lived totally off of raw food. Physical evidence of this adaptation includes our relatively small teeth and raw food sensitivities."

Our teeth and digestive systems seem to be the main reason--plus evolution.

According to page 37 the book Indigenous and Cultural Psychology, by Uichol Kim, Guoshu Yang, Kwang-kuo Hwang, evolution played a part in human's learning to cook because it expanded the kinds and types of food we could eat (i.e. foods to tough for our teeth to breakdown easily).

http://books.google.com/books?id=6e2SgfEZ--YC&pg=PA37&dq=why+did+humans+evolve+to+cook+food#PPA37,M1

According to page 67 of Richard Dawkins' The Ancestor's Tale, we may have used first to scare away dangerous animals and provide light and heat. That use lead to the cooking innovation.

According to LiveScience, the innovation of fire perhaps lead to the consumption of better foods--including more meats/protiens--which in turn lead to a doubling of brain size.

http://www.livescience.com/culture/080811-brain-evolution.html

All that being said, humans can and still do eat a lot of raw meats. In fact, many raw meats are considered delicacies including sushi, cured meats and steak tartare.

Of course, there is significant danger from parasites and bacteria when eating raw meats.

In fact, The New York Times reported on the process of flash freezing fish:

" But because of health concerns and growing demand, 50 to 60 percent of sushi in the United States is frozen at some point in its journey from the ocean, according to wholesalers. And rare is the sushi restaurant that tells customers upfront that they may be eating fish that has been in deep freeze for up to two years.

Most would be even more surprised to learn that if the sushi has not been frozen, it is illegal to serve it in the United States."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/nyregion/08SUSH.html?ex=1396756800

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