Hunger’s a Good Kitchen

Zoya Zelensky Vulpes Vulpes

A Varied Diet

I knitted this wee pyjama case recently for a foxy-loving nine year old. Whenever I knit a toy I do a bit of a story; this one demanded a Ukrainian symbol and it was easy to work out what had happened to her – she and her two friends Valentyna and Svetlana had escaped the bombing in Mariupol by stowing away on a freight ship on the Sea of Azov, and making their way steadily north west through Europe. Clever wee things.

I discovered that a leading fox charity has urged people not to feed foxes because in all the hardship cases they have investigated through the decades, they have never once found a starving fox. It seems foxes are brilliant scavengers and adventurous in their appetites. They will eat nearly anything. If you feed them they come to rely on unreliable donations and might themselves fall prey to predators.

Then I found the Centipede’s Song from James and the Giant Peach, by the redoubtable Roald Dahl:

I’ve eaten many strange and scrumptious dishes in my time,
Like jellied gnats and dandyprats and earwigs cooked in slime,
And mice with rice – they’re really nice
When roasted in their prime.
(But don’t forget to sprinkle them with just a pinch of grime.)

There’s a lot of research going on worldwide into insects as part of the solution for world hunger. Lots of cultures eat insects out of choice, not just necessity. It is widely accepted that food insects generally provide an excellent source of protein, fat, and micronutrients. And have you seen the price of cheese recently?

Just sayin.