What would or wouldn't you eat to survive?

I recently finsihed a book about a bloke that ends up in a Thai jail for heroin trafficking. In this particular jail if you do something against the rules, you get thrown into a small concrete room with 20 or so other prisoners for 1 month. The room has no windows, no real ventilation, one bucket for faeces and urine and that's about it.

For food, the guards throw in rice that is days old, usually with a little bit of rotten vegetable, dirt and other non-tasty items in it. The bloke in question goes to eat some of the rice, and one of his fellow captive tells him to leave it for the cockroaches to eat, as it is better to fatten up the cockroach population, so they can then be eaten by the prisoners in 'the hole'. The fellow captive told the bloke that when in 'the hole' westerners don't often survive because they are not as willing to eat the roaches as the local Thai prisoners.

This makes me think about what a person would be willing to eat to survive, some people it seems would rather let themselves die rather than dining on a roach.

So what about you ATS denizens.

Would you eat the cockroaches?



How much further up the scale would you go? What about human flesh?

History shows that, as hunger sets in, preferences, cultural biases, and even taboos quickly disappear. Just ask the nice folks in the Donner Party... Or any soccer player ever stranded on a remote hilltop after a plane crash.

Hungry people will literally eat shoe leather or ropes - both of which apparently happened during the first winter in the colonies here in the US.

So to answer your question... If hungry enough, anything at all.

~Heff

reply to post by Hefficide


Thankyou for your reply.

Thats just the thing, not everyone will eat anything to survive, which seems to go against the survival instinct. I think myself I would be ok with cockroaches, and most insects. Even rotting animal meat as long as I could keep it down, but I am not so sure about human flesh. Most of these things you perhaps can't know untill you find your self in a situation where it is nessecary, but it is still intersting to see what others think, or rather think what they might be capable of eating.

Quite honestly, I think I would eat one of my fellow cell mates before I ate a cockroach.

But then again, I am entomophobic at a level that transcends all logic and reason.

I have tryd to go with out food.
I had no trouble with 24 hours.
just hunger pains. not bad at all.
but thats me.
later I did 24 hours with no food and water.
that is bad, head acks, not feeling well.

after 3 days I would start to get hungery
so I would eat the bugs.
I would have to close off part of my mind.
that is not that hard.
people just fouces to much on what they are doing.
if they dont like it!

but in your daily life you dont remembur doing normal things.
like drinking a cup of tea/coffae.
you pick the cup up to have a drink and its empty?
you just did not notice it.

reply to post by TokiTheDestroyer


Thankyou for your reply.

So if you were in that cell, and you were alone with the cockroaches (ie no roast human about) you would not eat the cockroaches to survive?

Anything,and I do mean anything,
accept stewed tomotoes.


The BrainGarden.

reply to post by _Highlander_


Having never been in that situation, I can't say for sure, but I really don't think I could ever bring myself to eat any kind of insect, much less roaches.

Have you ever been hungry?

You'd be surprised what you will eat when you haven't eaten in a few days.

I have no doubt almost anyone reading this thread wouldn't second guess themselves for eating a human after 4 days without food.

Hunger HURTS a lot more than any form of punishment you can think of.

It may only bother you for the first day or so, but it slowly starts feeling like your insides have turned into battery acid, and trust me if shoving some roaches down your throat will fix it, you will.

reply to post by Gakus


Thankyou for your reply.

What if the human meat was from a family member or a friend? Still snacking?

Originally posted by _Highlander_
reply to post by Gakus

 

Thankyou for your reply.

What if the human meat was from a family member or a friend? Still snacking?

Again, you may think this warp or twisted, but yes.

If you haven't been through hunger, you honestly can't understand what it will force you to do.

I think I would probably eat anything.

I'm not freaked out by the insect thing, I've eaten Locusts before and their not too bad, I wouldn't exactly recommend as a replacement to Beef but it's good protein

Also I once when I was camping a local farmer gave us a huge bag of chestnuts, we left them for a few days before roasting them on the camp fire one night (this was all done in the dark with no lights around at all apart from the fire), everyone commented that they were the best Chestnuts they had ever had until someone suggested we check them with a torch and discovered that they were full of Maggots
We threw them away after that, but they were damn tasty!

Anyone wishing to recreate my taste experience could try Casu Marzu a Cheese that intentionally served with maggots

I remember sitting down with my dad when I was 7 and watching "Papillon" with Dustin Hoffman & Steve McQueen, that was my intruduction to what some people will eat and not eat, very interesting if you havent read or seen it.

en.wikipedia.org...(film)

reply to post by Gakus


4 Days?????????? Are you joking????? I definitely dont want to get stuck in a lift with you!!

The Human body can go for several weeks without ingesting food. We do however need to drink water to allow our metabolism to keep going. Your body will start to break down your fat reserves, then later will go on to consume muscle mass.

4 Days LOL
Not quite as scary as the poster who said he tried not to eat for 24 hours!!! LOL I mean, Come on!!

I had lunch yesterday at 12pm. Did'nt have dinner last night. Had lunch again at 12pm today! Not unusual for most people.
If i'm not hungry after 48hours then i know i'm ill.

Even when starving yourself, or forced starvation, you still have the mental capability to choose whats on offer. Thats why Hunger strikers are succesfull until medical intervention.

Personaly. If it was for survival, I would not have a problem eating anything. Roaches, Humans..the lot.

I had deep fried locust in Thailand. they were realy nice. taste like prawn. I'm sure i've seen locust on a menu.

Why restrict eating roaches and humans just to when you're starving?

Afterall the similarities between the two are quite astonishing.....

MMmmmmmmm tasty......


MR

reply to post by Marlborough Red


Get the BBQ on then!! One playboy bunny commin right up!!!

should be who,

couple fava beans and a fine claret.

yum!

reply to post by fooks


That's old school man....

Rare girlmeat thigh steak, served with saffron chips, samphire and a black truffle and port reduction.

That's where it's at now, mmmmmm......

reply to post by _Highlander_


Was the book, "The Damage Done" by Warren Fellows by any chance?

As for what i wouldn't eat. Hard to say unless i was in that situation, but i'd say any faecal matter, rotting meat or human flesh.

That said, i'm sure people who have turned cannibal to survive in the past never envisaged it before hand.

CX.

reply to post by Hefficide

So to answer your question... If hungry enough, anything at all.

You are so right ad I applaud your post big time.

Gotta tell you also, I’ve been hungry.
I mean hungry beyond reason.
And, it’s not from something drastic like a plane crash - but a complete cultural change.
Still living through it I can tell you first and - to survive? Don't even begin to kid yourself. You will - WILL - eat anything. When the pangs of hunger wake you up at night, fuse your stomach to your backbone and your drool starts at seeing the scrawny legs of a grasshopper.

The worst part my friends is not what you eat, but, the dreams.
Dreaming of going to a restaurant with tables of smorgasbord there are plates and places all but you.
Dreams of rooms of plenty, and you’re outside the door and can’t get in.

Just pray you never have to find out.

peace