Beached whale in Lagos

I do a little bit of research into food related matters in developing countries, and it is easy to think about food insecurity as an academic endeavor without really thinking about what it REALLY means.

Well here is what it really means: a dead whale ( I was going to say fish, but a whale is a sea mammal right?) washes up on a Lagos beach. What happens? Well, see for yourself:







That is poverty. That is food insecurity!! I am not an animal rights activist, so I am not up in arms about people eating a whale - please eat whatever will nourish your body. But a whole population happily consuming a decaying animal with unknown cause of death is a major cause for alarm. And where are the public health officials in this matter? What kind of government sits back and watches its citizens apply for diarrhea at best and at worst death? Because lets face it, we have no idea how this animal died.

It is so sad. Really.