Friday, January 26, 2007

Don't Eat Squirrel Meat More Than Twice a Week

Whooee! My ol' Grampaw used t' eat squirrels. I ain't ever had any inclination. Ma's brother killed one when they was kids an' he done it up in a stew. I ain't sure if Ma ate any. The story usually comes up when Ma's bunch gets together fer Christmas.

Anyway, down in Merka - New Jersey, t' be specific - they're worryin' 'bout folks poisonin' themselves by eatin' too many squirrels. Here's the story --
SQUIRREL OFF THE MENU IN NEW JERSEY
Friday, January 26, 2007 - FreeMarketNews.com

Some say they're "good eatin'" while others consider them just "rats with bushy tails." Either way, squirrel hunters in New Jersey are being warned not to dine on the local squirrel-meat, due to possible toxic poisoning of the animals.

Accounts at Fox News and wire services note that local hunters in the Ringwood area of Trenton are being cautioned by the Department of Health and Senior Services to avoid the critters, due to potential lead contamination from a nearby toxic waste dump. Included among those warned in particular are members of the Ramapough Mountain Indian tribe, who hunt and fish in the area. After finding lead in at least one area squirrel, the state's Department of Environmental Protection advised that "adults eat squirrel no more than twice a week and even less for children and pregnant women."

A local resident is quoted as saying, "We've known for a long time something was wrong here; we just didn't know what it was." Theories hold that the lead may come from toxic waste, including paint sludge, dumped in the area by the Ford Motor Co. during the 1960s and early 1970s, from its now-closed car manufacturing plant in Mahwah, which is still in the process of being cleaned up.


Yeow! I'll eat peanut butter samwitches or oatmeal before I'll sink my choppers inta ratmeat stew.

Yores trooly,
JimBobby

6 comments:

bigcitylib said...

Oddly enough, there is a part of the U.S. South where they eat or used to eat squirrels brains, and this was found to give rise to a disease somewhat related to Mad Cow disease.

K-Dough said...

Ok so you can't have sex with 'em, but you can still do the OTHER thing, right?

JimBobby said...

Whooee! Thankee fer the comments, Fellers. I think it was Scotty Tribe who had a post 'bout comparin' poverty levels in Merka vs. Canadee. Mebbe a good yardstick is "how many squirrel dinners a week" the pore folks hafta eat.

K-Dough, is that OTHER thing cuddlin' or scrabble-playin'? I hear-tell the duck tape's useful if yer thinkin' 'bout sex with rodents.

JB

Chimera said...

Oy...these folks live next to a toxic waste dump and they're concerned about eating squirrel meat (which tastes like chicken -- but then everything tastes like chicken except chicken...)? Kinda makes ya wonder about their other priorities, eh?

JimBobby said...

Whooee! Thankee fer chimin' in, Chimer. One part o' the story I gat a laff outta was the part where at least one squirrel had sum lead in 'im. I figger if they're huntin' 'em, they're probbly puttin' sum lead into 'em.
JB

Anonymous said...

Yet another push to get city slickers farther away from their local food sources and only into the grocery stores. Like the food in stores isn't about as toxic...