Regarding the upswing in Western interest in Ebola (the outbreak was chugging along nicely for weeks without much fanfare), one of the tropes that’s spreading (SEE WHAT I DID THERE?) is the word ‘bushmeat.’ A Washington Post story does a good job swatting the nasty implications of that word down, so I won’t, other than to note, that when we white Westerners eat bushmeat, we refer to it as wild game, not ‘bushmeat.’
While I’ve covered this in more detail previously, it’s worth briefly revisiting this Emerging and Infectious Disease article about shiga-toxin producing E. coli (causes bloody diarrhea and can kill; boldface mine):
We investigated an outbreak of non-O157 Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli at a high school in Minnesota, USA, in November 2010. Consuming undercooked venison and not washing hands after handling raw venison were associated with illness. E. coli O103:H2 and non-Shiga toxin–producing E. coli O145:NM were isolated from ill students and venison.
Filthy, disease-ridden savages.
mikethemadbiologist
Don’t forget squirrel brains!
http://www.mad-cow.org/~tom/victim23.html
In Minnesota we refer to them as jackpine savages
What do you think the local term in Africa has been for decades – wild game? Native local resource? Localvore animal protein?
FFS, bushmeat is what the people call it in Africa. Doesn’t matter, tho, when you can conjure up a racist conspiracy about the term.
Reblogged this on La Toubab Noire and commented:
Yes. Pot, meet kettle.
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