Eating Carrion
CARRION—THECARCASS OFADEADANIMAL—is something many of us would
never consider eating. Until we’re trying to stay alive in the wild, that is.
Most readers of this book live in a society where the only interac-
tion they have with rotten food is when they throw it in the garbage. And
in an age when food has spent time on a truck, train, or ship, has traveled
between continents, and has been handled by dozens of people before it
hits the grocery store shelves, that’s probably smart.
But in the wild, it’s amazing what kinds of rotten (or seemingly rot-
ten) foods our stomachs can handle. That’s why I ate a rotting fish when
I was in Alaska. Even though it had been out in the sun all day, I figured
it wouldn’t hurt me, and I was right. Most cultures in the not-too-distant
past included raw or rotting meat as a staple of their diet. For example, the
Montagnais of northern Quebec fill the stomach of a woodland caribou
with its internal organs and let it hang in the heat of summer in a tree for
a couple of weeks. Then, when it has turned into what can graciously be
described as stinky mush, they eat it as a delicacy.
If you resort to eating carrion, you should cook it whenever possible. But
if I were presented with the choice between uncooked carrion and starvation,
I’d eat the carrion.
Eating Charcoal
IF YOU FIND YOUR STOMACH BECOMING UPSET because of your new diet, eat-
ing charcoal (pieces of burnt wood from your fire) may help cure what
ails you. Charcoal will absorb many drugs and toxins from the gastro-
intestinal tract.
African survival expert Douw Kruger uses charcoal extensively for
stomach problems. He grinds charcoal into a teaspoonful of fine powder,
mixes it with water, and consumes this a few times a day as necessary.
Don’t take too much, though, as it can cause constipation. And don’t ever
eat charcoal made from poisonous wood.
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