BBC Article

Fugu – or Blowfish – served incorrectly is absolutely deadly, with no known antidote to the toxin that kills you.

It is a subject that has always fascinated me – food that kills.

The food itself doesn’t fascinate me, there are probably countless plants, animals, and fish in every culture that will make you severely ill or dead, and I have no intention of finding out what they are.

The thing that fascinates me is the evolutionary process we went through to end up eating the stuff.

Take fugu (blowfish) – unless it is cut precisely, with no trace of the liver cut or left on the dish it’ll kill you.

Stone dead.

How many people died before they worked out it was the liver that was killing them ?

How long did they go before the matre-de came running out of the ancient hut to sing

“This one survived – it’s safe now ?“

( What did they do with the pile of unhappy dead customers in the back who didn’t get the right dish ? )

It’s the same with kidney beans – the main part of chilli-con-carne – a very popular dish.

Unless you soak the beans over night they can cause sever illness.

What combinations did the Mexican chefs go through with their original beans before their customers stopped keeling over ?

(With fugu, at least you had a process of elimination to follow -

• Head – Nope killed him
• Heart – Nope, dead
• Fins – coughed, choked, then fell over dead
• etc etc )

I mean did they roast them, fry them, skin then, mash them, leave them out in the sun – how many different things did they try before someone said “Ok, guys we are running out of people – let’s try soaking them in water overnight” ?

The speculation goes on and on with every different type of poisonous food – eat that mushroom – boom dead – this one, pretty lights , that, ok with sausages.

How many people have been planted in an early grave just so that we can have a luxury ( and very expensive ) meal that might ( just might ) bring an end to all of our worries the old fashioned way ?