Newsnight went a bit Brass Eye last night, as writer and environmentalist George Monbiot came on to discuss the ethics of eating roadkill, before cleaving through a squirrel with an axe, marinating it in lemon juice and cooking it for presenter James O’Brien.
Monbiot prompted a debate on social media earlier in the week after he wrote a piece for The Guardian titled "Why I ate a roadkill squirrel".
He revealed that he had cooked and eaten a squirrel after finding it dead - but still warm - on the side of the road during a camping trip.
He goes on to describe the “raw, feral thrill I have experienced only on the occasions when I have picked up a fresh dead animal I intend to eat,” and said he will take any kind of roadkill except cats or dogs, though this was purely on an ethical basis and nothing to do with how they would taste.
The article kicked up a fuss on social media, with some people outraged by the practice.
Appearing on Newsnight, Monbiot wanted to show that squirrel meat was perfectly edible, and discussed the practice while swinging a small axe.
He explained that marinading the squirrel in lemon juice was crucial as the animal was so tough, adding that he thought “everyone” should eat roadkill exclusively as there was enough to go round.
So how did the food taste?
Well, O’Brian tried some of the meat, but failed to cut through it with a knife and fork, so picked it up and gnawed on the end while washing it down with a glass of red wine.
Don't expect it to catch on just yet.
