The Dark Place Where Memes and Penguins "Meat"

The Dark Place Where Memes and Penguins "Meat"

By: a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures

Today’s internet rabbit hole began, as so many do, with a meme.

The meme suggested that people—apparently many people—were wondering whether penguin meat was any good. This came as a surprise to me. I had never once contemplated eating a penguin and would, under no circumstances, do so. Still, the question lingered. If someone were asking, had anyone ever actually tried? Was there, somewhere in the world, a culture that considered penguins a delicacy?

Before we go any further, several things need to be said clearly and immediately.

First: it is absolutely illegal for a U.S. citizen to eat a penguin under the Antarctic Conservation Act. Do not try it. This would be an exceptionally foolish reason to end up in federal prison.

Second: I am not advocating eating penguins. At all. I would judge you harshly if you did (starvation scenarios aside, because morality bends under famine).

That said, curiosity won out. I wanted to know whether penguin meat had ever been widely consumed, and if so, whether it was remotely palatable.

The verdict: eating penguins is terrible in all regards.

I found no evidence of any culture that historically relied on penguins as a food source. No traditional dishes. No regional specialties. No celebratory feasts. The only documented instances of penguin consumption occurred during Antarctic exploration, specifically, moments of desperation rather than choice.

One of the most cited examples comes from Dr. Frederick A. Cook aboard the Belgian ship Belgica, which became trapped in Antarctic ice during an expedition. Faced with starvation, Cook ordered the crew to eat penguin meat as a survival measure. The descriptions are… not encouraging. Penguin reportedly tastes like a combination of stringy beef, leathery duck, and smelly cod, a culinary chimera no one asked for.

I also found no evidence of roast penguin appearing in Argentine, South African, or Australian cuisine, despite geographic proximity. That absence alone suggests something important: people generally do not eat things that taste that bad unless forced.

There is, however, one notable footnote. Penguin meat is reportedly rich in vitamins. The Belgica crew, despite their horrific ordeal, did not suffer from scurvy or other deficiency diseases, ailments that famously plagued early explorers and sailors. From a nutritional standpoint, penguins apparently get a passing grade.

From every other standpoint? Hard no.

Like cockroaches, penguins fall firmly into the category of things I hope never to be desperate enough to consider. I honestly don’t know if I could do it, even if I were starving. Some lines, once drawn, feel permanent.

And so ends today’s excursion into the darker corners of the internet, where memes ask questions no one should ever feel compelled to answer.

_____________________________________________________________________________

About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life

She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.

You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.

✨ #TakeTheBackRoads

Enjoyed this post? Support the adventure by visiting my sponsors, shopping the gallery, or buying me a cup of coffee!