smokerblog

A Rodent, or a Sandwich Spread?

Thanks to Linda, I was recently reminded of Marmite, a yeast-extract-based spread. I haven't had the pleasure of trying it myself yet, but someday I expect to.

The general opinion of Marmite seems to be split just about evenly between revulsion and addiction (even according to the official website), but I would guess that those who are repulsed are reacting to the rodent-like name as much as the term "yeast-extract-based spread." In fact, based on the name alone, I used to think that a marmite was some kind of British rodent, such as a mole or a badger or something.

Now, I've had the converse experience. Upon hearing of someone's plans to attend a Mardi Gras costume party dressed up as a "nutria," I had a mental image of an ungainly costume celebrating some kind of energy bar or sports drink. It turns out, though, that a nutria is a rodent, a native of Argentina, that has been laying waste to Louisiana marshes. Incursions of the prolific rodent are destroying the vegetation that prevents the erosion of marshland, thus threatening the ecosystem of the Mississippi delta.

This situation has created turmoil within environmental circles as animal rights activists are pitted against ecologists in a battle over whether to save the rodent or the marshes. It's apparently impossible (i.e., too costly) to save both. Meanwhile, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee has gained local notoriety for his organized SWAT-team raids on the nutria.

Although you might think that local hunters would generally need few excuses to ride around shooting things, the government has seen fit to step in and offer subsidies to encourage greater nutria population control since market forces are no longer providing sufficient incentives.

In 1998, in a mid-'90s spike in demand from the Russian market, hunters and trappers harvested about 360,000 at an average of $5 per nutria pelt.

But again in 1999, devaluation of the ruble raised the price of a nutria coat from about $700 (U.S. dollars) to $2100, he said, "destroying the market."
...

The monetary incentive is also needed since there's not much sport to hunting nutria.

"They're not the most exciting thing to shoot," Linscombe said. "They will run, but you can get right up on 'em."

Maybe I can help. After all, Louisiana farmers in the nineteenth century developed my dog's breed to help them hunt swamp animals. Except, ummm, I'm guessing that these are not the kind of creature they had in mind.