When I was at primary school in Madagascar, I had a game that I played with a friend of mine in the playground. We’d get thin canes, about six feet long, and go out into the long grass to look for grasshoppers. You couldn’t get close to them or they’d fly away, but if you crouched down and moved slowly you could get into range without them jumping. Then it was a matter of bringing the cane down fast enough and accurately enough to whack the insect.

It felt like a game to me, but this wasn’t gratuitous slaughter. We’d bag up our catch, and my friend would take the grasshoppers home with him at lunch time, and then bring them back fried and salted for an afternoon snack. This was normal for him, though the other children would tease him for it. Eating insects was a sign of poverty…