Summary
Three people died and 32 were hospitalized in the Philippines after eating a stew made from an endangered sea turtle in Maguindanao del Norte.
Symptoms included vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal spasms, likely caused by toxins from contaminated algae consumed by the turtle.
The stew was a traditional dish, but hunting or consuming sea turtles is illegal under Philippine law.
Similar poisoning cases have occurred, with sea turtles traditionally hunted for their flesh and eggs in some communities.
I am from Manila, so I have been careful not to brush the area off as “backswoodsy and poor”. But yeah, that’s why I was prepared to explain things off as “yeah, they’re poor and desperate”. But then again, it feels wrong, IDK, lol~
I missed the word “indigenous” even though it’s mentioned not just in the article, but also in the news report I saw. With a possible few exceptions, the indigenous peoples in the Philippines have been neglected and marginalized, and their communities been poor because of that.