Further cynicism is conveyed via references to a government conspiracy. It’s a very cynical angle, almost as though everyone in this new society accepts the Transition and inherently knows that nothing can cause things to revert back to how they were. The processing plants in Tender is the Flesh are focused on harvesting high-quality meat, rather than cultivating good conditions for the ‘Heads’ (the term for humans bred for meat).Īgain, there isn’t really any reference to resistance groups or animal rights activists pushing back against the bad conditions of the processing plants, at least not from the perspective of our protagonist, Marcos. Good business practise and animal (or in this case, human) welfare is never the priority. Businesses and CEOs making a profit are the sole reasons for this industry. This immediately sets up a direct link between the meat industry and capitalism. It wasn’t long after this that humans were bred to produce meat. Legalisation of cannibalism, as explained via exposition, occurred only once a “big-money industry” put pressure on the government. If veganism was a viable option, then cannibalism couldn’t be explored as a societal norm. It’s interesting how there aren’t really even any vegan protest groups involved, but excluding this aspect serves a narrative purpose more than anything. An offhand comment in the first few pages acknowledges how the ‘Transition’ (the term used to refer to the changeover to eating human meat) was a “revenge of the vegans.” But shortly afterward, groups turned to capturing and eating people on the streets, which spiraled into cannibalism en masse. Veganism/vegetarianism is an obvious alternative if humans are unable to eat animal meat however, it’s pretty much immediately ruled out.

Despite the obviousness of this, the discussion of such themes doesn’t feel particularly heavy-handed at any point during the novel.įirst and foremost, the massively textual commentary is on the meat industry. Extreme yet straightforward, the concept lends itself to a multitude of themes and prevalent political commentary. Instead, humans have resorted to eating the only source of meat: other humans.

The background for this is that all animals have been infected by a virus fatal to humans, therefore their meat can no longer be consumed. Tender is the Flesh is a 2017 novel by Agustina Bazterrica set in a dystopian world where cannibalism is legal. Trigger Warning: this article makes reference to rape, sexual assault, paedophilia, violence against women, pregnancy, racism, classism, and gore.

Book tender is the flesh