"Oh, yes." Harshaw reflected that he himself still retained un-Martian notions of food, subconsciously at least. "Mike, I wouldn't worry about wasting that 'food.' They probably would have been tough and poor flavor.  I doubt if a meat inspector would have passed them.  In fact," he added, recalling the Federation convention about "long pig," "I am certain that they would have been condemned as unfit for food.  So don't worry about it.  Besides, as you say, it was a necessity.  You grokked the fullness and acted rightly."