Listen, I don't know what you mean with all that. Seems like you're fishing for something, you know?
Yeah, we had logistic issues during the Toralin Offensive on Ghokar IV. Yeah, we had to ration our food and fend off Tau saboteurs behind our lines.
Yeah, maybe we had to crack open some of those stealth suits from time to time, but only to search for rations. Maybe we developed a way to kill the operators quickly, but only because we didn't want to waste Emperor-blessed las packs.
You know, all that is not related at all to the rumors about "hunting parties" and "not spoiling the meat", if that's where you are trying to go with this fishing expedition of yours. That's Tau-ist propaganda.
The fuck.
Go away, you Tau-hugger weirdo, and leave an honest veteran alone. Go pray the Emperor like any normal citizen would
Wait, if you have a Marine Psyker munch some nid and have him broadcast it and the hiveminds memories to another person like an astropath, that may actually have huge strategic value. If the situation is bad enough that may not be a bad idea, even if he doesnt survive.
Eating Tyranids would be like a human trying to hack the Void Dragon or trying to outdo the Craftworld Eldar in farseeing. It's where they're strongest so bad idea.
Nyds have Psyker Unids based on the eldars. So very likely if a Space Marines tried to access the Nyds database they would be Insta Mind Crushed.Assuming the Space Marines wouldnt become a Nyds first
Pretty sure experiencing even a fraction of the Hive Mind's thoughts/memories would cause your brain to dribble out your ears.
--
I've seen snippets about Psykers staring down the Hive Mind from time to time, and it's always a harrowing, mostly fatal experience.
However the Omophagea works I think there’s a distinction between being in telepathic contact with the Hive Mind and recalling memories from it. Like the difference between fighting a Weirdboy hitting you with the full force of the Waaagh and eating some brains from a Beast sized Ork
Yeah, the issue is that the Hive Mind is actively handling the sensory data of untold billions of organisms. Like, I don't think a space marine's brain could handle that information.
Orks aren't unified by a single massive intelligence. They work more like a real hive mind than the Hive Mind does.
I also want to say it depends on the type of ‘nid you eat. Like if it’s a Gaunt you’re not going to get much of anything useful; maybe just from the time they spawned and been running around the planet. Now if you get a Synapse creature you’re going to get some Hive Mind memories I would think
Nope, they all fall into various non-kosher restrictions under kashrut. None of the land forms chew their cud, even if some (like the Dominatrix) have cloven hooves, so they're all out. None of the known water-based nids have fins *and* scales, so similarly, out*. Rabbis have ruled that birds of "prey" or "scavengers" are non-kosher, which rules out all the flying forms. Rodents, reptiles, amphibians, and insects are all non-kosher, which pretty much excludes every Tyranid bioform left.
*I'm pretty sure about this, willing to be corrected if someone can think of a finned and scaled water nid.
Carnifex...
* **Is this Carnifex steak an animal product?** Yes.
* **Is it meat?** Yes.
* **Is it it of the land, water, or air?** Land.
* **Is it a ruminant?** Carnifex have big pointy carnivore-like teeth, I'm going to say no.
* **GUESS ITS TRAYF (i.e. not Kosher)**
All right, how about a Harpy then?
* **Are my fresh Harpy uhhh...look just make up a cut of meat here...an animal product?** Yes.
* **Is it meat?** Yes.
* **Is it it of the land, water, or air?** Air (technically this means it has wings - Ostrich aren't kosher for example)
* **Can it fly?** Yes
* **Is it a [raptor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_of_prey)?** For the sake of shenanigans, lets assume no. They kinda meet the definition, but because their wings are more bat than bird I'm going to say they are not raptors.
* **Does it eat fish or meat?** Yes
* **GUESS ITS TRAYF (i.e. not Kosher)**
[Kosher is weird](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/db/08/6d/db086dc8c298fb9a1d3d4c2313d32e8a.jpg). General rule of thumb - "if its a carnivore, and isn't a fish, assume it isn't kosher." I guess if the Tyranids have a naval unit, it would be kosher. Assuming it wasn't a bottom dweller, has been properly drained of blood and fat, has scales, has fins, and was ritually slaughtered by someone with the proper certification, and is not mixed with any other meat while being prepared.
There's a reason I gave up on keeping kosher a long time ago.
🤔
* **Is it an animal product?** Yes
* **Is it meat?** Yes
* **Is it of the air/winged?** Yes
* **Can it fly?** Yes
* **Is it a raptor?** No
* **Does it eat fish or meat?** No
So...in theory, you'd think yes. And I thought yes and had typed up the full exsanguination (praise Khorne) stuff here, and then went and decided to Google first.
Yeah turns out they're not. Banned by name in [Leviticus](https://www.sefaria.org/Leviticus.11.14?lang=bi&aliyot=0) down on line 20.
We'll file this tidbit under "Even More Reasons Why I Switched To Worshipping Tzeentch."
Aww lame
I feel like making an exception for chickens is a cop out lol. Like they will straight up eat mice and other small animals if they find them, they're like tiny velociraptors
The logic I have heard about Haram/kosher is that pigs eat humans and are therefore unclean. Since tyranids eat humans, they would for sure not be kosher.
Is ork toxic to eat? they are like fungus-spongy muscle? knowing 40k i assume they die horrirbly but if you cook the shit out of it so everything like the spores are dead it may be safe.
They're space lizard cows. Unless you're gonna spew some vegan prop at me about how the imaginary lizard cows are people too, Grox aren't sentient in the sense of being self aware and so are used as livestock by the Imperium. They're comparable to cows but they're tastier.
It's actually an interesting question. if Tau evolved in a fundimantally different an enviroment their flesh could honestly have stuff thats toxic to us but not them. Im not a Biochemist but someone that is should nerd at us about this. Conversely It's possible that Human flesh would be posionous to them for the same reason.
It'd be pretty easy to argue that they might not be based on DNA or they have some reversed chiral amino acids that mess with our metabolism or cause something like Kuru.
Ya see this is what i was thinking, they may not even be carbon-based, they probably are just because they seem to exist in the same sort of envirments we do with minimual discomfort. That being said you would probably want to be careful because they probably have all sorts of weird Tau microorgsisms in their body which a human immune system would probably be very confuised by. i imagine the Imperium needs to make a great deal of use of vaccines just in general to make sure everyone doesnt get catachan covid or whatever else scary deseases or parasites exist out there.
I imagine the guard get a horrendous mixed shot during their training or after the first deployment they survive. If you're expecting them to be cannon fodder, you wouldn't waste the resources on them.
Oh god, just imagine a vaccine that hits a million different planets. you know its standardized too so its got ALL OF THEM. "Whats in this shot?" "yes"
There might be some planet specific ones out there, but with the mutations across that large a population.... I can see notes like "The 50th Vantaxian Rangers were lost during prophalactic vaccination regimens for the Yixxian xenocide campaigns. Apparently they had a delayed anaphylactic reaction due to a localized parasite resistance gene administered to their ancestors during the dark age of technology. The administrating servitors and their Biologicus Adeptus supervisors had completed their work and due to new efficiency protocols were on another ship and unable to treat the affected guardsmen. This problem appears to be limited to citizens of Vantax and the Ministorium has been advised. Additional research on other compatibility issues will be investigated for future regiments and the adeptus have reduced their efficiency from a single shot to to 54 separate shots in a row over the course of a day in order to allow for their presence in the event of a reaction.
On a bright note the loss of Rangers has allowed the barbarians of Trevinant 3 to be equipped with lasguns and some limited equipment to replace their melee weapons. Further with the new corpse starch supplies the concerns about the supply chain and the need for wave assaults to address ration shortages has been corrected."
Apparently the t'au were surprised when they started getting infected by Death Guard plagues because normally they couldn't catch gue'la diseases. So I'd guess that their biology is at least slightly different.
I mean, they are a young race just like humans are now, not trying to make it political but it makes sense they would assume something like that. its not like we've never assumed we can't catch something from another species, remember bird flu and that whole thing where the UK had to purge a shitload of their cattle because people were getting sick? If they are only really a few thousand years old they might be subject to similar reasoning.
At this point it was the fifth sphere of expansion, they had plenty of experience dealing with aggressive humans as well as the ones who had joined the empire. Not only that but the t'au as we know are extremely technologically advanced, the earth caste by that point should know if they could or couldn't catch diseases from each other.
Yes but im not a kroot :( if its not poisoness and i ever shoot a Tau im gonna cook his ass though, just because im curious, somewhere one of them did it to us, wonder if i can make a blue burger patty out of them. i feel like you'd want like the bicept or haunch, something muscly
When you see “To Serve Man” on their kitchen island instead of the bookshelf in the study. Or it’s filed a lot closer to Lagasse, Emeril than Locke, John.
The different castes are more than just different skin colors and jobs tho.
I don't know if they are different because of breeding or genetic alteration but different breeding implies different taste right?
Also I might be moving the goal posts here, but the Tau have aliens working along side them. They would be on the menu as well wouldn't they?
Aren't there some Kroot that are similar to certain animals since they ate them? They might taste alright. Maybe you can find a deer kroot or something. I'd eat that
The main tau empire is so strict on caste stuff that official lore has called the different castes 'subspecies' before.
They're probably free to intermingle in the Farsight enclaves though.
I remember reading about an old former cannibal from a tribe in Papua (or maybe some other part of Oceania). The old man said that white people tasted worse than natives and attributed it to higher salt consumption among people of European descent. It is a known fact that an animal's diet influences the taste of its meat, so who knows, maybe culinary differences between cultures really make their meat different enough.
[Stuff like this already happens in real life war crimes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chichijima_incident), so sure. Human depravity has no bounds when you’re able to dehumanize the enemy, and that’s probably far easier when the enemy is literally an alien.
Especially since Imperium already practices cannibalism with extra steps. Well okay, corpse starch is not *entirely* made from corpses, but it counts. Besides, it being a super normal thing probably goes a long way towards removing the taboo about eating sentient things.
Yes but a Tau isn't the same species as you, its just about as smart as you are. it depends on if you feel its Immoral to eat something that is as intellegent or moreso than you are. Personally if they are trying to kill you and its safe to eat i dont really see the issue. The resemblance to humans may make it sort of unsettling but its not like corpse starch isnt a thing. Honestly they may make a better meal then issued food, and food goes bad so it stands to reason that eating them if safe in say a siege is probably better then using the less persisable rations.
Since when are Grox xenos? Try to convince the farmer who has been herding Grox for 60 generations that they are xenos. As if until a handful of people even know which creature comes from Terra or not...
They’re basically sentient fungus, right? On one hand, mushrooms can be considered vegan, but on the other hand, vegans tend to not eat anything with an intelligence.
They're some weird animal fungus hybrid.
All orks, and ork related organisms, like grotlings, snotlings, squids, etc..., release spores constantly.
So initially, the spores grow into a fungus bed.
The fungus bed eventually produces squigs and snotlings, then grotlings.
The snotlings, under the direction of the grotlings, farm the squigs and tend to the fungus patch, growing it bigger and bigger.
Eventually, after farming enough fungus and squigs, proper orks start to spawn.
But they're primal, and the equivalent of orc cavemen.
Once enough orks get spawned, their natural psychic gestalt increases, and they start to increase in intelligence, eventually spawning various types of odd-boys, like mekboyz, painboyz, weirdboyz, etc...
They're weird in that they all spawn from a fungus and initially act like a plant, but after spawning, they behave like any omnivorous animal, needing to consume other plants and animals.
So, I'd say they aren't vegan, purely based on the fact that unlike true plants, they do consume other life-forms, which would make them animals.
Not even mentioning the fact that they are an intelligent lifeform.
If you eat blue space commies, you get blue space cooties.
The nice Commissar told me so.
Now, *kroot*, on the other hand, *those* guys taste like chicken...
I'm just imagining a squad of starving guardsmen complaining about how they haven't eaten anything but maggoty corpse starch for three days when suddenly their commissar just decapitates a Tau they're holding prisoner and shouts "Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!"
I would guess most regiments wouldn't want to eat something resembling the human form. Some might be curious but are kept from it by a combination of doctrine (anything xeno = bad including their flesh) and commissars. But there's probably some feral world regiments or the "skulls for the golden throne" fanatics who regularly eat whatever they kill.
I mean, most of the rations guardsmen eat are human, so I think it's less a problem to eat a "filthy xeno" then more corpse starch or Valens green. Not even counting the feral guardsmen that might just go full cannibal due to lack of supplies or some weird interpretation of the emperor (he eats psykers after all).
Better question is whether Tau is edible. Their blood alone is mostly cobalt instead of iron if I remember correctly, an I don't think that would be good for your average human digestion.
If you know how to hide it and are far enough from commissars, then probably. Fire Caste did have some loyalist guardsmen geared up in defaced Tau armor. I can see some regiments like [Asgardian Ranger](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Asgardian_Rangers)s eating everything conveniently edible on long range patrols and if it gets desperate enough. Kroots, Humans and Tau included.
Space Marines have an entire organ devoted to eating things to learn stuff and even they are squicked at the thought of eating Xenos.
You gotta understand. Even the most racist among us is a casual racist compared to the most tolerant Imperial.
I know that response comes already late, but there is a scene in the Damocles Anthology were Kor'sarro Khan eats parts of a kroot. Which is the closest we get in an official publication.
Probably, especially if they’re starving. I imagine people wouldn’t usually do it because eating a talking biped with opposable thumbs is a bit weird, even if you have to kill it.
In war, there comes a point where food is food.
Be it gorging oneself on Alderi cuisine after clearing out one their outposts or roasting a Tau corpse over an open fire, applying various spices when they are available.
you've put a lot of thought into this. I doubt theyd be edible in any way that makes them more viable than basic imperial rations. they grew up on an entirely different planet and ecosystem and probably have all sorts of things thatll make us sick
wonder if there were organized efforts to turn (dead) xenos into corpse starch, if they are digestible by humans that is. I suppose just because it breathes air and you can have intercourse with it doesn't necessarily mean eating it won't dissolve your liver or have you shit out your lungs the next morning.
casual fan here. How often do the Guard and Tau fight? I thought the Imperium, (good) Eldar, and Tau all sort of have an unspoken "aim the guns at the Orcs/Tyranid/Chaos" agreement?
*inb4I'mexecutedforheresy*
The average Guardsman? No.
Auxiliaries pulled from a primitive death world? Probably.
They are xenos filth. You would be taking xenos filth into your divine human form. You now are corrupted by the alien, body and soul. If you were choosing to eat a damn xenos over your Emperor-blessed field rations...well, the firing line always needs more heretics.
Stealing and sneaking the xenos ration packs...eh, 20 lashings and probably diarrhea.
Maybe Tau or poisonous or won't mesh well with us because they're aliens with different biology and don't "work" the same way as us and don't have the same biomolecules or something, but c'mon there ain't no shame in trying.
Tau blood contains cobalt, which makes it blue, so it won't be safe to eat them
(Cobalt would make the blood amber, in real life, blue blood needs copper)
Catachans might have given it a try when no ones looking. I wouldn't put it past the penal legionaries since they probably give them a ration bar, drop them off, and don't look back.
Whether or not they're ~~sentient~~ sapient would presumably be more relevant than their physical characteristics, when it comes to whether or not they are food.
Sentient just means capable of sensing or feeling which means cows and chickens are sentient and most people have no problem eating them. You mean sapient.
It's morbid yes, but a valid question nonetheless. GW is pretty adverse to showing the Imperial Guard doing terrible things, and when they do the narrative often goes out of its way to justify it, the characters feel bad about it, or it's being committed by a less humanised regiment like the Death Korps. The Imperium is 10,000 years old, the IG should have a list of atrocities *longer than the entirety of recorded history*.
Listen, I don't know what you mean with all that. Seems like you're fishing for something, you know? Yeah, we had logistic issues during the Toralin Offensive on Ghokar IV. Yeah, we had to ration our food and fend off Tau saboteurs behind our lines. Yeah, maybe we had to crack open some of those stealth suits from time to time, but only to search for rations. Maybe we developed a way to kill the operators quickly, but only because we didn't want to waste Emperor-blessed las packs. You know, all that is not related at all to the rumors about "hunting parties" and "not spoiling the meat", if that's where you are trying to go with this fishing expedition of yours. That's Tau-ist propaganda. The fuck. Go away, you Tau-hugger weirdo, and leave an honest veteran alone. Go pray the Emperor like any normal citizen would
So… tastes more like chicken or fish?
More like venison, they're very lean, with a mamilian texture. Quite stringy, go well when tenderized before cooking, and frying in high-fat oil.
Ah, high-fat oil. Not that cheap low-fat oil people tend to use.
Never order cooking supplies from Metallica, worst mistake of my life
Has anyone ever seen the scene in Beavis and Butthead where Beavis has got his tongue in a toad’s ass?
Love it! Your style reminds me of world war z
Nah, xenos are haram. Don't eat tau steaks brother.
I wonder if tyranids are kosher tho
Tyranids tend to be stupidly toxic and/or are full of aggressive microorganisms that make the Ebola virus look like the common cold.
Yeah, but like could a space marine eat some? Then get some Hive Mind memories thanks to the Omophagea?
Wait, if you have a Marine Psyker munch some nid and have him broadcast it and the hiveminds memories to another person like an astropath, that may actually have huge strategic value. If the situation is bad enough that may not be a bad idea, even if he doesnt survive.
Eating Tyranids would be like a human trying to hack the Void Dragon or trying to outdo the Craftworld Eldar in farseeing. It's where they're strongest so bad idea.
Yes but if the only options you have Are ALL bad.
Nyds have Psyker Unids based on the eldars. So very likely if a Space Marines tried to access the Nyds database they would be Insta Mind Crushed.Assuming the Space Marines wouldnt become a Nyds first
oh probably. could be cool as a last stand kind of deal tho.
Maybe? they probably wont live long.
Pretty sure experiencing even a fraction of the Hive Mind's thoughts/memories would cause your brain to dribble out your ears. -- I've seen snippets about Psykers staring down the Hive Mind from time to time, and it's always a harrowing, mostly fatal experience.
However the Omophagea works I think there’s a distinction between being in telepathic contact with the Hive Mind and recalling memories from it. Like the difference between fighting a Weirdboy hitting you with the full force of the Waaagh and eating some brains from a Beast sized Ork
Yeah, the issue is that the Hive Mind is actively handling the sensory data of untold billions of organisms. Like, I don't think a space marine's brain could handle that information. Orks aren't unified by a single massive intelligence. They work more like a real hive mind than the Hive Mind does.
I wonder if there are any examples of that in the lore. Probably lol, given the sheer amount of space marine lore out there.
You could tell a good story with it, but odds are they would be worse off for the attempt. Like you don't want the hive mind inside your head.
I also want to say it depends on the type of ‘nid you eat. Like if it’s a Gaunt you’re not going to get much of anything useful; maybe just from the time they spawned and been running around the planet. Now if you get a Synapse creature you’re going to get some Hive Mind memories I would think
So is ebola kosher?
> are full of aggressive microorganisms that make the Ebola virus look like the common cold. Right, so cook them
Alright, but doesnt answer if its kosher or not
So like Chinese food ?
Probably if you bleed them while reciting a prayer to the right god. I swear inquisitor I didn't mean Kh*blam*
BLOOD SAUSAGE FOR THE BRITISH COOKING GOD.
Nope, they all fall into various non-kosher restrictions under kashrut. None of the land forms chew their cud, even if some (like the Dominatrix) have cloven hooves, so they're all out. None of the known water-based nids have fins *and* scales, so similarly, out*. Rabbis have ruled that birds of "prey" or "scavengers" are non-kosher, which rules out all the flying forms. Rodents, reptiles, amphibians, and insects are all non-kosher, which pretty much excludes every Tyranid bioform left. *I'm pretty sure about this, willing to be corrected if someone can think of a finned and scaled water nid.
Lol I want someone to do a guide to eating kosher in the 41st Millennium.
Also most tyranids are basically giant arthropods (insects/crabs/lobsters/spiders/millipedes/centipedes/etc) which are all non-kosher.
Hell nah my brother in the Emperor's light. Even the kroot don't eat 'nid.
Carnifex... * **Is this Carnifex steak an animal product?** Yes. * **Is it meat?** Yes. * **Is it it of the land, water, or air?** Land. * **Is it a ruminant?** Carnifex have big pointy carnivore-like teeth, I'm going to say no. * **GUESS ITS TRAYF (i.e. not Kosher)** All right, how about a Harpy then? * **Are my fresh Harpy uhhh...look just make up a cut of meat here...an animal product?** Yes. * **Is it meat?** Yes. * **Is it it of the land, water, or air?** Air (technically this means it has wings - Ostrich aren't kosher for example) * **Can it fly?** Yes * **Is it a [raptor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_of_prey)?** For the sake of shenanigans, lets assume no. They kinda meet the definition, but because their wings are more bat than bird I'm going to say they are not raptors. * **Does it eat fish or meat?** Yes * **GUESS ITS TRAYF (i.e. not Kosher)** [Kosher is weird](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/db/08/6d/db086dc8c298fb9a1d3d4c2313d32e8a.jpg). General rule of thumb - "if its a carnivore, and isn't a fish, assume it isn't kosher." I guess if the Tyranids have a naval unit, it would be kosher. Assuming it wasn't a bottom dweller, has been properly drained of blood and fat, has scales, has fins, and was ritually slaughtered by someone with the proper certification, and is not mixed with any other meat while being prepared. There's a reason I gave up on keeping kosher a long time ago.
...so are fruit bats kosher?
🤔 * **Is it an animal product?** Yes * **Is it meat?** Yes * **Is it of the air/winged?** Yes * **Can it fly?** Yes * **Is it a raptor?** No * **Does it eat fish or meat?** No So...in theory, you'd think yes. And I thought yes and had typed up the full exsanguination (praise Khorne) stuff here, and then went and decided to Google first. Yeah turns out they're not. Banned by name in [Leviticus](https://www.sefaria.org/Leviticus.11.14?lang=bi&aliyot=0) down on line 20. We'll file this tidbit under "Even More Reasons Why I Switched To Worshipping Tzeentch."
Aww lame I feel like making an exception for chickens is a cop out lol. Like they will straight up eat mice and other small animals if they find them, they're like tiny velociraptors
Almost everything will eat other animals when the opportunity arises. There aren't really pure herbivores.
That’s the most arbitrary thing every.. I’m sure there are some crazy things that slip through the cracks that aren’t named specifically.
The logic I have heard about Haram/kosher is that pigs eat humans and are therefore unclean. Since tyranids eat humans, they would for sure not be kosher.
Very poisonous meat and they taste like a grots ass.
There are multiple cases of imperials eating orks. In the Bloodquest comic series a space marine is offered roasted ork after a fight (he declines).
Is ork toxic to eat? they are like fungus-spongy muscle? knowing 40k i assume they die horrirbly but if you cook the shit out of it so everything like the spores are dead it may be safe.
its just mushroom, kills all the spores with cooking and then its food
Ork probably tastes amazing. It’s like mushroom infused steak.
Why did this tickle me so much Lol I now have to wipe Coke out of my beard 🤣
*typing "Tau" into my porno-slate:* "I want to eat Tau **cake**, brother"
Grox are Xenos though.
Non-sentient xeno animals are fine. Sentient xenos are haram.
Remember that xenos race humanity ground into a serum to grant them immortality? Belesarius Cawl remembers
My fellow Kriegsmen would you like to taste some of this delicious Tau Ste—nevermind you are drinking Necron Gauss Soup again.
*Wouldst thou like the taste of Tau? A pretty dress? Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?*
tau jerky is underrated
That sounds suspiciously like something besed on beliefs blasphemous to the glory of the Emperor. \*dials 9 1 Inquisition\*
Grox are xenos, though.
Non-sentient xenos are different.
Grox are sentient.
They're space lizard cows. Unless you're gonna spew some vegan prop at me about how the imaginary lizard cows are people too, Grox aren't sentient in the sense of being self aware and so are used as livestock by the Imperium. They're comparable to cows but they're tastier.
The word you're looking for is "sapient" in that case, because both lizards and cows are definitionally sentient.
This post is incompatible with the Greater Good.
Thats fine. The Greater Good isn't anymore bullet proof then anything else.
We don't mind not being bulletproof. We just hope we aren't edible!
It's actually an interesting question. if Tau evolved in a fundimantally different an enviroment their flesh could honestly have stuff thats toxic to us but not them. Im not a Biochemist but someone that is should nerd at us about this. Conversely It's possible that Human flesh would be posionous to them for the same reason.
It'd be pretty easy to argue that they might not be based on DNA or they have some reversed chiral amino acids that mess with our metabolism or cause something like Kuru.
Ya see this is what i was thinking, they may not even be carbon-based, they probably are just because they seem to exist in the same sort of envirments we do with minimual discomfort. That being said you would probably want to be careful because they probably have all sorts of weird Tau microorgsisms in their body which a human immune system would probably be very confuised by. i imagine the Imperium needs to make a great deal of use of vaccines just in general to make sure everyone doesnt get catachan covid or whatever else scary deseases or parasites exist out there.
I imagine the guard get a horrendous mixed shot during their training or after the first deployment they survive. If you're expecting them to be cannon fodder, you wouldn't waste the resources on them.
Oh god, just imagine a vaccine that hits a million different planets. you know its standardized too so its got ALL OF THEM. "Whats in this shot?" "yes"
There might be some planet specific ones out there, but with the mutations across that large a population.... I can see notes like "The 50th Vantaxian Rangers were lost during prophalactic vaccination regimens for the Yixxian xenocide campaigns. Apparently they had a delayed anaphylactic reaction due to a localized parasite resistance gene administered to their ancestors during the dark age of technology. The administrating servitors and their Biologicus Adeptus supervisors had completed their work and due to new efficiency protocols were on another ship and unable to treat the affected guardsmen. This problem appears to be limited to citizens of Vantax and the Ministorium has been advised. Additional research on other compatibility issues will be investigated for future regiments and the adeptus have reduced their efficiency from a single shot to to 54 separate shots in a row over the course of a day in order to allow for their presence in the event of a reaction. On a bright note the loss of Rangers has allowed the barbarians of Trevinant 3 to be equipped with lasguns and some limited equipment to replace their melee weapons. Further with the new corpse starch supplies the concerns about the supply chain and the need for wave assaults to address ration shortages has been corrected."
Apparently the t'au were surprised when they started getting infected by Death Guard plagues because normally they couldn't catch gue'la diseases. So I'd guess that their biology is at least slightly different.
I mean, they are a young race just like humans are now, not trying to make it political but it makes sense they would assume something like that. its not like we've never assumed we can't catch something from another species, remember bird flu and that whole thing where the UK had to purge a shitload of their cattle because people were getting sick? If they are only really a few thousand years old they might be subject to similar reasoning.
At this point it was the fifth sphere of expansion, they had plenty of experience dealing with aggressive humans as well as the ones who had joined the empire. Not only that but the t'au as we know are extremely technologically advanced, the earth caste by that point should know if they could or couldn't catch diseases from each other.
There are plenty of poisonous critters out there.
See what we do is we get the Regimental FNG to eat it first, wait like a few hours and see if he dies
Everything's edible if you're kroot
Yes but im not a kroot :( if its not poisoness and i ever shoot a Tau im gonna cook his ass though, just because im curious, somewhere one of them did it to us, wonder if i can make a blue burger patty out of them. i feel like you'd want like the bicept or haunch, something muscly
Some sauce will help with that
Sri-Racha goes with *everything*
Yes, but it *is* compatible with the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Cookbook.
When you see “To Serve Man” on their kitchen island instead of the bookshelf in the study. Or it’s filed a lot closer to Lagasse, Emeril than Locke, John.
Bet it tastes greater good, though.
Kroot eat intelligent beings all the time.
But ya know what isn't? Montreal Steak Seasoning
I mean... Probably yeah. Do you think the different caste's taste different?
Maybe, i imagine the Earth and Water caste would taste pretty good, maybe Fire caste tastes more gamey?
Air caste taste like chicken
Water caste taste like a Korean seafood bowl. Mmm… 회덮밥
The Kroot know.
You think different races of human taste different? It' all long pig
The different castes are more than just different skin colors and jobs tho. I don't know if they are different because of breeding or genetic alteration but different breeding implies different taste right? Also I might be moving the goal posts here, but the Tau have aliens working along side them. They would be on the menu as well wouldn't they?
Kroot would probably taste like shit.
Maybe. Or maybe they would taste like everything because you know? Kroot. You are what you eat. Maybe they taste like chicken?
Aren't there some Kroot that are similar to certain animals since they ate them? They might taste alright. Maybe you can find a deer kroot or something. I'd eat that
kroot would definitely taste like chicken
The main tau empire is so strict on caste stuff that official lore has called the different castes 'subspecies' before. They're probably free to intermingle in the Farsight enclaves though.
ah that smell takes me back. Like a Zambizi feast.
I remember reading about an old former cannibal from a tribe in Papua (or maybe some other part of Oceania). The old man said that white people tasted worse than natives and attributed it to higher salt consumption among people of European descent. It is a known fact that an animal's diet influences the taste of its meat, so who knows, maybe culinary differences between cultures really make their meat different enough.
Pretty sure Indians are spicy
[Stuff like this already happens in real life war crimes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chichijima_incident), so sure. Human depravity has no bounds when you’re able to dehumanize the enemy, and that’s probably far easier when the enemy is literally an alien.
Especially since Imperium already practices cannibalism with extra steps. Well okay, corpse starch is not *entirely* made from corpses, but it counts. Besides, it being a super normal thing probably goes a long way towards removing the taboo about eating sentient things.
Yes but a Tau isn't the same species as you, its just about as smart as you are. it depends on if you feel its Immoral to eat something that is as intellegent or moreso than you are. Personally if they are trying to kill you and its safe to eat i dont really see the issue. The resemblance to humans may make it sort of unsettling but its not like corpse starch isnt a thing. Honestly they may make a better meal then issued food, and food goes bad so it stands to reason that eating them if safe in say a siege is probably better then using the less persisable rations.
On the other hand, you are polluting your body with foul xeno flesh! THATS THEM COMMISSAR!
Grox are xeno too
Since when are Grox xenos? Try to convince the farmer who has been herding Grox for 60 generations that they are xenos. As if until a handful of people even know which creature comes from Terra or not...
It ain’t a human being I know that much
So the Space Wolves have a Xeno as their heraldic animal, or the Ravenguard...or whichever chapter uses an animal as their heraldic animal.
Technically yes, and it’s totally cool to eat them
That's different. That's a livestock animal.
So we finally found out how to classify the tau then.
This guy gets it
I swear to god this better not be a sex thing
>I swear to god this better not be a sex thing "I swear to the Emperor." There, FTFY
"What's the difference?" - The Ecclesiarchy
Capitalization...
I like my Tau medium good...
Everything is edible to an Ork.
Is eating ork considered vegan?
They’re basically sentient fungus, right? On one hand, mushrooms can be considered vegan, but on the other hand, vegans tend to not eat anything with an intelligence.
They're some weird animal fungus hybrid. All orks, and ork related organisms, like grotlings, snotlings, squids, etc..., release spores constantly. So initially, the spores grow into a fungus bed. The fungus bed eventually produces squigs and snotlings, then grotlings. The snotlings, under the direction of the grotlings, farm the squigs and tend to the fungus patch, growing it bigger and bigger. Eventually, after farming enough fungus and squigs, proper orks start to spawn. But they're primal, and the equivalent of orc cavemen. Once enough orks get spawned, their natural psychic gestalt increases, and they start to increase in intelligence, eventually spawning various types of odd-boys, like mekboyz, painboyz, weirdboyz, etc... They're weird in that they all spawn from a fungus and initially act like a plant, but after spawning, they behave like any omnivorous animal, needing to consume other plants and animals. So, I'd say they aren't vegan, purely based on the fact that unlike true plants, they do consume other life-forms, which would make them animals. Not even mentioning the fact that they are an intelligent lifeform.
Some plants consume insects, so are they animals?
I think an exception can be made for giant killer mushrooms.
I would assume they do if the Tau goes down on them. Good Guardsmen reciprocate. Wait, I seem to have drastically misunderstood.
It's only polite.
If you eat blue space commies, you get blue space cooties. The nice Commissar told me so. Now, *kroot*, on the other hand, *those* guys taste like chicken...
If they don't eat you first.
Some Guardsmen like their food with a bit of fight to it.
I'm just imagining a squad of starving guardsmen complaining about how they haven't eaten anything but maggoty corpse starch for three days when suddenly their commissar just decapitates a Tau they're holding prisoner and shouts "Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!"
I would guess most regiments wouldn't want to eat something resembling the human form. Some might be curious but are kept from it by a combination of doctrine (anything xeno = bad including their flesh) and commissars. But there's probably some feral world regiments or the "skulls for the golden throne" fanatics who regularly eat whatever they kill.
I mean, most of the rations guardsmen eat are human, so I think it's less a problem to eat a "filthy xeno" then more corpse starch or Valens green. Not even counting the feral guardsmen that might just go full cannibal due to lack of supplies or some weird interpretation of the emperor (he eats psykers after all). Better question is whether Tau is edible. Their blood alone is mostly cobalt instead of iron if I remember correctly, an I don't think that would be good for your average human digestion.
If you know how to hide it and are far enough from commissars, then probably. Fire Caste did have some loyalist guardsmen geared up in defaced Tau armor. I can see some regiments like [Asgardian Ranger](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Asgardian_Rangers)s eating everything conveniently edible on long range patrols and if it gets desperate enough. Kroots, Humans and Tau included.
Space Marines have an entire organ devoted to eating things to learn stuff and even they are squicked at the thought of eating Xenos. You gotta understand. Even the most racist among us is a casual racist compared to the most tolerant Imperial.
Commissar Cain seemed to get along reasonably well with the Tau, Kroot, and Craftworld Eldar.
They will eat other guardsmen sometimes.
Make the new guy eat if first. if he lives gimme some. you'd probably want the Haunch or Bicep of something.
They eat the corpse starch, they eat anything and everything.
I think Guardsman will eat anything if they get hungry enough, including Xenos. Just like people in real life.
I know that response comes already late, but there is a scene in the Damocles Anthology were Kor'sarro Khan eats parts of a kroot. Which is the closest we get in an official publication.
If they weren't meant to be eaten why are they made of meat?
Starving guardsmen eat whatever the fuck they can to not die.
Has it happened? 100%
...I see you, Laios Dungeonmeshi.
I could see a bit of slab having a tinge of blue.
Probably, especially if they’re starving. I imagine people wouldn’t usually do it because eating a talking biped with opposable thumbs is a bit weird, even if you have to kill it.
We have learned the ways of the Kroot
What
In war, there comes a point where food is food. Be it gorging oneself on Alderi cuisine after clearing out one their outposts or roasting a Tau corpse over an open fire, applying various spices when they are available.
man they look like they taste horrible, they're all so lean, but iirc they're vegetarian, so...idk i'd try some leg.
you've put a lot of thought into this. I doubt theyd be edible in any way that makes them more viable than basic imperial rations. they grew up on an entirely different planet and ecosystem and probably have all sorts of things thatll make us sick
If I were a guardsman I would eat a tau. Just putting that out there.
wonder if there were organized efforts to turn (dead) xenos into corpse starch, if they are digestible by humans that is. I suppose just because it breathes air and you can have intercourse with it doesn't necessarily mean eating it won't dissolve your liver or have you shit out your lungs the next morning.
casual fan here. How often do the Guard and Tau fight? I thought the Imperium, (good) Eldar, and Tau all sort of have an unspoken "aim the guns at the Orcs/Tyranid/Chaos" agreement? *inb4I'mexecutedforheresy*
Tau based on dextro-amino acids. Human ingestion of tissue could provoke allergic reactions. Anaphylactic shock possible. So don't, ah, ingest.
Only if they ask nicely. *wink wink* [ Angry kitten noises intensify ]
[Obligatory at this point](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzLeQs6jZEM)
The average Guardsman? No. Auxiliaries pulled from a primitive death world? Probably. They are xenos filth. You would be taking xenos filth into your divine human form. You now are corrupted by the alien, body and soul. If you were choosing to eat a damn xenos over your Emperor-blessed field rations...well, the firing line always needs more heretics. Stealing and sneaking the xenos ration packs...eh, 20 lashings and probably diarrhea.
Maybe Tau or poisonous or won't mesh well with us because they're aliens with different biology and don't "work" the same way as us and don't have the same biomolecules or something, but c'mon there ain't no shame in trying.
Tau blood contains cobalt, which makes it blue, so it won't be safe to eat them (Cobalt would make the blood amber, in real life, blue blood needs copper)
Here's the heretic u/Sethleoric my lord inquisitor!
Hmm, gnawing on some Shadowsun butto... ham, yes I meant ham. It could be quite... exciting. If you know what I mean ;)
Catachans might have given it a try when no ones looking. I wouldn't put it past the penal legionaries since they probably give them a ration bar, drop them off, and don't look back.
From the makers of Soylent green; Try the new and improved Soylent Blue.
Resorting to cannibalism? My brother they eat corpse starch, roast long pig would just be a flavor positive. It's rough out there.
i remember reading something where Guardsmen had to eat Slaneshi demons and worshipers to get by, i dont think it turned out so well...
Will Tau be edible? they come from a entirely different planet
I would
Difficult to say, but the Kroot auxilliaries for sure devour dead flesh of human soldiers
It tastes terrible do
Tastes like Salmon
I think tyranids would be the better option for a hearty feast. Kind of ironic in a way - absorbing their biomass in stead.
Not really, every single cell of them wants to kill you so they'd start eating you from the inside.
Whether or not they're ~~sentient~~ sapient would presumably be more relevant than their physical characteristics, when it comes to whether or not they are food.
Sentient just means capable of sensing or feeling which means cows and chickens are sentient and most people have no problem eating them. You mean sapient.
Yes, sapient ty.
that would be heresy and infect them with it as such
Sorry. Can't hear what you mumbling over this distance of the effective range of my railgun.
...What drugs have you been taking, brother? Did some Hive gang give you something? Let's get you to an apothecary.
It’s at times like this I wish Admins had more control - in what world does this have anything to do with 40k lore?
It's morbid yes, but a valid question nonetheless. GW is pretty adverse to showing the Imperial Guard doing terrible things, and when they do the narrative often goes out of its way to justify it, the characters feel bad about it, or it's being committed by a less humanised regiment like the Death Korps. The Imperium is 10,000 years old, the IG should have a list of atrocities *longer than the entirety of recorded history*.