I think I have it: the New York Times is engaging in post-structuralist satire of the hyper-consumerist excesses forced by behavioural evidence of selfish gene theory. Otherwise, I can't explain this.

"Deborah A. Sullivan, a sociology professor at the School of Social and Family Dynamics at Arizona State University, said that people who feel forced to forgo cosmetic medicine might experience a loss of control in their lives. "I think it will intensify the sense of downward mobility: 'I can't even get my wrinkles treated' "

See, I thought they were serious until I read this.

Maidei Kunaka grinds the animal feed she earns in exchange for her labor on a nearby ostrich farm — an unappetizing amalgam of wheat, soy bean, sand and what she calls "green stuff" — to nourish her three children.

"It's not tasty, but we at least have something in our stomachs," she said

Oh, come the fuck ON!