'A Starving Man Does Not Sniff His Food': Ukrainian Famine Plants during the Holodomor , 1932–1933.

This article focuses on the ethnobotanical analysis of famine foods consumed during the Holodomor (1932–1933), a genocidal famine in Ukraine caused by Soviet political and economic policies. Drawing from archival sources and survivor narratives, the study identifies at least 72 plant taxa—including crop plants, non-cultivated woody plants, and herbaceous plants—used as alternative food sources, often involving parts of plants not normally eaten. The range and types of famine foods in Ukraine show broad similarities to those documented in other major famines, such as the Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944, highlighting common survival strategies like consuming crop residues, native wild plants, and combined food preparations. The research underscores the complexity of famine food use shaped by geographic, cultural, and political factors and suggests further study through archival research and survivor interviews to deepen understanding of famine coping mechanisms in Ukraine and beyond.