Swift’s narrator says that a suggestion has been made to use older children
as food. Swift’s narrator does not think that that is a good idea because the females will
soon become breeders, and in any case the flesh of older children is disagreeable. Only
the flesh of one-year-old infants is delightful. Besides, some people may think that it is
cruel to butcher older children. (All too often, the narrator says, critics reject sensible
proposals on account of supposed cruelty.)