English and Irish landowners are literally killing the poor Irish by causing the poverty and misery of the population. That his "modest proposal" is directed at England is unquestionable when Swift writes that since the meat of the babies would not withstand preservation in salt for long sea voyages, he could suggest a country that would be glad to eat up the entire nation. And, like all good satire, Swift does provide a realistic list of alternative solutions to Ireland's problems of poverty and neglect: