Baskies

Baskie is the colloquial name for "Basic Biscuits," a food-like substance distributed by various planetary authorities and megacorps as a form of food charity on Zella.

Zella is food insecure. Through a combination of badly managed terraforming operations, resource intensive, invasive species like the Alyndahr and a tumultuous relationship with shipping traffic passing through the nearby Proxima Prime wormhole vast expanses of Zella are as barren as Awer.

Responding to food riots, the Jenova Shipping Cartel reverse engineered food manufacturing technology stolen from the vindictive Nenne a rival interstellar species which encroaches on Zella space. Insulted, the Nenne considered open reprisal but ultimately backed down. Whether due to a failure to fully grasp the technology or a result of that tech in combination with native Zella resources, the results were virtually inedible. Generally pressed into biscuit or cracker like shapes, Baskies are so-called because when eaten they often cause an intense, uncomfortable stomach swelling, metaphorically turning the consumers gut to stone for a time.

Baskies aren't widely trusted either. Temporary discomfort is a comparatively small price to pay for precious sustenance and the last generation saw Basic Biscuits as something of a godsend. They were widely consumed and seemingly better tolerated by children. Unfortuately a small percentage of pre-adolescents were tragically affected by them. The affected children experienced a loss of empathy and a dramatic decrease in impulsive control. Today an epidemic of violent gangs like the Bald Bandits and savage outsiders make life for the masses of Zella very difficult.