Starting eating, article to consume (9)

I believe the answer is:

launching

'starting' is the definition.
(launching is a kind of starting)

'eating article to consume' is the wordplay.
'eating' becomes 'lunching' (lunching is a kind of eating).
'article' becomes 'a' (the indefinite article in English).
'to consume' indicates putting letters inside.
'lunching' placed around 'a' is 'LAUNCHING'.

(Another definition for launching that I've seen is " Sending off (a rocket)".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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