If you liked Food, Inc. you would probably really enjoy Michael Pollan's book "The Omnivore's Dilemma."
Cal - we should probably both thank Sue for at least trying to open my eyes
babysitter, eh .... that's a whole 'other website, 😉
babysitter, eh .... that's a whole 'other website, 😉
There is hunting and hunting. At least in the UK.
I have no issues whatsoever with a guy going out with one dog and a gun, killing something, taking it home and eating it. In fact I wish I could do it.
Hunting as in fox hunting as practiced here is a completely different thing.
I can see no redeeming features at all in that pastime.
It doesn't feed anyone, it doesn't efficiently control the fox population if it actually needs controlling.
And historically it came about as a way to show tenant farmers and peasants who the real landowner is and that he can do what he wants with it.
Plus also consider the milk-drinkers who are against veal.
Veal is essentially a byproduct of the dairy industry.
30 years ago you could easily buy it everywhere.
20 years ago the 'do-gooders' had reduced the market to zero and the calves were exported to countries where veal crates are legal.
15 years ago they blocked the airports used and stopped the export.
Now the calves are turned into dog food.
For a time when I was really down on myself after the stroke, it freaked me out at times how utterly dependent I had become on her. I started to fear her eventual departure and from this put up emotional barriers to protect myself from this possibility. During this time I got to thinking that perhaps I was just staying with her because I was so dependant on her in order to function. However as I have strengthened my resolve to become more self reliant our relationship has only flourished and I've returned with renewed conviction that we were meant to be together.
Gordon.
Precisely.
There's no better way to rid oneself of this insulation than to go out into the woods and put a 130 grain piece of lead and copper through the heart of a beautiful, healthy, wild animal.
This sounds insane, but when a person does this the insanity of everything else becomes intensely and obviously real. The distinction between nature and "human nature" vanishes.
Crouch down beside that animal, touch its fur, look into it's eyes and you know deep down in your soul where meat comes from.
Later, when eating that roast or steak, the experience is quite literally "reverent".
Last edited:
I can't help it if you live in the Third World, where they haven't invented dentistry and the beer is warm. 😀
On the flip side, visit an animal farm and slaughterhouse. I still have that vivid memory from when I was about 10.......I'm sure things have only gotten worse. Ever see and hear a bull get castrated.....you won't forget it.
Then ask yourself, which animal had the better life, the one who lived in the wild for its entire life and was felled by a hunter's bullet that he never saw or heard, or the animal that lived it's entire life in a box or cage and never tasted freedom or real food?????
My only gripe is when I find a headless carcass in the wild. If you are going to kill it, then eat it, or at least take the meat to the local food bank or soup kitchen.
My neighbor hunts and fishes for sport, but properly cares for the animal and usually brings me some meat. I get fresh vegetables from his garden too. Yes, let him hunt.....right down to the doe he took with a crossbow in my backyard last winter (in season, with a doe stamp on his license).....tasty.
My wife doesn't like it though. She didn't like the fresh salmon from lake Ontario either, she says it tastes too much like fish! OK, more for me.
Yes, it is this very mindset that I find so abhorrent. Individuals hunting is a different matter entirely. The idea of small communities hunting and prepping their own meat is quite appealing in comparison with our industrialized approach to this aspect of meeting our dietary needs. I suspect that there are though a small minority of hunters, probably psychopaths, who get a thrill from the kill and that is their only reason for doing it.
Perhaps these latter individuals are somewhat over estimated by those of us uncomfortable with hunting. After all as cogitech said, we wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for our ancestors hunting to feed themselves. That said, it has been suggested elsewhere that humans only switched to meat eating when fruits, vegetables, grains and other non animal food sources became scarce. I believe there is some scientific evidence that suggests that we are not ideally designed / evolved for the digestion of meat, but rather a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is more suited to our constitution.
If you believe we have evolved from primates, then this provides a good basis for the argument that we are not principally meat eaters, as primates tend to live off non meat foods when supplies are plentiful only switching to meat when really necessary.
Gordon.
Headless carcasses; I haven't found one yet, but if I did I would report it. What a terrible act of waste. I guess that's why hunters get such a bad reputation. It only takes a few idiots to wreck it for the rest of us.
Sadly I'm unlikely to be able to put this notion to the test as the disabilities that I've inherited as a result of having a stroke preclude trips into the wilderness or the safe use of firearms. Getting out in the woods in itself is good for breaking down those human vs nature barriers, I really miss that sort of experience.
Gordon.
As an aside do you think we're on track to beat "John Curl's Blowtorch preamplifier part II" as the longest thread on this site!
Yes, there are psychopaths doing all sort of activities, so some of them are hunting.
Certainly peoples from various epochs and environments would have lived in vastly different ways, and it was always a matter of survival. Fruit and vegetables take much less effort (if plentiful) to harvest than meat. There is much less danger involved as well. However, as you say, in time when these "easy" foods are not plentiful, animals are an excellent source of food and many other resources including clothing, footwear, binding material, etc. etc.
I do believe in evolution and feel that adaptation can happen in as little as one generation. My contribution to the adaptation of my family is to abandon industrial meat and return to hunting. Only time will tell whether this works to our genetic advantage.
Are you saying you have never tried a home made soup of ramsteak or beef ribs?
Last edited:
That is indeed very sad. I am not sure how well I would cope with not being able to enjoy nature. I didn't realize how immobilized you are. I hope your condition improves enough that you can once again get into the woods.
Here in Canada, we make exceptions for disabled hunters. We allow them, for example, to shoot game from a (stopped) vehicle. A friend of a friend is a paraplegic and he gets his buck nearly every year.
Last edited:
Don't overlook that many hunters make sure the wildlife is fed and watered year round. Even if their purpose may be a trophy buck or full freezer.
Varmints of all sorts aren't so lucky...
Varmints of all sorts aren't so lucky...
Keeps me from wandering. I tell her I don't need to cheat. It already feels like I am. 😉
Longest, no, off topic - oh ya baby!
- Status
- Not open for further replies.