Explaining hunting to non-hunters

[Curmudgeon]

Of the many things I believe is harming hunting or hunting's image are modern American food companies and industrial farm practices. Food companies sell you an image of the perfect farm on the box but have nothing near that in reality. The uniform blandness of industrially raised proteins combined with the lost of heritage varieties of fruits and vegetables is damaging our health, the environment and creating a generation that does not make the connection between the land and sea and and our food supply.

 

This fits well with the denial or ignorance that I see in many consumers.

 

Plus, it takes less water to raise a pound of beef protein than veggie protein..

 

I had a long conversation with a USDA grazing expert on beef impacts. The differences in inputs between the best and worst practices are startling. Beef protein raised mostly on grass in a non-drought area is relatively low impact. Beef raised mostly on grain, and those that graze areas of low rainfall are much higher. Impacts from industrial beef taken to slaughter size in feedlots are huge.

 

It is really too bad that so much meat sold as "grass fed" is actually just pastured - not finished. It has given "grass fed" a bad name among people who do not know the difference.

 

For those of you who have food plots, the meat from deer eating corn is less healthy than deer eating green stuff and natural forage. Corn is the source of most of the Omega 6 fats in our meat. Green forage provides the animal with Omega 3 fat - the type in salmon and other oily fish. For anyone interested in this issue, this is an interesting article on the subject - http://www.grazeonline.com/landsalmon. A lot of the stuff they finish these lambs on seems to be what is in some food plots.

[mike rossi]

This fits well with the denial or ignorance that I see in many consumers.

 

 

I had a long conversation with a USDA grazing expert on beef impacts. The differences in inputs between the best and worst practices are startling. Beef protein raised mostly on grass in a non-drought area is relatively low impact. Beef raised mostly on grain, and those that graze areas of low rainfall are much higher. Impacts from industrial beef taken to slaughter size in feedlots are huge.

 

It is really too bad that so much meat sold as "grass fed" is actually just pastured - not finished. It has given "grass fed" a bad name among people who do not know the difference.

 

For those of you who have food plots, the meat from deer eating corn is less healthy than deer eating green stuff and natural forage. Corn is the source of most of the Omega 6 fats in our meat. Green forage provides the animal with Omega 3 fat - the type in salmon and other oily fish. For anyone interested in this issue, this is an interesting article on the subject - http://www.grazeonline.com/landsalmon. A lot of the stuff they finish these lambs on seems to be what is in some food plots.

 

Well, even in semi arid areas, whats worse, grazing or crops. Of course crops are worse. Eating what is there and what is locally adapted is best  that means hunting,  but the human population is too big we would eat everything up without agriculture. However, eating some wild game helps. Some hunters eat very little grocery meat, that would include me and my wife, so trust me , we are not alone and it is not very uncommon. By hunting for food or supplementing your diet by game obtained by hunting you are reducing your carbon footprint and your water draw.... Even compared to eating vegan style. There is your argument.....