Grass Fed and Spiritual?

View From the Hunt

Organic?

Organic! When I first came across that word in Star Wars Episode IV (the book), my little mind wondered what it meant. Webster’s says: “of, related to, or derived from living organisms”. So, pretty much all food is organic by that definition. The American vernacular has been recently modified to mean that organic is “chemical-fee”. We are led to believe that hormone, pesticide, and antibiotic free foods are healthier for us. This is most likely true, or at least we can be pretty sure that they are not less healthy for us!

Good Food

On the matter of grain-fed versus grass-fed, the evidence is strong. Grass-fed or free-range meats exhibit Omega3 to Omega6 fatty acid ratios that are demonstrably more heart-healthy and in line with a diet that is simply closer to our original diet that the ratio derived from grain-fed meats. So, if flavor and cost weren’t issues, we’d all be well-advised to only eat wild or free-range meats when we do eat meat.

I’m here to say that wild caught or killed fish and game is generally far more healthy for you. There are regions that have heavy-metal or other contaminants that may change this calculus, so do your research; however, by and large, wild meats are the pinnacle of healthy proteins. In study after study, the Omega3 ratios of wild meats are comparable to wild-caught salmon, which is typically lauded as the gold standard for healthy meats.

A few days in the field communing with mother nature might be in and of itself worth the price of admission

Increasingly, we are taking to the field to hunt for this high quality meat. There is no shortage of big game in North America to be certain, and we’ve yet, as hunters, to in any way endanger that situation. True, there isn’t enough for everyone, but until demand exceeds supply it is an academic discussion. There isn’t enough caviar for everyone if it is $2.00 per pound. Same for truffles. As it stands, we have plenty of opportunity for more hunters to take home heart-healthy wild venison and mutton!

A Changing View for Me

I grew up hunting for “big deer”. We always ate what we killed, but we always also hunted for horns. We would have never stooped to harvest a doe or any other female of the deer, goat, or sheep species. Now, with elk numbers at modern all-time highs, it is a service to the herd and the ecology to harvest the target numbers of cow elk in the western states.

Cow elk make perfect table fare, as your hunt might cost you anywhere from $100 to $1500, depending on your situation, and a cow elk can provide about 150 pounds of meat and nearly-meat. That actually pencils out, and even at $10 per pound, this stuff is as grass-fed, hormone-free, and organic as it gets! It is also among the mildest of wild game and relatively lean overall. Truly fantastic protein.

Pronghorn, sheep, deer, and smaller wild pigs won’t get you nearly as much meat, but the variety and quality is surely there. Most of the deer-sized game will net you between 40 and 70 pounds of edibles. Obviously, if you are trying to keep the whole thing under say $10 per pound, it is pretty easy to calculate your hunting budget, assuming you are successful.

But Wait, There’s More!

But what about the intangibles of the hunt? A few days in the field communing with mother nature might be in and of itself worth the price of admission? This is an opportunity to become more primal and instinctive in your behavior, and to get closer to the earth and the food you eat. People pay big bucks for similar artificial experiences! Even the late great Sigmund Freud was a hunter, and there have been numerous studies on the benefits of hunting to your mental health. You can flip the argument, and I challenge you to show me one scientific study that shows hunting to be a sign of or result in abnormally bad mental health!

I perhaps digress, but it is pretty clear to anyone who has hunted that it is a very peaceful and fulfilling pursuit. There is problem-solving involved. There is patience, adrenaline, and hard work involved. Finally, hunters as a group take ethics very seriously. There are plenty of jackass outliers to this, but the vast majority seek a one-shot, one-kill scenario, pick up their trash and the trash of others, and treat public and private lands well. This is an undertaking for honest, ethical, and humane folks who want to exert a minimal footprint in the woods and with the game. The benefits are many:

• Herd and ecological management goals are met;
• Funds are generated for habitat improvement that benefit wildlife;
• Quality time is spent with friends and family;
• It is cleansing and good for the soul and spirit;
• It can and often is an athletic workout; and
• Importantly, you will be putting food on your family table that is of the most pure and honest quality possible.

Hunt for Life

I encourage those around me to hunt. I’ve introduced non-hunters and even anti-hunters to the pursuit and have been gratified by the results. I don’t condone or even permit any shenanigans when it comes to safety and ethics in my hunting party. Everyone must come home safe from every hunt. You must also respect the quarry, other hunters, and the public and private landowners.

To start as a hunter is not as expensive as you might think. New rifles can be had for about $350 and you can do a little better in the pawn shop if you work at it. That said, the first few times you hunt, you might want to borrow a friend’s rifle, of course if your local firearms laws permit this. Anyway, my advice is to start cheap and borrow if you can. If you find that you don’t care for hunting after all, then you aren’t out a lot. If you find you love it very much, then you have some background to help inform your new purchase.

Whether it is by rod and line or rifle and bullet, collecting your own food from the field is rewarding. I encourage you to go for it, and wherever possible, to take a friend along for the ride. In future articles, we will dig into some of the nuts and bolts of how to plan, hunt, and care for your game animals when the hunt is over. Safe hunting!