Why You Should Hunt Meat Yourself

Today, we live in a world where almost anything can be purchased. Every basic human need can be provided by a business. One of the largest businesses is food, and consumerism has demanded that companies produce large, frequent amounts of one of the biggest sectors of the food market: meat. Unfortunately, commercially produced food has a lot of setbacks and unappealing qualities, and the sport of hunting is making a comeback and proving why hunting your own meat far outweighs purchasing it. Popular game, such as deer or duck, has proven to be more beneficial for the average person, and there are multiple reasons to consider when comparing hunting to purchasing.

The first reason for hunting and harvesting your own meat is for the same reason many people choose to be vegetarians or vegans: it’s more humane. While many, at first, may protest eating meat for the sake of the animals’ lives, it’s much more humane to control animal population in natural environments as well as to avoid farms made specifically for breeding oversized animals at an alarming rate. For conscious meat-eaters, hunting is far more morally and ethically acceptable than purchasing raised beef, pork and poultry. When hunting, animals are killed quickly and painlessly. A skilled hunter, equipped with a proper gun and a good rifle scope can and will always make sure that if he takes a shot, it’s a 100% clean kill. Since we are human beings, hunting is simply a part of the circle of life. Hunting also means there will be less waste because hunters have the advantage of using all parts of an animal. For instance, when a deer is shot, not only will the hunter be able to cook the meat, but he or she may also use the organs and bones in the kitchen as well as utilize the skin. Unfortunately, when an animal is bred and killed on a farm for commercial sale, many parts of the animals go to waste. It is much wiser and “green” to hunt over purchasing commercial meat products.
It’s also important to note that animals on commercial farms tend to be fed unnatural diets, such as meal made from saturated fats and by-products that humans would not normally choose to ingest. Whatever an animal eats is ultimately what we humans end up eating, which means we are also ingesting all of that saturated fat and by-product. Animals in the wild have a diet of natural plants and other wildlife. When a deer has a diet of acorns and plant life, their meat will be leaner, healthier and even tastier! When hunters eat wild game meat, they are also eating the natural and healthy foods of the earth.
The second important reason for choosing to hunt your own animals is the sustainability. Humans now live in a society where the majority are entirely dependent on commercialism. The homes we live in, the water we drink, the everyday items we purchase and the food we eat are all controlled and distributed by businesses and the government. Since humans are so reliant on this commercialism, big businesses are destroying our green planet with buildings, factories and chemicals, which all pollute the air and surrounding environment, to keep up with our demands. Sustainability is required to limit these harmful effects and to shorten the chain of big business. By hunting his or her own meat, a hunter has created sustainability for their self and their family. If a hunter no longer has to depend on big business for meat products, that’s one less person big businesses and corporations can rely on. One person hunting instead of purchasing helps create a greener, longer-lasting earth and a more sustainable lifestyle.
A third reason to choose hunting over purchasing meat is that wild game is healthier and cheaper! Many animal products that are produced in factories are filled with fat, by-products and other items to “stretch out” the amount of product (quite similar to what factories are feeding their animals in the first place). Some foods, like steak and ground beef, have also been found with completely unnatural product fillers mixed inside them, such as saw dust! Obviously, digesting a non-food product is very unhealthy and even life-threatening. The fat mixed within commercial meat is also very unhealthy for obvious reasons. Choosing to hunt your own meat means you are choosing to consume leaner meat without added fat and unnatural product.
While some wild game meat may seem like they have a lot of fat, it’s important to know the difference between healthy fat and unhealthy fat. All living things, including human beings, need fat to survive and to be healthy. Natural fat gives us energy and vital nutrients. The fats found in wild game are unsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fats, which are found naturally and are not tampered with. Saturated fats, like the kind added to commercial meat and other foods, have been man-made and are very unhealthy. This is the type of fat that makes humans, well, fat. Saturated fat is also very difficult to burn away with exercise or physical activity. Choosing wild game, such as deer or duck, will prove to be a much healthier choice at meal times.

Hunting is also much cheaper than purchasing packaged meat every week. While becoming a hunter requires some financial investments, like purchasing a hunting rifle, catching his or her own meat eventually does pay for itself. When you pay for pre-butchered and pre-packaged meat, not only are you paying for the product, but you’re also paying for every bit of labor that went into providing you that meat: the farming, the butchering, the cleaning, the delivering, the packaging and even down to the sale of that meat at the grocery store register. Hunting and preparing an entire deer is far cheaper than purchasing only part of a deer at a butcher’s store or other business.

Breaking it down

It’s clear to see that hunting for your own food beats out purchasing commercially produced meat. From ethics, to health, to cost, becoming a hunter has clearly always been the best choice. If you’ve never hunted before, consider taking any classes in your area on hunting and talk to any friends or family you may know about the benefits they’ve encountered from hunting their own meat.