People of developed countries have started to show a huge interest in organic and free range meat. Documentaries such as Fast Food Nation and Super Size Me have shined a spotlight in the meat-packing and fast food industries, and people don’t like what they see. I know non-hunters who have watched the film (or read the book), and it has changed their perspective on the subject. Many people have a mistaken view of the role hunters play in conservation and habitat restoration. Take the following information from The Daily Reckoning. As you can see, sportsmen contribute significantly to the improving the environment and developing sustainable wildlife populations.
Honest Free Range Meat
** $746 million — Annual amount of money spent by hunters in the United States on licenses and public land access fees alone. Sportsmen’s licensing revenues account for more than half of all funding for state natural resource agencies
** $300 million — Additional monies contributed to wildlife conservation every year by the more than 10,000 private hunting-advocate organizations, like the National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
** $4.2 billion — Amount of money sportsmen have contributed to conservation through a 10% federal excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and gear since the 1937 Pittman-Robertson Act established the tax. Millions of acres of public-use land has been purchased, preserved, and maintained with this money.
**Safari Club International Foundation has information about the work done by Hunters for the Hungry to alleviate hunger all across the world.
Real free range meats
People of conscience have started to express their displeasure with today’s meat packing and shipping industry. Documentaries such as the one above have shined a spotlight on the living conditions and treatment of animals that eventually make it to the supermarkets. Consumers are showing their disapproval by searching out “free range meats” and organic meats. Some are even buying into coalitions with farmers to obtain cattle that are grown without antibiotics and are purely grass-fed. Cattle, chicken, and pork raised using these methods have been shown to provide healthier dinner fare, and consumers can rest easier with this knowledge.
I will submit the idea that wild game is the penultimate of free range meats. How else can one obtain a meat product that you can be absolutely certain received no antibiotic injections, growth hormones, or “meal” by-products. Where else can you go to be certain the animal lived a “free range” life? You can be quite certain that wild game is not forced to live in conditions like much of the livestock that one currently finds in today’s grocery coolers.
I’m not trying to romanticize hunting. Nor am I trying to suggest that everyone should decide that hunting is for them. Unfortunately, I have the perception that many non-hunters have an uninformed opinion of what hunting entails, and the many benefits of choosing to consume wild game. If I’m wrong, please tell me. What are your thoughts on this subject?
