Frustrated with store meat

[ImRight]

I eat chicken and beef because those two animals are kinda wimps.

They say you are what you eat!

You must eat cat?

rotflmao

[phreddy]

It sickens me that so many people out there don't want hunters to harvest wild meat because "the poor little Bambi is so cute (pretty, whatever). Yet these same folks have no problems with increasing the CO2 levels in the atmosphere by supporting the raising of cattle which are notorious, especially with all the hormones and chemicals put in them, by supporting increased methane via larger herds.
Look at a lamb. One of the cutest animals around, yet these same folks go to a restaurant and order lamb chops, leg of lamb, etc. Calves are also very cute, but they, like lambs and other "cute" little domestic animals go through the same torture that all domestic meat animals go through for days before slaughter. I don't expect anyone to believe me on this, so would suggest that you might want to go to a slaughter house to see how these poor creatures are penned and ulitmately killed before you judge me for being a hunter. I don't think you have the guts for it.
Me, I think I'll stick to low fat, chemical and organic free, and humanely killed game that I harvest myself.

[justmyopinion]

It sickens me that so many people out there don't want hunters to harvest wild meat because "the poor little Bambi is so cute (pretty, whatever). Yet these same folks have no problems with increasing the CO2 levels in the atmosphere by supporting the raising of cattle which are notorious, especially with all the hormones and chemicals put in them, by supporting increased methane via larger herds.
Look at a lamb. One of the cutest animals around, yet these same folks go to a restaurant and order lamb chops, leg of lamb, etc. Calves are also very cute, but they, like lambs and other "cute" little domestic animals go through the same torture that all domestic meat animals go through for days before slaughter. I don't expect anyone to believe me on this, so would suggest that you might want to go to a slaughter house to see how these poor creatures are penned and ulitmately killed before you judge me for being a hunter. I don't think you have the guts for it.
Me, I think I'll stick to low fat, chemical and organic free, and humanely killed game that I harvest myself.

I'd have to agree with this phred....I don't have the guts to hunt but it does sicken me how the animals are treated in a slaughter house...just sickens me! that's why I asked if anyone new where I could get some meat that was not chemically treated and the animals were naturally raised and I will be checking out those sites provided, thanks Pooky). I can't say I really like the taste of wild meat, I've had it hear and there and find it to strong, or is it that I just haven't tried the right kinds?

[Graham Adder]

I can't say I really like the taste of wild meat, I've had it hear and there and find it to strong, or is it that I just haven't tried the right kinds?

The preparation immediately after a kill is very important. It's also very important that the person dressing the meat knows how to do so without hitting any glands to spoil the meat.
If meat is dressed properly by someone who knows what they are doing...then taken home and left to hang for the right period of time in the right conditions before being cut and wrapped...you can end up with quite mild flavor without the 'gamey' taste that throws so many off wild meat.
The best wild meat I've ever tasted came from my father's hunts. He always takes the time and efforts from the start to ensure he gets a good flavor from his game. I've had meat from others that was so pungent and gamey that I couldn't eat it...not even with Frank's Redhot Sauce.

I put that $#!% on EVERYTHING!

[justmyopinion]

I put that $#!% on EVERYTHING!

Well, I guess I've never eaten wild meat that was done up properly then

Was just checking out the websites Pooky gave me....I think I might try one out

[cv23]

I have a healthier alternative that has been cheaper and hormone free. I go bear hunting in May and deer hunting in September. I am always able to fill my freezer with several hundred pounds of quality free range meat each year. Getting my family's meat in this manner does not require the imprisonment of an animal for long periods of time in cramped quarters or the introducition of questionable chemicals.

And just how do you know that the animals you have hunted did not forage in toxin lased garbage dumps or drink from contaminated streams?

[Graham Adder]

And just how do you know that the animals you have hunted did not forage in toxin lased garbage dumps or drink from contaminated streams?

There are no guarantees, but if you harvest an animal from a well maintained natural area, the chances of biting into glycol-steak is slim to nil. You'd stand a better chance of winning a lottery jackpot.

Was that your morning 'stretch?

It's after noon!

[Rwede]

I have a healthier alternative that has been cheaper and hormone free. I go bear hunting in May and deer hunting in September. I am always able to fill my freezer with several hundred pounds of quality free range meat each year. Getting my family's meat in this manner does not require the imprisonment of an animal for long periods of time in cramped quarters or the introducition of questionable chemicals.

And just how do you know that the animals you have hunted did not forage in toxin lased garbage dumps or drink from contaminated streams?

Dump bears tend to live out their days AT the dump once they develop a taste for garbage, so it's highly unlikely one will end up being harvested for food, and I can't think of a single contaminated stream that a deer or moose would be drinking from either. Ultimately, dump bears get aggressive toward humans due to habituation and are destroyed. A sad waste. I'd rather have them end up in the form of bear pepperoni than landfill material.

[cv23]

Dump bears tend to live out their days AT the dump once they develop a taste for garbage, so it's highly unlikely one will end up being harvested for food, and I can't think of a single contaminated stream that a deer or moose would be drinking from either. Ultimately, dump bears get aggressive toward humans due to habituation and are destroyed. A sad waste. I'd rather have them end up in the form of bear pepperoni than landfill material.[/quote]

You clearly don't spend much time out of the city these days Richard.
Drive up any forestry road and take a look over the bank. People will drive up there to dispose of material the dump won't accept because they toxic or hazardous. They treat the wildness as their own private landfill.
What about all the fluids that leak out of one single car pushed over the bank into a stream, and there are thousands of these vehicles littering our woods. Just drive by all the dead vehicles left to rot and leach harmful fluids into the ground around a place like Beaverdell, all within very close proximity to the Kettle River and the streams that feed into it and then tell me animals don't drink from polluted streams. Do places like Big White have sewage treatment plants or do they allow their sewage to leach into the surrounding streams where wildlife drinks and feeds on the plant life along the banks?
Our woodlands, and wildlife habitat, are in no way the pristine untouched wilderness they were a few short decades ago. Put on your hiking boots and go see just how disgusting the human animal can be when it comes to disposing of it's unwanted waste.

[phreddy]

ev23, I'm sorry if this offends you, but as an elk/moose hunter I've yet to see an elk or moose in any area close enough or accessible enough to conveniently dump garbage. To hunt moose and elk, I've usually had to go into some pretty remote areas. On the other hand, if I did happen to "fluke" into a moose or elk in a closer area, It generally would be eating the same grasses and drinking the same water as your free range beef cattle before they're herded into the feed lots, chemicaled and hormoned up to get them fat for slaughter. At least with game I'm minimizing the threat as they are free range right up to the moment they drop.

[cv23]

ev23, I'm sorry if this offends you, but as an elk/moose hunter I've yet to see an elk or moose in any area close enough or accessible enough to conveniently dump garbage. To hunt moose and elk, I've usually had to go into some pretty remote areas. On the other hand, if I did happen to "fluke" into a moose or elk in a closer area, It generally would be eating the same grasses and drinking the same water as your free range beef cattle before they're herded into the feed lots, chemicaled and hormoned up to get them fat for slaughter. At least with game I'm minimizing the threat as they are free range right up to the moment they drop.

I never said that ALL the game animals fed or drank from possibly contaminated sources. Eventhough I try to limit my time in the woods during hunting season when I am there I sure do see a very large number of hunters at not very "remote areas". Not being a hunter myself I can't comment on exactly where true free-range game animals feed and drink but I've seen a decent number of hunters packing their trophies out of areas within very close proximity of forestry roads where humans have discarded their waste down an embankment and into a stream.

[Graham Adder]

Not being a hunter myself ...but I've seen a decent number of hunters packing their trophies out of areas ... where humans have discarded their waste down an embankment and into a stream.

You must live in the woods at the bottom of a ravine...beside a stream to see this a 'decent number' of times.
I think I spend a fair bit of time in the bush, and I have very, very seldom seen hunters bring their game out of the woods...let alone seeing them bring it out along side a contaminated stream...a decent number of times.

Sorry to make the call CV...but:

BS.

[I Think]

Dunno if this has been covered here, but swmbo ( a microbiologist ) says that

If a large processing plant handles a diseased animal, the equipment may become contaminated (Listeriosis anyone) but even more importantly, the meat gets mixed in with the meat of many many other (prolly healthy) animals and gets shipped far and wide. There are many meat recalls of thousands of kilos of contaminated meat to attest for that fact.

If a local small processor handles a diseased animal (imo much less likely since a local guy is more aware of the source) the diseased meat is will not contaminate large quantities of otherwise quality products.

Even so, due to the lobbying of the big packing plants, the government is trying to shut down the small butchers. Deceivin stevin rides again.

[BVulgaris]

I support the over feeding and overpopulating of wildlife, and then culling for our meat.

I feel that if our wildlife is so healthy that populations boom, it would be an amazing meat source. Like the ancient buffalo "meat river".

This is sort of a hap hazard idea that afew friends of mine have kicked around for allitle while but never tried to seriously develop the idea and discern the consequences.

on the topic of small time butchers. It really should be small packing operations in communities. The cost may be allitle more, however the incentive to produce good quality meat is much greater.

I've seen some people chip in together and buy a whole cow, then divvy up the meat packages. Some times they keep the bones for soup. A scheme like this returns more profits to the farmer and is a feedback loop of incentives to keep good quality practices. Mass production can allow for greater consequences when there is an error. Its not a pipe dream because each method requires regulation, and by different methods. So there is allways the give and take.

[BVulgaris]

I have a healthier alternative that has been cheaper and hormone free. I go bear hunting in May and deer hunting in September. I am always able to fill my freezer with several hundred pounds of quality free range meat each year. Getting my family's meat in this manner does not require the imprisonment of an animal for long periods of time in cramped quarters or the introducition of questionable chemicals.

And just how do you know that the animals you have hunted did not forage in toxin lased garbage dumps or drink from contaminated streams?

just to quickly comment on this. Humans have allways had these concerns, and there have allways been ways to check. A good hunter should examine the liver, teeth and gums, eyes, etc. There is a whole culture that early humans produced that is still a tradition to this day. These are the bits of knowledge that got us where we are today. If you look at the industrial slaughterhouses, there is not as much scruteny. Also, we eat allot more meat today, so the industry tends to treat it like United does with guitars.