News flash...
YOU ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING ORIGINAL!!!!
My husband's family always had a very large garden we are talking lots of acres, but not necessarily a farm in the latter years. Mr. David, "Popee", who just turned 94 years old, WWII veteran, and still lives in he same place he was born and raised, always grew enough to feed his family as well as enough to sell or mostly give away to many other families. They also harvested there own meat whether it was a cow that they raised or a free ranging wild animal. Popee grew up during the great depression and they had to survive the best way they could. They grew their own food and killed and ate their own meat. And raised two children.
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| Popee and Mamaw Picture taken by their great granddaughter BrieAnna Harper |
My husband tells stories of being a young child and having to help harvest the garden. Rows and rows of field peas, butter beans, which he will not eat to this day, tomatoes, okra, acres of corn,etc. Helping in the garden went on for years until Popee got to where he couldn't do it like he use to. Now we( my brother in law, Stanton) have a much smaller garden- which I hope to help make it bigger this year--that my boys and I helped in a little. It is a pain in the arse to say the least, but we know where it came from and what went into it.
I met my husband when I was 16--- you know that's only been like a few years ago, wink wink, nod, nod. As far as I know, I don't know that my mother in law ever had to buy much, if any, beef from the store. I think she always used free range, organic, grass fed, acorn fed, wild deer. The fish were also harvested out of the creeks, ponds, or the river. The turkeys were also free range.
My dad was born in a dirt floor cabin and was 1 of 7 children. They had to keep their milk, which they milked fresh from their milk cow, in the creek to keep it cold. He tells stories of getting in trouble for eating the fresh cream off the top because my Grandmother needed it to make fresh churned butter.They also had a smoke house to cure their own meat. They killed what they needed, and ate it to survive. They also raised animals for slaughter and had a garden.
So you see, "We were organic when organic wasn't cOOooool".
I recently became an addict of the website pinterest. The other day I saw an anti-hunting "pin" that said something to the affect of Why don't people just get their meat from the grocery store where no animals were harmed...I could not find that pin again to save my life, I have looked for it for days. Then a blogger/twitter friend wrote an article with a similar sentiment that also came from pinterest... Hunt Like Your Hungry "Cowardly Hunter" . Seriously where do people think the meat products come from in the grocery store? Do they think they just magically appear and no animal had to be slaughtered for that nice juicy ribeye to get in that little cellophane and styrofoam package. What about those chicken pieces...do they think they just laid them like an egg all processed and breaded?
In our grocery store, ground beef is anywhere from $3.50-3.98 a pound. The other day we put up a little more than 50 lbs of ground deer meat. Now it cost us $10.00 for the beef fat that we mixed with it and we ground it ourselves. So let's see 50lbs of free range venison for $10 = about 20 cents a lb... Not only is this environmentally sound, but economical as well..Geez I have 3 growing boys and husband. Not to mention we have several shoulder roast, hams and loins that we put in the freezer 2 days ago. Now this may not last all year, but it will last a while.
I understand that some people may not like meat or they choose not to eat it, or they just can't see themselves killing or eating Bambi, or Little Bunny Foo Foo; however don't condemn me or my family because we CHOOSE to be green and help sustain ourselves through hunting, and fishing. I mean don't hate us because we are OG.... Original Green! We aren't hatein' on them because they are stealing some of our OG swagga.
We, as hunters and fisherman, were stewards for the environment long before this green movement came to be as well. Hunters and their organizations are far more responsible and conscious of environmental issues than most non hunters. We usually plant products to help fed and maintain the health of our wildlife populations. We have been responsible for the growth of populations of different wild game, which were non existent or on the brink of being non existent in areas. There are many organizations that hunters contribute financially to as well and donate their harvest to in order to help feed people who for some reason can not feed their self.
I suppose the point is "A Country Boy Can Survive"...Thank you Hank Williams, Jr.
Just like tonight, we went after school and caught some nice little bass from an old pond in the middle of no where. The boys are enjoying the freshly fried organically grown bass with fresh homemade french fries. We have been doing stuff just like this for years.
So Hunt On my fellow OGs!
The Small Print
I don't believe in "If its brown its down" or "Shooting anything that moves." Yes I hunt big bucks or trophy hunt, but I assure you I also eat what I kill. By hunting mature deer you equalize the herd and allow the herd to grow.
If you choose to be a vegetarian or vegan that's your choice, but I don't, I like to be a omnivore.
Yes, I have killed Bambi's momma and daddy and Little Bunny Foo Foo too. I also ate them.
Please feel free to leave a comment, but if you do so in a disrespectful manner please understand you will get a disrespectful response. We all have our opinions and our ways of life. When the Apocalypse comes I will be able to survive. Will you without the grocery store?
Yes, I do shop at the grocery store and yes I buy meat there, BUT I know animals had to be slaughter for it to get there, and I don't have a problem with that.
