I'd be remiss to not recognize opening day of deer hunting season. Growing up with house full of hunters (three brothers, dad, and a mom who tags along), you could easily say that I was somewhat of an outcast. November 15th, opening rifle day, was just as big of a "to-do" as Christmas morning; no joke! I must have been born an anti-hunter...as my environment of living with the hunting obsessed did not change my beliefs/feelings. Hunting appalled me and I wasn't afraid to let everyone know.
I have come to realize that I never respected or understood hunting because my compassion for animals is so big that it clouded my ability to see the "whole" picture. Now being a much wiser version of myself (or so I would like to think), I've come to have sincere gratitude for clean, organic foods. It upsets me greatly how difficult it is for people to find high quality "raised with love" meats. Wild game proves to be an excellent alternative in my household. Typically across the board - wild game has less saturated fat (bad fat), more unsaturated fat (good fat), and increased antioxidants. Not to mention, wild game is not subjected to live and die inhumanely (unless Mother Nature has other plans), therefore it's also not loaded with added hormones, antibiotics, etc.
Naturally, my husband is also a hunter. I always knew my guy would have those country roots, yet could hold his own on any cityscape. While I would personally never venture in the woods, let's face it - I can't consciously kill insects (I'm the girl who captures and releases spiders when found in the house - even if it scares the crap out of me!), I have come to respect the nature of the game. After all, it fills our freezer with quality meats - in this case venison - from an animal living in its most organic state that was killed as cleanly and humanely as possible.
My husband - who is a huge animal lover, too - helped bring me to terms with my stance on hunting by sharing his beliefs of what it means to him to hunt. In a sense, he believes that it's a hunter's duty to help bring animal populations to proper balance (in this case, deer), to kill as cleanly and humanely as possible, and to eat what you kill (don't go kill for the sake of killing, kill for food). In other words, good hunters have souls. I've done the research and know without a doubt how ugly it could get for deer once the state of overpopulation is reached; Mother Nature isn't always kind. Him and I both agree that it takes a special person to be a hunter...humanity behind the inhumanity so to speak. Unfortunately, like many farmers - not all hunters are good...and that fact of course saddens me.
Venison is good for you
I can't even begin to recall the last time that I ate beef - it's been years. I think of all the things I have given up - beef was among the easiest. Venison is the only red meat that I consume and we eat it at least on a bi-weekly basis. I love it because it's an excellent source of protein, and unlike most meats (as I have already mentioned), it's low in saturated fat. Four ounces of venison supplies 68.5% of the daily value for protein for 179 calories and 1.4 grams of saturated fat. It's also a good source of iron, providing 28.2% of the daily value for iron in a four-ounce serving. That's not all. Venison is also a very good source of vitamin B12, providing 60.0% of the daily value for this important vitamin, as well as good good amounts of several other of the B vitamins, including riboflavin (40.0% of riboflavin's daily value), niacin (38.0% of niacin's daily value) and vitamin B6 (21.5% of the daily value for B6). It's good stuff friends...clean, lean, and oh so nutritious!
While I may never be the Mrs. who cheers at the demise of a trophy buck's life, I instead come to the table and share my sincere gratitude for the field and to the hunter - with an undeniable respect for life, nature.
Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,
A Deer Hunter's Widow - MSF
I have come to realize that I never respected or understood hunting because my compassion for animals is so big that it clouded my ability to see the "whole" picture. Now being a much wiser version of myself (or so I would like to think), I've come to have sincere gratitude for clean, organic foods. It upsets me greatly how difficult it is for people to find high quality "raised with love" meats. Wild game proves to be an excellent alternative in my household. Typically across the board - wild game has less saturated fat (bad fat), more unsaturated fat (good fat), and increased antioxidants. Not to mention, wild game is not subjected to live and die inhumanely (unless Mother Nature has other plans), therefore it's also not loaded with added hormones, antibiotics, etc.
Naturally, my husband is also a hunter. I always knew my guy would have those country roots, yet could hold his own on any cityscape. While I would personally never venture in the woods, let's face it - I can't consciously kill insects (I'm the girl who captures and releases spiders when found in the house - even if it scares the crap out of me!), I have come to respect the nature of the game. After all, it fills our freezer with quality meats - in this case venison - from an animal living in its most organic state that was killed as cleanly and humanely as possible.
My husband - who is a huge animal lover, too - helped bring me to terms with my stance on hunting by sharing his beliefs of what it means to him to hunt. In a sense, he believes that it's a hunter's duty to help bring animal populations to proper balance (in this case, deer), to kill as cleanly and humanely as possible, and to eat what you kill (don't go kill for the sake of killing, kill for food). In other words, good hunters have souls. I've done the research and know without a doubt how ugly it could get for deer once the state of overpopulation is reached; Mother Nature isn't always kind. Him and I both agree that it takes a special person to be a hunter...humanity behind the inhumanity so to speak. Unfortunately, like many farmers - not all hunters are good...and that fact of course saddens me.
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| Mr. all geared up for the big day. |
I can't even begin to recall the last time that I ate beef - it's been years. I think of all the things I have given up - beef was among the easiest. Venison is the only red meat that I consume and we eat it at least on a bi-weekly basis. I love it because it's an excellent source of protein, and unlike most meats (as I have already mentioned), it's low in saturated fat. Four ounces of venison supplies 68.5% of the daily value for protein for 179 calories and 1.4 grams of saturated fat. It's also a good source of iron, providing 28.2% of the daily value for iron in a four-ounce serving. That's not all. Venison is also a very good source of vitamin B12, providing 60.0% of the daily value for this important vitamin, as well as good good amounts of several other of the B vitamins, including riboflavin (40.0% of riboflavin's daily value), niacin (38.0% of niacin's daily value) and vitamin B6 (21.5% of the daily value for B6). It's good stuff friends...clean, lean, and oh so nutritious!
While I may never be the Mrs. who cheers at the demise of a trophy buck's life, I instead come to the table and share my sincere gratitude for the field and to the hunter - with an undeniable respect for life, nature.
Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,
A Deer Hunter's Widow - MSF
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