dressing a field grouse

it is a special thing you can teach your kids: to live off the land. not only is it a survival skill to be able to fend for one's self, it more importantly (and probably more realistically) teaches children the respect for the life they are about to consume. while I am not all obsessed and eccentric when it comes to "respecting" the food, I do believe there is a serious epidemic of ignorance in our youth and culture- in regards to being disconnected from where we receive our sustenance. growing up, we ate carrots with the dirt on, crab apples with enough pucker to top a lemon, venison disguised in fajitas and duck on the dinner table in the spring. as most of us do, I have come full circle and seen the value and cherish the way I was raised- taking little for granted. perhaps if we were the ones doing the killing, dismembering, gutting, feathering and preparing of the majority of out foods, we would be less gluttonous, entitled and blasé. more thankful, aware and simpleminded in our approach to consumption. one can hope.

“I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it to be from an animal that has lived a pleasant, uncrowded life outdoors, on bountiful pasture, with good water nearby and trees for shade.”


― Wendell Berry, What are People For?