To Hunt Or Not To Hunt?
Whether it's walking, hiking, lying on a beach, playing with my family on the lawn, or in the woods hunting, I'm outside a fair amount. Something about hunting, though, connects me so much more with nature and my ancestral roots. Maybe it has to do with blending in and being one with nature; I don't know. Nothing, however, is more beautiful than the circle of life and nourishing our bodies with the bountiful animals and plants God intended us to eat.
For me, hunting brings newfound respect for life. Respect for the animals and plants while giving thanks for their generous gifts. Respect for skills and life lessons that have become obsolete for many. Respect for myself in honoring and thoroughly nourishing my body with animal fats, like those who have walked before us. Understanding the respect and responsibility that comes with holding and operating a weapon. Respect for others and the land around me. The list could go on forever.
Some would disagree with hunting because they think it's inhumane and that's their prerogative. However, as a healer and intuitive, I could argue that plants have energy and emotions just like animals. As a health coach, there's something to be said about how plants and animals were raised and giving thanks to your food before a meal. Your relationship with food directly impacts how it nourishes your body and the relationship in which the animal or plant was raised. I can tell you that I don't enjoy taking an animal's life, nor do any hunters I know. But, I would much rather harvest my food rather than have them raised inhumanely in meat factories to be dispersed to the masses or sprayed with disease-causing chemicals. But that's just me.
Beaver What?
From the beginning of time, if you didn't hunt, you could trade other goods for meat and pelts. So you wouldn't starve or freeze if you didn't hunt. It's no different today. Money is just our form of exchange. So, you still don't have to harvest animal products yourself if you don't want to. But how many of you actually know where your food comes from? I'm going to guess a very small percentage of the masses unless you're all buying all of your food from your local farms and farmers' markets. And that's rarely the case because it becomes rather pricey.
It's a sad game we play as consumers where even the best of us get fooled from time to time... myself included. If you're purchasing something that has been packaged, you HAVE to look at the ingredients or where it originated. Even if you're buying veggies, you have to be careful of where they came from. If they're not organic, they're covered in harmful chemicals that cause a slew of health problems. Yikes! Don't believe me? Start by looking up glyphosate. I know from experience with that one, but that's a story for another time!
Reading labels can be intimidating and time-consuming because you have to research individual ingredients and hardly anyone knows how to pronounce most of them. No one, myself including, wants to do this. But it's necessary. If you thought these companies were straight-up transparent, think again. So, if you haven't researched ingredients, I invite you to give it a whirl. It'll undoubtedly make your head spin.
Natural flavoring is one of them, which is in so many products. It contains an ingredient called castoreum, which is secreted from the anal glands of beavers. Folks, I wish I was joking! If these companies wanted to be transparent, they'd be labeling the ingredient as "beaver anus." But of course, NO ONE would buy a product that contains beaver anus!
When being vegan, this is something to consider because it's an animal product. However, I wonder if vegans are aware of this. This is why I research as much as possible, choose to shop the grocery store's perimeter, shop local when I can, grow what I can, and hunt to harvest my own meat.
Fun Tid-Bit!
In tribal days, men would harvest animals while women would gather berries and plants. That was their life and job... spend time with family, harvest food, and celebrate their harvests together at the end of the day. Believe it or not, there are still tribes today that operate in that manner. I recently listened to a podcast that went into depth on the Hadza Tribe in Africa and how their diet consisted primarily of animal fats. They seldom ate tubers or vegetables. It was a very interesting listen as it pointed out their optimal brain and bodily health function for primarily eating animal fats. I couldn't get the exact link for the Podcast, but if you can search for the Podcast title, "Best of Series - Diet & Lifestyle of the Hadza Tribe" by Dr. Mercola.
My Motivation
Having competed in pageants for seven years, I had tried about every diet you could imagine. But none of them worked. On the contrary, they left me feeling worse than when I started, I was constantly hungry, and as soon as I went back to eating normal, the weight reappeared. It wasn't until I started eating a 100% whole foods diet that I felt fully satiated. That diet consisted of meat, whole dairy, veggies, whole grains, nuts, and maple syrup and honey for sweeteners. In addition, I avoid processed and artificial anything, which is terrible for you.
I want to live a life full of energy, health, and vitality, avoiding medications to sustain my body's well-being. Doing this means taking responsibility for what goes into my body, which starts with food.
Moral Of The Story
You HAVE to be cognizant of where your food comes from to stay healthy. It also doesn't hurt to know some survival skills!
Stay tuned for my wild turkey menu from this season's turkey harvests!
What's your ammo?
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