I am part of the food chain. I am not at the top of the food chain because there are animals that can consume me as food.
I am an omnivore, which means I eat meat among other edibles. I hunt and gather. I fish and forage.
I am part of a complex ecosystem in which living organisms eat each other. It’s the way the system works.
Growing up in farm life prepared me for this. So did the hunting tradition already in my family. Grandparents many generations back have hunted. I remember unloaded guns propped in the corner of my grandparents’ kitchen during hunting season. As kids, we knew what they were for — to hunt for food.
Getting a deer or a moose was a time for celebration. It meant mincemeat for Christmas, and meat in the freezer or canning jars.
The meat was served with other food we had grown, gathered or foraged. Green beans and peas. Beets and cucumbers, often pickled to preserve them. Carrots stored in sand to keep them firm. Potatoes and onions kept in cool, dry places. Other meat we raised like beef, pigs and chickens.
All living things that died to feed us.
It’s really no different than going to the grocery store, except we always knew where the food we were eating originated and had a hand in its harvest.
It’s not the only reason I hunt and fish though. To me, it’s better to kill an animal than to let it starve to death in the winter. Poorly nourished animals become more susceptible to disease and weak animals don’t strengthen the species.
Deer and moose hunts thin the herds, which gives the surviving animals more food in the winter. Taking some species of fish from lakes and ponds helps preserve a balance in those bodies of water.
I don’t believe in hunting purely for sport and trophies. I hunt and fish with purpose — food. And in an ancient ritual sort of way, I thank the animal for the gift of its life to feed me.
I’m not looking for atonement, but am acknowledging the value of the animal’s life.
Hunting is serious business. All of us who hunt have a responsibility to be stewards of the outdoors we love in Maine. I think most people who hunt, fish and forage understand their roles in that ecosystem.
We are not attacking it; we are part of it.
