Day 1: Planning

Planning a killing spree is harder than it sounds. As I research the likelihood of a full year of killing, my list of necessary resources grows at a daunting pace. Killing is not only messy, it is expensive.

I’m not talking about willy-nilly kills here. No. This is a calculated effort, one of research and purposeful implementation. Death will not be wielded in vain. This is a one woman killing spree: a year of hunting, fishing, gathering, and growing food.

I suppose it sounds gross to some to pick up a rifle and shoot dinner – unnecessary even, given the wide-range of meat and fish stocked in the local grocery store. But I argue that blindly tossing a pack of pork chops or T-bone steaks in the shopping cart is worse. It’s irresponsible. Unfortunately, staying ignorant doesn’t absolve me from taking responsibility. 

Life would be easier had I never read such books like, Omnivore’s Dilemma or Food Inc. But it’s too late. The damage is done. I’m awake and aware of the beastly nature of industrial food.  I have no idea where the pig that I ate three days ago came from. Nor do I know how he was treated during his life and death. It seemed harmless, there the pig was on my plate wearing a three-strip of bacon disguise. I thought nothing about where the bacon came from, the fatty underside of a living being, as I stuffed the smoky bites in my mouth.

The easy answer would be to give up all meat products for the year and opt for a vegetarian diet. But that makes me feel like a quitter. I like meat. But I want to eat respectful and responsible meat. I want to remove the miles and miles of links on my food chain. I want wild meat or grass fed domestics. I want to know what I am eating. I want to know what what I am eating ate. And I want to know how what I am eating died.

This is day one of my quest – Day one of my personal rebellion against the industrialized meat market.  A pot of smoked salmon and white bean chowder simmers on the stove. The salmon is wild caught, but not by me. I plan to change all of that in the coming year.

Wish me luck...