This is another installment in our series on food, food systems, and food movements, and we have included links below to all of the really interesting and diverse range of conversations we’ve had this year on these topics.
Our guest today was first introduced to me by Blister reviewer, Paul Forward. Mahting Putelis is the founder of Hunt to Eat, which is an organization that exists to:
“Find modern, progressive, and inclusive ways to support and grow the community of folks that go outdoors, harvest wild meat, or plants, or fungi, and take these things home to be cooked with care for themselves or their friends and family. The folks that see the importance of wildlife and nature. This community is not defined by race, politics, education, wealth, or gender; it’s simply a human community. Hunting, fishing, foraging, and existing in nature are things that human beings have done to survive since the dawn of our evolution. Everyone who exists in nature is part of the Hunt to Eat community. And it can only grow from here.”
TOPICS & TIMES:
- What is Hunt to Eat? (4:35)
- Skiing, Hunting, & Ultrarunning (6:18)
- All of us hunt to eat (12:23)
- Hunting Culture (17:56)
- Hunt to Eat camps (28:37)
- When / where will these camps be held? (32:41)
- Educational videos (40:22)
- Closing thoughts (43:12)
RELATED LINKS:
- Ep. 141: Paul Forward on Hunting, Climate Advocacy, & Conservation
- Ep. 135: Olympian Dotsie Bausch on Cycling, Switch4Good, & the Dairy Industry
- Ep. 132: Bees, Green Lawns, “Perfect” Apples, & the Reinvention of Farming
- Ep. 131: Food Sovereignty, Indigenous Rights, & the Film, Gather
- Ep. 82: Solutions to the Global Recycling & Trash Crisis
The main element in this podcast, and the one with Paul Forward, is what you highlight at the end, the thoughtfulness of what they are doing. My ex wife turned veg 15 years ago. She didn’t require me to do the same; however, I did take it upon myself to be conscientious of what I ate. The deal I made with myself was to take note of when I ate meat, and if I didn’t truly enjoy it, that maybe I shouldn’t kill an animal for a forgettable dinner. Slowly, I started jettisoning food item by item. I’m now down to less than 20 oz. of (any) animal product per week. I don’t count, but I have it down to the things I really like (butter, cheese, salami) that the calculation is pretty easy.
I highly, highly recommend anyone try this. Veg, Veeg or meat eater. Because in thinking about your food, you become aware of how your food effects your body. There is a difference between your perception of taste and the body’s perception of need. I can endlessly eat Brussels sprouts. Not because I love Brussels sprouts, but because I perceive my body likes/needs whatever is in them. I went through a Salmon phase. I gorged on salmon for two years. Now I hardly eat it. The current thing is chia seeds. They’re kind of weird, but I now have the awareness that my body craves whatever is in them. And yes, about every six months I crave a hamburger, and I indulge. In this way, I feel good about my choices. I spend time considering only eating what I need.
And to bring it back to the podcast, I respect their choices because they seem to have at least considered what they are doing. There’s a conversation there. I can’t get behind factory farming only because it promotes a thoughtlessness of action.