Food is Love – Why I hunt for wild game

I don’t live in the wild.  I live a very populated city, and there are a lot of brake lights in the mornings and evenings and the middle of the day and even at random times to prove it.

Some of it naturally, feels unnatural – to be crammed in a City.  Not the wild, not the wild, not the wild, we talkin’ about a city!

When I could be somewhere on the hills of British Columbia. (as opposed to where I grew up in the hills of Laguna [not the beach – I lived in a modest house]), and now the business and busyness of Los Angeles has become somewhat of every day living for me.  For now, though, I think it’s an excellent home base.  I can hop around the bums and skip to our dilapidated airport (LAX) but then be outta there!  But I will tell you, when I first moved here, I thought the traffic was completely unbearable and ridiculous… I was right.  So why a City?

Listen, the glass is half full all the time unless it’s a good wine then the question is invited, the 14 oz glass holds 14 ounces – so why is the wine glass only filled to 5oz, dude?  But seriously, we have good food from Mexican to Korean to Japanese.  We have Chinese food and Italian.  And if public transportation ever took off – I mean really took off like conveyor belts I could ride from Santa Monica to Staples center, or hover-boards actually came about and could deliver me to Beverly Soon Tofu (it’s cold in LA today – (for LA – 50F?) I would agree with Tupac on that song.  That I would live and Die in LA.  Just hopefully not to some crazy cops.  I already got California Love.  (Why hasn’t he come out with another album?) 

But every so often (at least weekly) I take a respite from work and get out.  And though I don’t think I could ever live in a remote suburb for years on end, or at the very least, would want to split time between busy city life with hustle and bustle (aka good available food at all times of day from fresh bagels to late night dining), it’s necessary to get out.  I hunt for wild game, though, not because it’s that wild.  I hunt because that’s who I am and what I do, and what I represent.  Number one, I love the wild and solitude and time to myself, I love food, and believe food, especially meat, should not be taken for granted.  I want the best quality product and will work for it and if I don’t get it… well then I’ll wait and next time will be better.  And if not the next time, maybe the time after that.  So when there is game caught, then it’s always a reason for celebration.  

So what’s the big deal – Why do I hunt for game: 

I once hunted a wild Mallard duck, then bought a Liberty duck the next day (the best available in the US – used by French Laundry, Daniel…).  The Wild duck eclipsed the Liberty Duck in flavor.  To me, the amazing flavor of wild meat is undeniable and 111% worth the wait.

The time spent hunting, roaming, & discovering things on Earth is irreplaceable.

The bond and link to where we live, who we are – through what we eat – is unbreakable.

Farmed animals raised in crammed crates their whole lives without seeing the sun on their backs?  is Unbearable.

Coming home empty-handed many times after hunting makes me proud of my food and especially thankful for when its attained.  It’s not killing, it’s hunting.  And because it’s difficult, we vow to MINIMIZE waste.

I’ll say it again – If farming is the base level of where our food comes from, supporting Organic farming a *slight* notch above traditional farming, then hunting and doing things ourselves is the True Organic way.  The Pursuit of Food and the True Organic Movement is about nourishment for our bodies and food for the soul.  You are what you eat.  Food is love.

-E