{"id":47412,"date":"2018-12-13T19:40:42","date_gmt":"2018-12-13T19:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=47412"},"modified":"2018-12-13T19:40:42","modified_gmt":"2018-12-13T19:40:42","slug":"inpoverty-why-no-one-is-talking-about-hunting-as-a-solution-to-poverty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2018\/12\/13\/inpoverty-why-no-one-is-talking-about-hunting-as-a-solution-to-poverty\/","title":{"rendered":"#InPoverty: Why no one is talking about hunting as a solution to poverty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Veganism is not the only option for those unhappy with factory-farming practices, and America may hold the answer<\/span><\/h2>\n
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\u201cI shoot pigeons,\u201d says Michael Felmingham, a school site manager.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFarmers\u2019 fields get decimated; we manage the problem.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen we eat one of the leanest, healthiest birds you can get.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He shoots as many as 200 in a day. \u201cThey don\u2019t all go to waste,\u201d Mick says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some go to restaurants in Europe. He and his dog eat some.<\/span><\/p>\n

Real food has become a luxury<\/p>\n

Organic produce can <\/span>cost <\/span><\/a>three times more than non-organic. Some families even struggle to afford the latter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wales has a particular <\/span>problem<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/i>\u201cFood deserts\u201d<\/span><\/a> are poorer areas where newsagents and takeaways dominate the market, making it difficult to find fresh produce. Cardiff\u2019s are some of the<\/span> worst<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

There have been deficiency-related infant <\/span>deaths<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Children are reminded to eat their five-a-day, but meat rarely enters the conversation. Yet non-organic meat, full of antibiotics and hormones, presents greater health problems than non-organic fruit and vegetables.<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, price hikes for organic meat are usually substantially greater than those for organic fruit and vegetables.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meat has been demonised since the growth of veganism.<\/span><\/p>\n

Touted as a healthy, ethical and environmentally sound alternative to the omnivore diet, veganism too can lead to <\/span>deadly deficiencies<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Health-wise, a herbivorous diet is difficult. To replace lost iron, zinc, calcium, omega-3 fatty acids, and B and D vitamins, vegans typically take <\/span>scientifically questionable<\/span><\/a> supplements.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is why the recently proposed <\/span>red meat tax<\/span><\/a> is concerning for poorer families.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are very naive. When I say I’m going pigeon shooting, I ask if people would like to try some. They say \u2018no.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The University of Oxford and the International Food Policy Research Institute conducted <\/span>widely discussed<\/span><\/a> research on the benefits of such a tax.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet eating meat is not a bad habit to be given up, like tobacco. For some – like anemics – it is nutritional gold.<\/span><\/p>\n

Real meat<\/strong><\/h5>\n

So if meat is both healthy and unhealthy, how to mitigate the unwanted side effects? <\/span><\/p>\n

Enter wild game meat.<\/span><\/p>\n

These animals are as free-range as it gets, wild from birth to death. When shot, properly hunted animals die more humanely than any factory-farmed animal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mick iterates, \u201cPeople are very naive. When I say I’m going pigeon shooting, I ask if people would like to try some. They say \u2018no.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Though Mick thinks people are put off by the association with street pigeons, they more likely take issue with hunting.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Fox hunting involves cruel pursuit and a grizzly death. The animal is not eaten.<\/span><\/p>\n

Deer die quickly, shot by an undetected hunter, and are eaten.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to <\/span>poll data<\/span><\/a>, 2% more Britons agree with the former.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now compare the 87% who disagree with hunting deer, to the <\/span>21%<\/span><\/a> who are reportedly vegetarian or vegan. It leaves 66% of the country who eat meat, yet disagree with hunting deer.<\/span><\/p>\n

General misinformation and cartoons like <\/span>Bambi<\/span><\/i> have created the idea that only certain animals are suitable for food. Cows, yes; horses, no. Pigs, why not? Rabbits, definitely not.<\/span><\/p>\n

This has created a society who eat caged animals before wild ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, because Britain has no large predators, deer overpopulate, cause 74,000 yearly road accidents, and starve. Even the British Deer Society agree with culling.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>350,000 deer<\/span><\/a> are culled each year,\u201d says <\/span>Countryfile<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

What happens to the meat?<\/p>\n

Estimates vary, but a lot either goes to waste, or is bought by foreign restaurants. Recent <\/span>talk <\/span><\/a>of a growing venison market refers mostly to farmed venison.<\/span><\/p>\n

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So why are we not all eating wild game?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Nature cannot provide enough wild game to match current meat consumption. The 350,000 deer culled do not match the two million cows slaughtered annually.<\/span><\/p>\n

But is there even a tenth as much venison in supermarkets as there is beef? Is partridge <\/span>ever <\/span><\/i>available outside of high-end restaurants and butchers?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey eat pigeon in France,\u201d says Mick. \u201c<\/span>They<\/span><\/i> realise that it\u2019s good to eat.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of the world has no problem with game. It is a British complex.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, it is a British middle- and working-class complex.<\/span><\/p>\n

The law<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Consider the image of a British hunter versus an American hunter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Only one wears tweed and rides a horse. This is because of British law.<\/span><\/p>\n

The most difficult part of shooting in Britain, says Mick, is finding somewhere to shoot.<\/span><\/p>\n

By law, hunting must take place on private land, with the permission of the landowner.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, shooting squirrels in your back garden will earn you a visit from the local bobby and odd looks from the neighbours.<\/span><\/p>\n

So you or a friend must own a vast portion of land. The only alternative: guided hunts. These start at around \u00a3200 per day and quickly go into the thousands.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Could everyone hunt?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Mick cannot see a world in which everyone could hunt. A law change is unlikely, and without that what options do people have?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow can they?\u201d he asks. \u201cYou can’t just go on farmers’ land.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He admits, \u201cIt\u2019s a difficult situation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

If the law were to change, there would be stumbling blocks like gun control and wildlife populations.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, real food should not be a rich man\u2019s luxury.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thomas of BGA describes the <\/span>Country Food Trust<\/span><\/a>. \u201cShoots donate their game to food banks,\u201d he explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

They aim to feed 75,000 people this winter, and have various <\/span>donation <\/span><\/a>options. One of their partners is the Salvation Army Cardiff.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Country Food Trust may not empower poorer people to hunt their own food, but it is a start. It gives hunters a way to put their hobby to charitable use.<\/span><\/p>\n