Fish

GreenGardener

uncannycanuck

I like hunted meat and home-caught fish for the reasons you stated.

As long as it's a 4-stroke engine (I imagine by now, most boats are?), you're not doing much damage, and you know where your food came from.

GreenGardener

uncannycanuck

No, I'm not a hunter. I've been around on chicken butchering day, and that was enough gore for me.

My brother and uncle hunt, and my dad owns a lot of land, so people that hunt there give him meat. I get my deer/elk/moose/antelope from them. I figure it doesn't get more free-range than that!

gldngrl

My husband and I fish and hunt.  We butcher our own deer too (haven't gotten anything else yet.  That way we know exactly what we are eating and it's not being shipped across the country or world to get to us.  We mostly catch and eat trout in Colorado.  When we visited Northern California we were able to catch and bring some great fish home with us.  I wish we lived somewhere with better fishing!

suzymarie

Our family totally never hunted- we are copmplete city people.  But my BIL's family lived more rurally and hunted, and my sis has gotten into it not from the perspective of "its fun to shoot an animal" but from the local/sustainable/free-range perspective.  They mostly do ducks and deer.  BIL's dad butchers all the meat, and they basically don't buy any meat. 

I grew up fishing but I am a veggie now.  I could never kill a fish even. let alone a mammal, which contributed to why I became a veggie.  I do question the benefits of fishing in stocked streams.  Most of the trout streams in Iowa (where I fished as a kid with my g'pa) are stocked.

GreenGardener

treesapplaud

I think if you can go out and get your own fish or wild meat, do so. (Obviously not if the place is overfished or if any animals are near being endangered.)

I love elk and reindeer meat. It is a special treat for when we have meat night once a month or so. But I don't have any desire to hunt myself. Fishing could be cool.

I doubt a small amount of gas used to fish would be worse than the whole food chain of fish meal and cold transport. However I'd look into environemntally friendlier paint for the boat and what not. 

suzymarie

GreenGardener:

suzymarie:

 I do question the benefits of fishing in stocked streams.  Most of the trout streams in Iowa (where I fished as a kid with my g'pa) are stocked.

I question that too.  My dad is an avid trout fisherman, and he fishes the stocked streams.  There's a noticeable difference in the flavor from the beginning of the season until the end, when they've eaten from the stream for several months.

And the stuff they feed the fish while they are in the DNR growth tanks is NASTY (at least by apprearance/smell).  It is these gross brown pellets.  I can't imagine eating a recently released stock fish is all that healthy. 

MessyM

I think that you are doing a great job in shortening the distance that your food gets to your belly (carbon foot) most ppl have to use a little gas to get there. I have been a vegetarian on and off for years. By off I mean I went vegan and will probably not go back! (cheese is my downfall!) But I grew up learning to hunt all sorts of wildlife and i love to fish! If I might say I used to be a natural at archery though for some reason I couldn't kill a deer!

I believe 100% as a vegetarian and animal rights activist that hunting CAN be good for the environment. We have to regulate breeding unfortunately in order to contain control over our crops and water. Too many animals and not enough food for them in the wild would mean an over run of our crops and too much disease! Please if you feel guilty read this book:The Politically Incorrect Guide to Hunting by Frank Miniter. Its cute and about why hunting can be good for the environment!

Alot of farmed fish are suffering in small tanks or trapped in small areas in the oceans, without room to grow and swim. They lack the muscles they should be building to be healthy and also the nutrition they need. I hate the fishing industry so much lately!! Go to Science Journal or Health Castle and look up wild vs farm salmon when you feel bad for fishing naturally and in a lake/stream. I think it is perfectly natural especially if you are conscious of what you take and leave behind. I wish more hunters and fishers were like you!