March 15: "Kill an animal and eat it" Day

March 15 is, as it is every year, "Eat an animal for PETA day" or (a variant) "Kill and eat an animal day." (I prefer the second, for reasons I'll let Coturnix explain below).

On the reasons why PETA is worth protesting....

An interesting archive, now defunct in terms of new posts.

And, the classic "People Eating Tasty Animals."

This one is rather fun. And the subtlety and style of Yobbo is always worth savoring.

Thanks, as always, to my Triangle homey Coturnix, who though he is deeply confused about many things, is a shining light of reason on this question (and also on the problem of lateness).

From last year, about this time, my rumination:

At the Mungowitz house, we snack high on the food chain. I don't know if God gave man dominion over the beasts of the field, but She certainly gave me an ATM card and big-ass cart to drive along the Kroger meat aisle. That may be even better than dominion.

A lot of the beasts of the field, and the forest, and the oceans, and the air.... they all smack my plate, and they are soon sacrificed to my enjoyment. And nutrition. Meat is GOOD for you, and the reason it tastes good is that thousands and thousands of years of evolution have selected for taste buds that are pleasurably stimulated by the taste and texture of meat. No other way to get that many calories, AND that much iron and protein, so quickly. MMMMmmmm...burgers.

And, the view from Coturnix:

Nobody knows, understands, and loves nature, animals and ecosystems as well as hunters do. Carnivores require large territories. Urban growth has eliminated carnivores from many areas of the country. In a few places, it is possible to re-introduce them, as has been recently done with wolves. In most places, that is not possible. In the absence of predators, the herbivore populations have a huge growth in numbers and densities, stripping their habitats of food and ending up starving to death. In such case, it is our moral duty to step into the role of the top predator and carefully and selectively reduce the herbivore numbers. Hunters really know how to do it right, often better than ecologists do. It is a tough life. No lion sleeping with the lamb. In such a situation the herbivore has three choices: a) to die a slow painful death of starvation, disease and parasites; b) to die after a short and brutal chase by a pack of wolves that starts eating it before it is even dead, or c) to die instantly of a bullet. For a) death is inevitable. For b) there are some slim chances of escaping. For c) only very few animals are killed, thus chances for every animal to survive and reproduce are much greater. If you were a doe, and these were your choices, what would you choose? "Bambi" has ruined the reputation of hunters among city-dwellers who are alienated from nature - folks who tend to join PETA and ALF out of ignorance of how nature works and under the influence of 100 years of Disneyfication (that is actually a technical term for this) of nature.

I include this last because I was rather flip at the top of this post. I like animals; I am happy to work to prevent cruelty to animals, or prevent their suffering. One can oppose the terrorists at PETA, and still be a big fan of animals. Both of our dogs are "rescue" animals, from the shelter, rather than purebreds purchased from a puppy mill.

But on March 15, I am going to eat fresh game. And still-living plant flesh. Because I'm a plant-killer, too.