Hippies are Hunters, Too

by Jen Jackson

Blog Last Updated; 8/9/2010

Recently, my friend Laurel and I decided to enroll in Hunter Safety together. Both of us want to learn how to hunt as a part of our efforts to be more self-reliant when it comes to food. This is but one piece of a larger process that involves gardening, gathering, canning and jamming. There's a lot to learn, but it's exciting. This year, Tyler and I have pickles and preserves in the pantry, courtesy of our own attentive work. We have zucchini, cucumbers, carrots and tomatoes aplenty. Salsa and peach jam are next on our kitchen agenda.

The garden is such an accessible aspect of food production. Anyone with a small plot of ground ? or some planters ? can produce food. Hunting, however, is in an entirely different realm. It involves guns and the taking of life. It involves knowing your way around the anatomy of an animal, knowing what, where and how to cut. It's a deeply intimate experience, not for the faint of heart.

Thus, here we are in Hunter Safety, our first step on the path to becoming more responsible and conscientious meat-eaters. And it's a cultural experience, to say the least. I feel entirely out of my element. I didn't grow up with guns or hunting or the consumption of game. Only ten percent of the population hunts, and it's a ten percent I haven't spent much time with. Until now.

Laurel and I sit in the back of the classroom. Both of us are alumni of the local wilderness group. We're not your standard class participants. Much of the rest of the class consists of young boys, ages 7-17. There are a few young girls and a few women, too. Three high school boys sit in front of Laurel and me each session. Many jokes are made at the expense of "hippies." We quietly smile each time. I guess we're not your standard hippies, either.

We've taken to going out in the evenings, accompanied by sunset light and lightning, to shoot bottles and cans with Laurel's new .22. It's a helluva lot of fun, though I worry that I won't be able to pass Saturday's range test. How humiliating would it be to have a seven-year-old show me up with a gun? I shudder to think about it. Laurel's a good shot. I don't worry about her.

Hippies with guns? Who woulda thunk it?

It's funny, this perceived divide between hunters and hippies, as if we're two different species and ne'er the two shall mix. Sure, there are the different ends of the spectrum, with PETA members on one end and unapologetic poachers on the other, but there's a lot of common ground in between. Hunters are amazing stewards of the land. More money goes toward habitat restoration from hunters than from any other group. And many so-called hippies are concerned with where their food comes from, wanting to ensure it originated closer to home, wanting to take more control over its harvest?even if harvesting requires a gun.

And I think of the true costs ? both in carbon and capital ? of eating a strictly vegetarian diet. How far do our soy products travel? At best, the soy is grown in the Midwest, but these days, it's just as likely to come from overseas. The soybeans are shipped to the processing plant, the processed product is shipped to the food manufacturer, and the manufactured tofu or soymilk is shipped to the supermarket. How many miles did it travel to your plate? Do you know what it encountered ? pesticides, chemicals, other foods ? along the way? Is this the most environmentally friendly or conscious way to eat?

Meanwhile, an elk harvested in the La Sals 25 miles from my home is about as local as it gets. I know what it's eaten because I've hiked over that ground countless times. The meat will be processed here and made into meals with our own hands. In my mind, this seems like the more eco-friendly choice. Even if it does involve a gun.

For now, though, harvesting an elk is a long way off for me. I have yet to even get comfortable with the .22. But I'm making progress. Recyclables fear me. And soon, I may not be just a hippie. I might be an armed hippie. And, hopefully, a well-fed one.