Would You Kill Your Own Dinner?

(Dan Lurie/Gothamist)

Knowing that your food came at the expense of another animal's life is the eternal plight of the omnivore. And though it's impractical to hunt for your own meals in the city, New Yorkers must come to terms with the deed often done for them like anyone else. But given the option, could you kill your own meal? Some New York Yelpers have and lived to tell the tale.

Carnivores and vegetarians alike are discussing the topic on the review website, and it seems like many carnivores aren't afraid to get their hands dirty. Most admit to going fishing and killing lobster and shellfish, while a few have hunted Pheasant and one even helped out in a pig slaughter. Many also seem to accept what they did, but one commenter had a pretty traumatizing experience:

Deer, but it was a terribly traumatic experience that turned me vegetarian for 2 years. My vet uncle took me on my first hunting trip, but he wouldn't let me eat until I killed something myself. After day 3 I finally took the shot, but then he wouldn't let me eat the deer unless I field dressed it myself. Wtf! When I did, he wouldn't let me eat it until I chewed on a raw piece first. Double wtf! He said it was to teach a very important lesson, which is "it's not a sport if they don't know they're in a game. Enjoy your meal and don't waste food, and tell your mother to stop raising spoiled brats." Waaah

Meanwhile, some folks just don't have the guts. Another commenter said, "I violently yanked a potato out of the ground, poked out its eyes, and devoured it alive." But carrot juice is murder!

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By Jaya Saxena in Food on February 19, 2011 12:25 PM

Comments [rss]

KISSTHIS

I love to be eaten but would rater be the one that takes the bite ,

Catherine Lohmeier

Sounds like a badass uncle.

"Vegetarian?" Eating disorders are for girls, son.

Eric MH

If I knew how I'd absolutely catch, kill and prep my own meat. I'd want to be taught old school Native American ways, use every part of the animal.

josephb76

It's an interesting question that i asked myself years ago. I was raised as a meat eater. Yet, in recent years, I've reduced my meat consumption significantly. This basically has been caused by revelation about slaughtergoyse abuses and the suffering by animals at the hands of senseless slaughterhouse personnel. And so, that has eliminated my yearning for meat considerably. and although it sounds strange, i often pause before a steak meal and memorialize the animal that sacrificed it's life for my "sirloin slider"'.
Howeber, i must als say that beng out in the woods, hungry, with rifle in hand changes my perspective. I am not a hunter, nor have I hunted in years. But when i did, I actually felt the primal sensitivities for food take hold and the deer in the area were nit Bambi and such. But a source of food and sustinance. Very revealing indeed and an epiphany of sorts.
So, i guess that my conclusive answer to the original question is... I can kill my dinner in the wild. But i hesitate eating any meat that has been slaughtered at the hands of strangers.

josephb76

It's an interesting question that i asked myself years ago. I was raised as a meat eater. Yet, in recent years, I've reduced my meat consumption significantly. This basically has been caused by revelation about slaughtergoyse abuses and the suffering by animals at the hands of senseless slaughterhouse personnel. And so, that has eliminated my yearning for meat considerably. and although it sounds strange, i often pause before a steak meal and memorialize the animal that sacrificed it's life for my "sirloin slider"'.
Howeber, i must als say that beng out in the woods, hungry, with rifle in hand changes my perspective. I am not a hunter, nor have I hunted in years. But when i did, I actually felt the primal sensitivities for food take hold and the deer in the area were nit Bambi and such. But a source of food and sustinance. Very revealing indeed and an epiphany of sorts.
So, i guess that my conclusive answer to the original question is... I can kill my dinner in the wild. But i hesitate eating any meat that has been slaughtered at the hands of strangers.

random transplant

You know Jaya, the New Yorker credited this writer when they quoted her.

Yelp Talk is not news.

News about Yelp usually includes class action suits.

jacqueline66

Saddest picture ever. ;-(

m015094

Yes, I have killed my own food and it tasted WONDERFUL.

ANGRYGOD11

I'm always in the mood for Osama bin Laden stew.

Jesse James Payette-Steinberg

Teach me.

Guest

i've boiled quite a few lobsters before -- does that count?

Mordicai

Would & have. I guess a proficiency with guns is something us "go back to Ohio" people have on our side, huh?

TheRealCannibal

Food always tastes better following murder.

ennuipoet

Kill it, cook it, eat it. I can do that. I also accept that if I am trotting across the Savannah one day and a Cheetah bolts out of the brush and eats me for dinner, that to is all right. Of course, I've no intention of trotting across the Savannah any time in the future...