“Emotionally assaulted.”

HAHAHAHA. I’m sorry. I really am. But my God. You guys are funny.

To you, Linda, I simply say: awesome.

I live for these days in your comment section.

Thank you for new terminologies to use in daily life.

Next time I see Lady Gaga’s vagina flaps on TV, I can say I was “emotionally assaulted” by those images.

(P.S. So jealous of the elk.)

Oh wow. I actually clicked through my Google Reader to read the comments (which I never do) because OH BOY I figured this would be interesting.

I am from south Texas, and at first glance this post looks nothing more than my Facebook feed, thanks to friends of mine who never left home after college. Still, after living in Portland and Toronto – I realize that this is a shock to some people, which is sad.

Aside from watching my grandfather butcher the meat that fed my family, I also watched him care for and feed his cattle, track hurt animals, chart signs of disease in deer that came on his property year after year. The winter that I was eight, I watched him nurse a sick calf all afternoon the day after Christmas.

While I realize that the norm in our society, is to purchase your foods in neatly-packaged containers (as well as your vegetables) this is still a way of life for many people.

Take some of that elk, defrost it, and dig out the fondue set from 1972, pour oil in it, heat it up, then fry the meat until it’s done and you’re happy.

Obviously many of your readers do not have the same pool of family on facebook as I do, because nearly everyday that I log on over there, I am “emotionally assaulted” with various members of my family proudly posing with whatever dead animal they killed that day. Ah, with facebook, killing season took on a whole new dimension!

Honestly, I don’t have a problem with “killing season” as we like to joke around here. Neither my husband nor I hunt, but you are absolutely right that it’s the most humane and sustainable and healthy way to eat meat. I was a vegetarian for about 10 years simply because I felt like a hypocrite for not being able to stomach the realities of how that chicken gets on my plate. I eat meat now, and I accept (but don’t love) where our “factory meat” comes from. But this? Honestly doesn’t bother me at all.

Good for you for posting this.

Oh, and the fact that someone called you Sarah Palin made my WEEK. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, *WHEEZE* *HORK* *CHOKE* ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

This post really makes me want to learn how to hunt so that we can stop relying on store-bought meat. But we live in Hawaii right now, and there’s not an overabundance of hunting. But I am going to research grass-fed meat. Thanks for posting – it’s giving me the push to do something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

Marie: The Sarah Palin comment is KILLING me as well! I’ve come back three times just to read it and snicker mightily!

Sarah Palin! Only if that elk is used for chili!

The funniest thing to me in all this is that it’s following so closely on the heels of a scrapbooking post.

Linda, I’ve always liked your webpage, but now I know you really kick ass. I’ve been reading for a while now so I knew JB is a hunter, but this is awesome. Great post. Good for you.

All the veggies on here who are screaming bloody murder about this– um, well, I guess bloody murder is what it is, really– need to reassess what they accept as “truth”. You’re not saving anyone by eating spirulina. I think this is a good adjunct to what you have written, too:

http://voraciouseats.com/2010/11/19/a-vegan-no-more/

Furthermore, if a vegetarian’s reasons for eating twigs and berries all day are because they oppose factory farming, well, how about commending the omnivores who are against it, too and choose to sustainably harvest their own meat? Not everyone needs to be or wants to be vegetarian.

Besides, elk is delicious.

Makes me want to learn how to hunt my own food! That’s the ultimate in clean eating!

i, too, am enjoying the cranky comments. hee!

my dad and brother were out deer hunting this past weekend in wisconsin, but got nothing–in fact, of the 11 guys, only one got a deer.

there are many things to take into account about hunting–overpopulation issues b/c humans have moved into former animal habitat is just one of them. i had not thought about evolution-opposite happening as hunters pick out the healthiest specimens, but that’s another one. all that aside, though, i will join the chorus who feel it’s important for people to see where meat comes from. i was sad, looking at that elk, and thinking about its life. but you know what? i should have to face that, as a meat-eater. thank you, animals.

Whether a person chooses to eat meat or not, hunting should be supported. What would happen if there wasn’t a controlled hunt by licensed and experienced hunters? Of course the elk would flourish and find that their current residence does not offer enough to sustain them. So, they migrate to where they can find food. To towns and then of course, cities. Following close behind of course are their predators. I believe wolves and bears fancy elk. Will those of you who are so against the hunt welcome these animals into your backyard or will you call someone to take care of the problem for you?
Hunters will hunt. Their families will enjoy the meat as a result. We should accept it.
The only thing about this post that should be up for discussion is who can stomach the pictures for breakfast.

Katherine – just a small point — I think it is actually illegal to sell the meat you hunt yourself. A good friend of mine will only eat meat she herself has killed and cured, or that comes from other hunters she knows, and there are very strict guidelines as to how she can obtain meat from them (meaning: she can’t outright exchange the meat for money). (This is in Montana, anyway). (Only slightly related side note: This friend i referenced? Last went hunting while breastfeeding, and had to make time on the trip to pump. For some reason I LOVE the image of her packing list being all “boots, gloves, ammunition, breast pump…”)

As for me? I can’t wait to have a garage big enough for an extra freezer so I can stock it with foods like this. Something tells me I’d be more emotionally assaulted by the process it takes to get meat to my grocery store than the process it takes to cure your own food.

pretty studly, I have to say.
and I don’t eat meat either. Yeah, the pictures are gross, but what can you do? (I’ve seen stuff on commercials for CSI on Sunday night football that’s worse, actually…)

the whole process is sorta gross. it’s what happens if you want to eat meat. and if you don’t eat meat, then you don’t have to do it. simple.

I used to think hunting was a horrible practice. But in recent years, I have come to believe that hunting is more humane and responsible than buying meat at the grocery store — ANY grocery store, including Whole Foods. At least when you hunt the animal has lived a natural, free life up to that point. I find the photos unsettling, but I think that just makes my a hypocrite — I eat meat, but would rather someone else deal with the unpleasantries of producing it? How is that fair? (I guess in my own defense, I’ll point out that I do try to buy as much as possible from a nearby farm that pastures its animals, even though it kills my husband to fork over that much cash.) A hunter who has tracked, killed, and butchered an animal with his/her own hands certainly has an understanding of what it means to eat meat. I guess the vegetarians can ride by on their high horses, but all of us who eat meat through the traditional food system are contributing to scenes far, far worse than the photos you posted.

Can I be on your team when the apocalypse arrives?

I don’t have anything important to add. Just want to say that this comment section has made my Monday morning WAY more interesting that it otherwise would have been… Sarah Palin, vagina flaps, emotional assault, anxiety attacks. Love it. Keep it coming people.

You are so awesome.

That is all.

I read your blog obsessively, but I don’t think I’ve ever commented. However, as a hunter, I just had to say kudos to this post. Great elk, JB!

I have to giggle a little at those filled with such righteous indignation at JB’s taking of this elk. Do they really think that their mono-cultured soy, destroying an entire ecosystem, leaves them standing on the moral high ground? And I feel I must point out that living in MT, almost everyone I know hunts and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t hunt for meat. Some who are looking for trophies, yes, but none who don’t eat what they shoot!

Fist bumps and high fives and all those other things. I wish I had your balls, lady.

Also, thanks commenters for providing me with my mornings entertainment. “Sarah Palin”? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Bad move for someone depending on CTR to feed their family.

I am so conflicted about these issues that I mostly live in denial. Thanks for posting this and challenging me out of my denial.

Tastes good….doesn’t look so good. I’m just a big wuss and know I could never be a hunter. Well, you know, unless I was transported back to a time before Raleys! But good for JB!! As long as you just get to eat it and don’t have to have the head stuffed and put over your fireplace :)

This post kicks ass. KICKS ASS. My two BILs are hunters and are extremely respectful of the animals they kill and they don’t just do it to be cruel. One of them has a Forestry degree and has seen first hand what happens when an animal population runs out of control, because he had to help put down the diseased and starving deer that were running wild on this particular land. I used to get squicky about hunting but when I spent some time around my BILs and hear how they do things, I started to respect the process. I also know that there are some food banks here in GA that accept game from hunters.

I am a total wuss and know that I couldn’t kill a cow or a pig so I don’t eat the meat from those animals. I could kill the hell out of a chicken, turkey or fish so those are the animals that I eat. I am all for respect of other’s beliefs but to some of the commenters who were having anxiety attacks, heart palpitations and vaginal flutters (or whatever the fuck), REALLY? I hope you feel those same emotions when it comes to human beings.

Rock on Linda and JB.

Ahahaha Sarah Palin! Can you see Alaska from your house on a clear day?

This post is bad as and so right on–and so are you.

(bad ass)

Please provide a warning telling us when commenters compare you to Sarah Palin because I need to change my pants now.

Awesome. All of it.

Wait, you’re in Seattle right? Can you see Alaska from your house?

Love the post! I enjoy hunting with my boyfriend. I skip the processing part but am the first in line to enjoy the meat at dinner.

Don’t forget, the one post I remember talking about an anxiety attack did say it was from issues from her past and went on to say that the issues Linda brought up were more important than what was going on with her. I can understand a thing like that. But being emotionally disturbed? Come on. I see worse on the television. I am also far more disturbed by the evening news telling me what horrible thing one human has thought of to do to another.

Good on you, Linda! If Eugene won’t have you (hahahaha), then Brookings gladly will!

LOVE IT – laughed out loud at the complainers!! Being born and raised in NE Oregon and having a dad that hunts it brings back some great memories!

I never visited your blog until someone linked me this particular post because of some of the comments. I’m a fan :D and not at all squeamish about the photos.

Get a grip, people. Apparently, you weren’t reading the post before it got to the ‘gory’ photos, or you just thought it was natural for a guy to be standing next to an elk holding its horns.

My parents hunt deer, which I do not enjoy eating, but I do love the idea of knowing where your food comes from. If anything I think this is such a great lesson for your boys about our food chain. I was surprised that you posted the pics, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen a million times before. Good on you, Linda!

I have been laughing and laughing most of the morning about this. I love.love.love the ‘goodbye cruel blogger’ replies. Hey people, big ol’ ‘X’ on the top right corner? Yeah, you can use that. *snort*
Then again I wouldn’t have found you had you not posted this highly ‘controversial’ (*snort*) post. I’ll happily subscribe as a fellow hunting widow/wife!
We could always post the veggies/soy/nut factory stories where they wash produce in ammonia or chlorine or use ethylene gas to ripen fruit, or the horrid chemicals used to clean such factories which end up delivering the naysayers their morally superior diet. No? Let the masses emain in denial? Aww.
;) Write on dood, write on.

1. Ewww. Just. Disgusting.
2. Mmmmm. Meat.
It’s a crazy, gray-area word we live in, eh?
Love, love your blog.

I love how that one commenter says “don’t make me look at pictures of it…” like the gun is pointed at her head instead of the elk.

You are totally awesome. I’m not a hunter, but I am a meat-eater and while I like to protect my delicate sensibilities by not looking at or thinking about where my meat comes from, as someone noted above, I simply exercised my fingers and scrolled through the pictures. I only had to come read the comments because I was betting they were fun. And they didn’t disappoint, you Sarah Palin you!

Thanks, Monique. I thought I’d made it clear in my comment that after my initial reaction I praised Sundry for her post. I didn’t demand a warning, didn’t flounce from reading her blog, didn’t throw any kind of hissyfit. I admitted to a very strong initial reaction, which yes was an anxiety attack, based on past trauma that had to do with blood and skin, not eating meat or hunting. I can’t say I understand why I’m getting mocked so much here and on twitter. I guess it’s just easier to make fun of mental illness than understand it.

My husband took up hunting this year and did to a couple deer what JB did to that elk, but in our garage so our girls got to see it happen. Truth be told, I found it hard to watch and have been a borderline vegetarian for years, but I was so glad to have our kids (aged 4 and 2) see that THAT’S what it takes to get a steak on the table. We are so separated from our food on most occasions and this is an excellent reminder.
My husband doesn’t really enjoy the gory aspect of hunting but is of the thought that if he wants to eat meat he should be able to deal with it and do the deed himself.

Ooh…very nice elk. I haven’t been hunting since high school, but seeing these pics makes me think I should get a deer permit next year. If only we had a freezer big enough to hold it all! Does anyone know if food banks can take hunting donations?

I love it when people comment to let you know that YOUR blog content doesn’t meet THEIR approval, and they are leaving and never coming back!!! So much drama…just leave if you don’t like it.

I am going to giggle over the Sarah Palin comment, and the “stay out of Eugene” comment for hours, if not days.

Or you could just eat vegetarian, let the Elk enjoy his time here and spare your body the tasking process of digesting unhealthy flesh.

In the words of Ron White:

I didn’t climb to the top of the fuckin food chain to eat carrots….

Linda, sorry to have a conversation with a whole other person in your comments, but Sara, I think unfortunately you got lumped in with some people who were being a bit unreasonable (my personal opinion, anyway). I actually had to scroll back up through the comments to be sure that what I thought I remembered from your comment is actually what you said (it was, more or less), so it’s easy to remember the anxiety part and maybe not the rest.

Controversy. It’s what’s for dinner.

All that’s missing is JB recreating this scene from Indiana Jones. Kali Ma!

http://www.greatestmoviedeaths.com/2007/12/temple-of-doom-movie-scene-that-created.html

Good on you for posting this. DIY food gathering at its core.

I grew up on a small family farm where we raised beef cattle, chickens & farmed cereal grains. My dad didn’t hunt much but we had lots of hunter friends. But we did butcher our own beef once (or twice possibly) a year and the whole family would be present and “helping” for that. Your pictures remind me of that time.

It always cracked my dad up to hear about “organic” cattle. Our herd grazed prairie grasses in summer and were bale/grain fed in winter. They were as organic as they come without any fancy label.

Delurking to say I’m jealous! I just told my husband this weekend that he needs to start hunting again because I want some venison. I am all in favor of hunting if you eat what you kill. Heh. Just accidentally typed “eat what you kiss”. Sorta black widow spiderish.

Okay – I couldn’t look at all the photos because I’m a wuss but I found the whole post interesting. I think it’s cool that JB doesn’t just hunt for sport and he can feed the family. Seems like there is great appreciation and care taken…not just let’s go kill some animals! To your naysayers – why does Linda need to understand and write for an audience? This is her blog. I’m glad she thinks and writes outside the box. I’m sure she’s not sorry to see you go.

When I saw part of the 2nd photo I knew what was coming and skipped along to the end real quick like. But I have been back three times to read the comments.

Linda- you rock! Cute kids, job angst, scrapbooking, cussing, the Wedge, awesome wordsmith, marathons, bloody elk carcass – what a well rounded life! And a blog I visit daily!

I just wanted to give you a hug and tell you to ignore the bad comments. Be who you are!

My dad was a butcher when I was little girl and all the meat I ate until about age 15 came from animals my dad killed and butchered.

I’ve seen the entire process done many times, even when I was a little girl with blond girls.

Never once do I think back on that time on the farm as being emotionally assaulted, I did learn to not name the cows, though, but otherwise turned out to be a pretty stable person. I think and I still love meat.

Hmmmmm meat.

In other words, excellent post. Rock on. Teach the little ones young to respect the animals.