Forest to Fork Movement.......

PineSapJunky

Well-Known Member
In all of my readings lately I have stumbled across numerous articles about "Forest to Fork....the original free range organic meat". It seems, to help curb the decline in hunters a few folks have gotten together and pitching this idea to the younger "watch what I eat crowd". I guess I don't understand it or it could just be my neck of the woods. But hunting around here is by no means going away. There's more hunters now then there were 10 years ago. It seems that everyone is wanting to hunt but not manage. It has actually cost me hunting opportunities with land I use to have permission to hunt going to closer friends or family of the owner (which I'm good with). But one thing stood out in all of these articles (besides the one lady who only use to eat road-kill meat) they are wanting to continue the legacy of hunting, but I didn't read anywhere about conservation. It mainly promotes meat-eaters. With today's ever increasing narcissistic society I see warning flags. The "meat-eaters" are already ruining the sport for me in my area. Quality deer are getting harder to come by no matter the amount of time, money and effort I put into my place. I beat my head on the wall when I read threads from everyone with 40-120 acres growing these great deer with crazy deer numbers. You would think with 1200 acres I'd have a leg up. But it goes to show you not all land is created equal.

Back to my original post. What are your thoughts on promoting the "farm to fork" aspect of the sport to increase deer hunter numbers?
 
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My quick take without getting to deep into it goes a little like this. Although it may be true that some of the newer generation of Hunter may be hunting for the sake of eating meat and not conservation. But the permits, gun/ammo sales, culling of a heard, all leads to overall good conservation with revenue for states and the pittman robertson act. So even without them individually performing land maintenance or understanding social Dynamics of a heard, the continued support of Hunter's still leads to overall conservation efforts.

The idea of hunting may not be the same, but with Hunter's already in the major minority nation wide I think we need as many people on "our" side politically and make enough of an impact economically to still be able to fight for rights and land.

My hope would be that no matter what a person's want or need to hunt is, that as people mature and grow in the sport that they will eventually grow into learning good conservation techniques. So whether it's "farm-to-fork" or just want to be outside in the words, I personally don't care what a new Hunter's motivation is as long as they are representing Hunter's in a good light and being respectful to the land and the wildlife.
 
A couple thoughts on this Pinesap, first in my area the idea of hunting as a dying pastime is a joke. It’s the exact opposite, and although part of me is glad to see the sport strong, i miss the solitude and easier access of the old days. As for the forest to fork bit, I see this some, a good example is Joe Rogan. His podcast has a huge audience (probably majority non-hunting)and he’s always talking about how he only eats wild game meat now. I could see for some nitwits wild game becoming a status symbol....the ultra free range, organic meat but in my part of the world those kinda folks are rare, we’re more Dollar General than Whole Foods. But in other areas I could see it leading to new meat hunters whose goal is purely meat on the table, that said a lot of old boys around me have the exact same motivation. I think new hunters are easier to educate on the benefits of mgmt practices. Tell a guy that’s been shooting 2.5 y/o bucks for 20 years that there’s a better way and see how far you get. . On the positive side though, the “forest to fork” or focus on making wild game great eating is a good thing in my book. There were times I ate stuff I killed as an obligation, not because it was delicious. Stuff like Hank Shaw and Steve Rinella’s shows/cookbook have really upped my game and I’m thankful for that. I think you mentioned in a post one time you were/are a chef? If so I bet you’ll like Hank Shaw’s stuff: https://honest-food.net


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Hoosier,

Thank you for bringing some great points to light. I have had better luck educating the new hunters in my area about managing the deer herd compared to the life long hunters. Some of them are more selective on their harvests and follow my advice about doe numbers and buck ages. Some even feed during the off season. As a whole I still don't know what the right answer is. As for the money collected going to land procurement and improvements I don't really see the fruits of said "planted dollars". Our department of wildlife is a joke.

I have been a chef for the better part of 20 years. I read cook books every now and then. Mostly to see what hair brain ideas these chefs are pushing these days. I've always been true to my root when it comes to my style of cooking. Some chefs like to get wild and crazy and see how many different components they can fit on a plate. I honor my upbringing and our southern culture in all of the food I do (does not mean I'm one dimensional). There's a misconception when people think of Southern Food. If I were to ask you describe Southern Food in one word starting with the letter "F" what would it be. When I do seminars and lectures I always ask that same question. 9 out of 10 times the answer I get is "Fried". Southern food to me is Family, Friends, Faith, Flavorful, Fresh. But that's a different subject on it own..
 
Hoosier,


I have been a chef for the better part of 20 years. I read cook books every now and then. Mostly to see what hair brain ideas these chefs are pushing these days. I've always been true to my root when it comes to my style of cooking. Some chefs like to get wild and crazy and see how many different components they can fit on a plate. I honor my upbringing and our southern culture in all of the food I do (does not mean I'm one dimensional). There's a misconception when people think of Southern Food. If I were to ask you describe Southern Food in one word starting with the letter "F" what would it be. When I do seminars and lectures I always ask that same question. 9 out of 10 times the answer I get is "Fried". Southern food to me is Family, Friends, Faith, Flavorful, Fresh. But that's a different subject on it own..
Thats ok Pine, we can keep our secrets, the world would never understand.:)
 
Hunting is becoming a rich mans sport in a society where we are loosing the middle class.... What once was a way of life and even survival is now a sport and even "trendy"....because we have shifted from a rural conservative society to an urban liberalized one.
That statement is so true. I am fortunate enough to be able to own a large chunk of the land I hunt. The other part like so many others is leased. I am fortunate enough that the owner of the property is old school and richer than Davy Crockett. To him it's not about the money but how I take care of his place and our relationship. Every year he has someone approach him offering more money to lease the place. He just laughs and moves on. Then when they press the issue he gets hot. Explains to them that he doesn't want some idiot on his place. And anyone who can't take no for an answer is an idiot. We had a parcel of section 16 land that came up for bid this year down the road. Historically it has gone for $5 an acre. The same guy has had it for 25 years. This year someone from out of state came in with a $20 an acre bid. I helped him scramble and find a couple people willing to help him with the cost. But non the less it's more pressure on his place and more deer being harvested.
 
I typically appreciate anyone getting on our side of the equation, as I feel it’s better to have friends than enemies. But I have a definite distain for the urban yuppie hipster organic lifestyle. They seem to be drawn to the western hunting lifestyle more than whitetail though it seems.
I too, wonder about license sales, and all the states are saying there is a down trend but man it sure seems like their are more hunters every year.
I’m not a social media guy, but is it less people hunting, buying licenses, and just being more public about it?
I know a lot of the kids I grew up hunting with, and very few of them still hunt, for various reasons.
 
I feel that it only seems like we are not losing hunters. In Wisconsin since the year 2000 we have lost roughly 120,000 gun deer hunters or 18% of the hunters. I have a feeling if you look at all states numbers they will be very similar. If this is something that can help get new hunters into the sport it is great. I have always felt that the point of hunting was for enjoyment and to have fun. If they have fun shooting a small buck and enjoy eating the meat, they may become life long hunters. If this allows non-hunters to view hunting in a better light that is even better. As less and less of the population hunts its only going to get harder and harder to keep the tradition alive. If you look into traditional hunting camps that have been going since the 1940's you will be hard pressed to find many members under the age of 30. There are exceptions but very few younger people are going into hunting.
 
Two things...

A - We all know the cost of venison will never pan out vs chicken, pork, or even beef on a pound for pound cost basis. When someone assigns a quality multiplier to it, the math gets a little better, but it's still a stretch if it's only about food.

2 - I think the feeling that hunter numbers are not decreasing is actually a consolidation happening due to herds and habitat declining faster. I believe there are fewer of us, but those that remain are on the move as herds get shot out or habitat just gets bulldozed away. It's now a rich man's sport because it takes a rich man's resources to protect it from the lack of support from the public to keep it going.
 
2 - I think the feeling that hunter numbers are not decreasing is actually a consolidation happening due to herds and habitat declining faster. I believe there are fewer of us, but those that remain are on the move as herds get shot out or habitat just gets bulldozed away. It's now a rich man's sport because it takes a rich man's resources to protect it from the lack of support from the public to keep it going.
I think this is spot on. The license sales all across the country have been on the decline for years but hunters seem to be congregated closer together due to a decrease in "hunt-able" property. I know in our area where there used to be 1000+ acre farms there are now subdivisions and no hunting for square miles. I bet if there are any studies out there comparing hunt-able land of today with hunt-able land from decades ago, you would see a percentage decrease in the double digits. Available land is just decreasing faster than hunter numbers. Just my .02
 
My observation is there are more hunters where I am than at any point I can remember. Since they are hunting with the outfitters that have leased up seemingly every piece of land, they are only here for a week at a time. Our hunting has suffered for it immensely. The number of hunters per square mile around me is insane. The outfitters near us have no restrictions so on the last day of everyone's hunt, if it's brown, it's down... The quality of bucks around us has really been on the decline. Unfortunately for me, I don't make enough money to do anything about it. The State of Kansas is definitely in it for the money and not the benefit of the wildlife.......
 
The issue is pretty easy to see. The hunters we do have (declining in number or not) are fighting for a shrinking resource. There are various reason for this....but as urban sprawl continues and we continue to see the loss of habitat in general AND a reduction in habitat quality those of us still out in the trees are going to find fewer and fewer acres to hunt as a general rule. Toss in things like governments wanting to sell off public lands and the like and things get even worse. Maybe my view is a little different because my state is 95% private land.
 
With all of this being said. Is marketing to the dry-shoe yuppy millennial generation that deer hunting is a great source for free range meat a good thing? I believe hunters are THE best and worst people at protecting and destroying a species. I see it first hand with the out of towners who have land leased around me. They kill for fun and abundance of meat. They're like locus. Once they consume all that they can they move on often driving up the price of land in their wake or pursuit of happier hunting grounds. I have a vested interest to see my place thrive and what I leave behind for the generations to follow. You can't even get those people to sack your groceries right and we want to encourage them to pickup a weapon and turn them out in the woods? Actually better yet. This just might be a ploy to rid us of some of these snowflake softies. Cause Lord knows these are the same kids that chew on Tide Pods. Next the have the "dodge a bullet challenge"
 
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