Swide Magazine by Dolce&Gabbana

Hunting is creating a buzz but this time it's not the fox-lovers we're hearing; a new brand of eco-conscious urbanite is daringly redefining the old hunter gatherer paradigm...

We're not ones for controversy but we couldn't help but be intrigued by this very unexpected comeback - is hunting somewhat acceptable again? We do know any self-respecting foodie will go to certain lengths to get the perfect ingredient - but this food hunt has taken quite a literal turn judging from recent developments. In a world where we’re all turning eco-conscious and are becoming responsible and informed consumers, a new brand of urbanite is taking things to the next level by literally hunting for their meat.

While hunting as a recreational sport has been on the decline for several years now, food-obssesed people from the big towns next door are scouring the woods, joining new-generation clubs (for instance, the San-Francisco based Bull Moose Hunting Society built along the same model as the conservation group created by Theodore Roosevelt back in the days...) where they can learn everything from the handling of firearms (a novelty for most) to the butchering and cooking of their unfortunate catch.

New York Times food writer Sean Patrick Farrell on these new hunters' motivations: "Some felt the meat they hunt will be healthier, akin to food grown in their own gardens. Others felt a moral obligation to understand the process of hunting. For many of them, forging a stronger connection with one’s food means killing it, butchering and cooking it oneself." So not a bunch of blood-thirsty idiots after all.

But what might be the most interesting aspect to this phenomenon is how it relates to one of our very contemporary concerns: the carbon-footprint of what ends up on our plates. In a generalised effort to embrace the fight against global warming, a new figure has emerged: meet the locavore. Very simply-put, one that favours the eating of locally-produced food. This encompasses the shopping at farmers' markets (which also sounds so much posher at the dinner table), the growing your own vegetables (meet the world's most famous locavore, a certain Michelle down at the White House) and for those taking it even further, the shooting your own deers... We'll personally stick to growing our own vegetable patch, thanks; Michelle, pass on that shovel, will you?

 

 

The world's number one locavore... Much more chic than shooting boars if you ask us!

 

Aurelie Bellavigna (fox-lover)

 

Source: The New York Times

Photo credits: Various

TAGS: food urban hunting locavore michelle obama gardening