Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Roadkill is Yummy!

We knew the left was loony, but we had no idea it was THIS loony!

Remember, kids, foraging for roadkill is morally superior to dumpster diving like those mere poseur-anarchists do!
Members of Wildroots live a primitive lifestyle and practice earth-based skills, like primitive shelter building, hide tanning, herbal medicine and crafts.

Alternative food sources, like roadkill, are essential to their cause, as is outreach, and the group travels the country promoting their lifestyle at conferences and workshops. One of their publications, a zine called Feral Forager, details how to eat roadkill.

For those disgusted by the notion of eating a dead animal off the side of the road, Erisbright’s friend Matt Snyder said it isn’t as gross as many people think.

“I think people should get into eating roadkill because it’s food and it’s out there. You might as well not let it go to waste,” Snyder said. “It also tastes delicious.”

It’s not just roadkill’s availability that makes it attractive. Jennifer Kitchen, another of the local roadkill proponents, said traditional, factory-farmed meat is plagued by unsavory consequences, from animal cruelty to the harmful environmental effects of using fossil fuels to ship it long distances.
...
“With roadkill, it gives you a real connection to the meat,” he said. “With our current food sources, we go to a store, look around the aisles, pick it out, and provide some kind of money to prove that we are alright to eat it. With roadkill, it’s right out there in the wild.”

To the activists, eating roadkill has more political advantages than other forms of anti-capitalist food gathering, like Dumpster diving. While the three friends do rely on Dumpster diving for some of their food, Kitchen said this is a “means and not an end” in their efforts to erode their dependency on civilization.

Dumpster divers may not be participating in the consumer cycle, but the food they find is still usually as unhealthy as what you buy in stores. “We’re still eating the standard American diet and most of it is really crappy food, but you eat it because it’s free,” Kitchen said. “We’re still sponging off the system and we’re not self-sufficient.”

Scavenged roadkill, on the other hand, is free of capitalist trappings.
Never mind the internal contradictions of relying on automobiles and fossil fuels to produce the roadkill!

This is too rich; they have chosen their own hell!

At wildroots.org, which publishes the "feral forager" guide, they explain:
At Wildroots, we live off the grid, carry our water, and practice "earthskills", or earth-based lifeways. Our interests include permaculture, gardening by the moon, natural and primitive shelter building, hide tanning, herbal medicine, nature crafts, and wild food foraging.
That is, eating roadkill.
The surest way to protect earth based lifeways, or "earthskills", is to practice them, and pass them along as we move through this alienated modern life. Just as we can propagate endangered native plants in the ecosystems from which they have been displaced, or re-introduce wolves into areas from which they have been extirpated, we can reclaim our species' lost knowledge of living with the earth.
Yeah, putting back human-eating carnivores where people live is a fantastic idea.

Look bub, 10,000 years of technological and cultural advances aren't a vast conspiracy, they are the result of people struggling to find ingenious ways to make their difficult lives better. And the GREAT thing about our culture is that if youw ant to go play primitive, you're perfectly able to do so.

You could show a little gratitude,at least, for the kind of flexibility and sheer choice our culture has given to you, rather than having bequeathed to you a miserable short life of slavery or a daily contest of raw survival.

We live like kings -- even gods -- compared with people 1,000 or even 500 years ago. Think of it: you can be in Tokyo in a few hours, or communicate around the world at the speed of light. Our diseases are those of sloth and excess.

But hey, if you want to take a step backwards, be my guest.

Just don't hate the civilization that makes it possible!

It's unbecoming.

And stupid.

18 Comments:

Blogger Glenn said...

After reading this and accompanying articles, I wonder if it's for real, or an elaborate internet hoax that's not quite funny.

10:59 AM, April 12, 2005  
Blogger RDS said...

I can understand how the mind recoils at the notion that this might be true, but it seems to be.

I mean, we know all those anti-globalization protesters and eco-weenies really exist, and they have to eat something...

RDS

8:26 PM, April 12, 2005  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

RDS,

I don't want to spend any time defending the road kill eaters, but you make a mistake when you call wolves "human eating carnivores." Reintroducing wolves into areas where they were eliminated can be debated, but not in the context of freaks who salvage roadkill.

9:07 PM, April 24, 2005  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ya know, I just was looking for some tips on collecting road kill and happened to stumble upon your commentary. I must say the idea of eating road is gross, but compared with many of the chicken factories and pig factories I have seen it is not gross at all. What is gross to me is that I have to skin this creature, tear it's guts out, cut it up and eat it. That's all that is gross to me. But really I see this forum as not so much about debating the idea of eating road kill, but rather ragging on people who are different than you, people whom you don't understand. I must admit, I don't understand you. I don't understand what you mean by eco-weenies. Do you mean people who care about their world are some how weak people or bad people? But you are right about the gratitude part. I should be thankful that our people of this USA have it in their hearts not to torture me, enslave me, or in other words do nasty things to me. As for living in many other countries that is not true. I would be one of the first to be hung with my guts ripped open, I imagine. If I had the guts to stand up for my beliefs. Maybe they will start after people here sooner or later. Oh wait, there are hate crimes everyday in this country...and there are forums where people make fun of others just because they don't "get" them. And it sure is fun, isn't it? Well I sure enjoy the daily show and that does just that. But does it help us understand eachother? And that other guy sure does make a point about wolves. Why not go look up how many humans have been eaten by wolves in this country? Have you ever heard the wolves howl? It is beautiful. If you truly believe that things are going well for humanity and this planet right now, you are not paying very good attention to the world around you. Go educate yourself.

5:15 PM, October 21, 2005  
Blogger RDS said...

Nate,

You have deliberately missed the point; this is not about grossness but the politics it represents.

You say you don't understand me.

That's because you are incapable of basic thought and don't know anything.

What's an "eco-weenie"? Someone like you who, yes, is a "weak" and "bad" person. And who is ignorant of scientific facts.

If you and your ilk really "cared about the world", you'd be for clean, cheap energy which means nuclear power. And you'd be for eliminating the scourge of Islamic fascism.

Instead, you make a stupid equivalency between your hysterical claims of "hate crimes" in this country with the very real, socially accepted evils of stoning women or murdering them for "honor".

And yes, fool, things are going well, compared with the past. But you wouldn't know that, since you are not educated.

I laugh at you! You are so funny! Have you considered a career as a jester or some sort of clown?

6:49 PM, October 23, 2005  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tell me what is the politics that Nate did not understand, the fact that any one of these so called eco-weenies have the ability to live by their own hand while the way you seem to be so found of reminds me more of an addiction if a time came where money was of no value or lets say a big hurricane hits hum.Who will get along just fine and who will be sucking dick for a Twinkie. Sorry got off the point anyway what is the differance between killing a rabbit,deer raccoon,or a cow,pig,or chicken with a vehicle and shooting it with a gun these advocates of roadkill arn't talking about getting rotten meet that has been sitting around indulging maggots and scavenger birds it was just killed so why not save a few bucks if that is your reason or a respect for the life around if that is the reason.
I find it also interesting that you would call these people weak in any way, a person gains a diffrent perspective when they can dress their own foods it is easy to kill anything it is not so easy to cut open something and spill its guts at least not the first time and prepare it for consumption these people have gained a respect but it tends to give human life more of an equal rating on the scale of life not the alpha's humans wish they were.Which means in laymans terms your life is about as valuable as a maggots this is not an insult it is fact.
My opinion bashing these people makes you look like an ASS.
My Friend
I just stumbled onto this site so I probably won't see your responces but feel free to e-mail me with comments cdaroddy@juno.com

9:24 AM, December 12, 2005  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I suppose T. Roosevelt was a "ecoweenie" as well. Your assumption that the developments associated with the domestication of species has ushered in the good life couldn't be further from truth. Case in point, it is common knowledge in physical anthropolgy that agrarian cultures with there rather limited simple carbohydrate based diet show severe physical degeneration, and higher instances of chronic illness. as well as the ever beloved complex social hierarchies. These complex societies are great for those on top (ie. us) but not so great for those on the bottom (the illegal picking ,packing and processing your food). Now before anyone flies off the handle, these observations come from historical accounts and modern science. Conversely, hunter gatherers, have no need for the hierarchies, poor diet, lack of free time and other ills asscociated with progress. Another interesting fact, modern anthropolgy concludes that the hunter gatherer averaged 3-4 hours worked a day gaining his sustanence.
I suppose if you really enjoy being waited on hand and foot, then modern life is a real gas. However, if you feel it is intrinsicly evil to seek domination, perhaps than you see why this "primitive" life style is so apealing. To be truly human is to engage all senses an forgo the relative security bestowed upon us civilized folks.

We are working our selves to death. What happens when our technolgy can't save us? A simple life is respectful of all creation. To couple that with modern mans one great achievement, his capacity for rational inquiry, add a modicum of restraint and self discipline, and I believe a world in balance is posible. These aren't pipe dreams, just logical conclusions to some obvious shortcomings.

11:34 PM, December 19, 2006  
Blogger RDS said...

What you fail to realize is our tremendous wealth, security, and freedom derived from our civilization allows you the choice to go live a simple life if you want to, and still have access to modern medicine.

Why don't all those people "at the bottom", the pickers etc., go and live like hunter-gatherers? Who is stopping them? It's all a plot by The Man, isn't it?

They don't because our way of life is better. "Progress" happened for a reason. You are a fool.

12:46 PM, December 21, 2006  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

America has outgrown Americans. youre all a bunch of whining idiots. from the counter culture anarcho primitivist living off his daddys dollar to the redneck white supremacist and even to the right wing business/progress minded RDS..none of you are worthy of living in this country. this country is built on hard work, dedication and doing what it takes to survive. real americans are out there hopping freight trains, eating what they can find whether it be a dumpstered meal, roadkill, a fine steak, whatever, but theyre sure as hell NOT snickering over blogs about who is better than who.
RDS, maybe it would be a good idea for you to eat roadkill sometime...or better yet, become it! nate, shut up! your ways are tired and all of your crystals wont do shit once it hits the fan. everybody just go travel or something.

12:13 AM, May 14, 2007  
Blogger RDS said...

Dear Anonymous --

Interesting.

And yet...here you are, commenting on my blog! However, I think I understand your frustration with our unworthiness.

It might do us some good if more people had to eat roadkill to survive, I agree! There'd be more focus on what really matters.

2:17 AM, May 15, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

wow, whoever writes this blog is a fascist. hope you rot in the ground! :)

2:48 AM, November 22, 2007  
Blogger Unknown said...

I actually was looking for advice on how to eat roadkill when I stumbled on this forum... I'm going traveling next month and it seems to me like a good way to eat cheap and be self-sufficient. It's true, I guess, that we live like kings or gods compared to the people of the past... but it doesn't seem to me that our lives are so much better, really. Not like we're really any happier. Actually I find modern life kind of a drag. There just isn't the same kick to it when you're not responsible for your own survival. And all the retarded hoops one is expected to jump through for the privilege of living the life get pretty tiresome. I'm talking job applications, company policies, political correctness, dress codes, moral censorship, taxes, social decency, public education, curfews, lawyers, cops, and badly programmed traffic lights. That kinda thing. Really gets me down. I'd rather be out on the open road, gutting a dead rabbit with a utility knife and answering to nobody. If I want electricity, I'm smart enough to make my own, but for the most part I don't want it. I think civilization is an addiction. We did fine before it existed, but now that we've been hooked for just a few millennia we think we'd die without it.

But that's the great thing about primitive living, RDS: it doesn't interfere with your high-tech progressive civilized lifestyle AT ALL! You have complete freedom to enjoy your non-stop to Tokyo and your cell phone and so forth, while still reaping the benefits of the ancient Earth and its ecosystems: stuff like food, air, water, life, and so on. We can both live as we please and need not give each other any shit about it. I don't hate you, and I don't think your life is a waste.

11:38 PM, December 13, 2007  
Blogger RDS said...

Finally, someone like peter comes by and leaves a reasonable comment!

9:18 PM, December 20, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

RDS, you think you are so much more intelligent and advanced than everyone who has posted to this forum, but all along it is you that have been missing the bigger picture. Mankind has been getting a free lunch and that meal ticket will be running out soon. There is no clean energy that can support civilization at the level it is currently at now. What is so great about the world you live in, focused only on the comforts and luxuries that you are, is really due to a system based on sucking dry the ecology and all the resources around it (and enslaving those below).

You live in a glass world. That glass will eventually shatter. One day you may find yourself foraging in the wild just to survive. I'd like to be looking over your shoulder when that happens just to have a nice little giggle.

8:48 PM, March 25, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"wow, whoever writes this blog is a fascist. hope you rot in the ground! :)"

Ha ha, cute and to the point.

8:52 PM, March 25, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Modern medicine is only truly necessary in our civilized culture. Many of the diseases/sicknesses we're plagued with today are products of civilization.

We can argue about what's 'right', but it won't matter. This culture is unsustainable. Things will change, and I doubt our leaders and technology will be able to do anything about it.

4:17 PM, April 09, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

actually.. "wild food foraging" is much more than eating roadkill.. a large part of the at diet wildroots is what you would call "weeds". these so-called weeds actually have more nutrition and flavor than any of your store bought (or dumpstered) food.. there are also many acorns, nuts and berries.. and yes wild meat is part of the diet as well.. hunted, trapped and even a small amount of roadkill.. i have never felt healthier!

10:28 PM, September 18, 2008  
Blogger RDS said...

hatchet,

Thanks for leaving what is actually an interesting comment instead of a stupid insult.

Your link didn't quite come through right, it's wildroots.org

11:57 PM, October 09, 2008  

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