Would you eat roadkill in order to reduce your carbon footprint?
Another question got me thinking- Would I choose to eat scavenged meat like this guy? There’s apparently a growing number of people who do.
People choose a meatless or animal product-less life for many reasons, including economical, ethical and environmental. Apparently, they all begin with “e.” Eating roadkill is much more taboo than either eating meat or being a vegetarian/vegan. . . However, it would remedy all the reasons I am a vegan.
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
54 Answers
No. I wouldn’t eat the kind of meat that gets killed on the road anyway.
If it were between roadkill and vegetarian/veganism, my queasy tummy would definitely give up the meat.
I’m happy not eating meat. If I had some reason I needed to eat it, I guess roadkill would be minimally ethically objectionable (if gross).
Do you mean the deer I just hit? or the raccoon that has slowly been repainting the HWY in the last month?
@coffeenut Apparently, avid roadkill eaters scavenge and have figured out ways to determine to their satisfaction whether it is safe to eat or not. This includes inspecting for disease.
Yes, and I have. A couple of years ago, I was riding with a friend when he hit and killed a deer with his car. It came out of nowhere, and was an unavoidable accident. Rather than just let the deer’s death be in vain, we cleaned it, and took it home. I found this to be much more respectful to the deer and to be less wasteful. It was extremely regrettable that the accident ever happened, but it would be much more regrettable to have left the dead deer at the side of the road to rot. Even though it was accidental, we took the deer’s life, and were therefore responsible for it.
Many states have programs where hunters donate meat to food pantries like Hunters for the Hungry. Also, if you hit a deer in most states with a vehicle, you can donate the meat or keep it yourself if the carcus isn’t destroyed or mangled.
@coffeenut, has summed up the issue well. That would be the hinge question.
I would rather somersault to McDonalds to reduce my carbon foot print than to have to eat squirrel pancakes.
@jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities I agree, that it is kinder for the death to not be in vain, and I appreciate your thinking… If you saw the deer already on the side of the road would you have tried it?
@bkcunningham That’s a little ironic…can’t butcher it if it’s mangled? I mean, you have to wait until a human mangles it in just the right way!?
@Cruiser gross!
@Dutchess_III have you ever seen Bambi meets the Hummer? And I ain’t talking about the X-rated movie version either. ; )
I suggest you guys never become orphans or depend on a food pantry, you’ll be really disappointed in the meat you get.
I guess I should ask additionally, if a vegan or vegetarian would eat meat if they knew it was scavenged?
Aside from you, @nikipedia. :)
I’m vegetarian, but my family does what @jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities described, as long as the animal isn’t too mutilated.
(And living out in the middle of nowhere, that happens a lot.)
@Cruiser You really consider McDonald’s healthier than roadkill?
No.
I live in a major roadkill zone, and, if it was the last food on earth available, I’d go the Euell Gibbons route, pinecones and leaves.
I do think that IF roadkill deer were ‘harvested’ IMMEDIATLY, they should be utilized, but, no possum, cat or raccoons. Nope, nope, nope.
@Coloma If it were a matter of time, then why not possum or raccoon? Cats are a domesticated animal, and I know you with your kitties are not inclined to eat such. From the roadkill community, hedgehog is apparently a delicacy.
@Dutchess_III
Gah!
I have a ‘pet’ skunk named ‘Little dude’, I give him hard boiled eggs for safe passage to my hot tub. He actually takes them from my hand. It’s a fine arrangement.
It’s really not a big deal that we no longer eat meat. We don’t stifle any secret meat urges that would be alleviated by scavenged meat or roadkill. It’s not necessary.
Response moderated (Spam)
Why is “pet” in ” ”‘s, Coloma?
@Taciturnu
I agree it’s all conditioning, I’m okay with that, haha
Seriously…if I was starving to death, literally, then of course I could, and would, eat road kill. But I’m not, so I won’t.
You said, “I have a “pet” skunk…” and I wondered what the quotation marks around the word “pet” meant. Is it a pet?
@Dutchess_III
Oh, no, intended as a sarcasm, the skunk is wild, but he likes my eggs. lol
THAT’S WHAT I WAS WONDERING!!! ARE YOU CRAZY?? I thought, “Not even Coloma would flirt with a wild skunk!!!!!!!!!!” You are crazy!
I’m a huge fan of scavenging roadkill. It’s pretty common in the wilderness skills community. As @Taciturnu mentioned, there are specific things to look for when deciding whether or not a kill is good to eat (the primary being whether or not the guts have been burst). In many cases, roadkills I’ve scavenged have been fresher than something someone would hunt, since you don’t have to take the time to drag it out of the woods.
I’m actually on the last of the meat that I got in the spring, when miraculously my co-worker and I found two deer in one night. One of them was particularly big, too.
P.S. I have a friend that swears raccoon leg tacos are the best in the world.
I am not squeamish about what I eat. In times of great hunger, I would not refuse any type of food.
@Taciturnu
“I guess I should ask additionally, if a vegan or vegetarian would eat meat if they knew it was scavenged?”
Yes. I’d have no ethical objection to that whatsoever.
My sister does on a regular basis. Everything from deer to rattlesnake. (She also grabbed the hawk that killed one of her pet chickens, took the chicken away from it, and then cleaned and cooked it -the chicken, that is, not the hawk.) I don’t eat meat, so it’s a moot point.
Yes, like @jeffgoldblumsprivatefacilities I have eaten deer that was killed by a truck. It was fresh and butchered immediately. Like @incendiary_dan says, you must be careful about gut damage.
Now I’m off to work at the food panty where we give out venison given to us by local hunters and farmers. Our clients always choose that over hot-dogs.
@Dutchess_III
The skunk is one of 7 babies that were born in a drain pipe at the end of my driveway 2 summers ago, he is the only one that has remained and it quite tame, but, I am very careful around him. He waits on my deck at night for his egg, he has taken it from my fingers a few times, but, mostly I just roll it in the other direction away from my hot tub and we call it a truce. lol
I can understand why someone would want to stop for a roadkill deer, and I would probably have no issues with eating such a thing. But here in the UK the only roadkill I ever see is squashed pigeons and rabbits. I have no idea how you’d manage to sort out any edible meat from the paste of squished bones, intestines and fur/feathers.
Actually I recall an incident when I was a kid travelling in a friend’s car, her dad (who was driving) hit and killed a pheasant. He stopped, picked up the dead bird and took it home. I’ve no doubt that was their Sunday roast that weekend.
How large a truck is required to bring down a cow?
I’d eat roadkill frosted mini wheats.
@ratboy
A Corona truck. At least you could get drunk while waiting on the tow truck.
@ratboy
You don’t need a truck. A Honda Civic will do. Not much good for your Honda, though…
@crisw “The cow was put down and the Honda was totaled.” That pretty much says it all.
@bkcunningham
The whole thing reminded me of when the 3 Black Angus heifers belonging to the guy up the road got out one night and were wandering on our 2-lane rural highway- some passers-by managed to corral them with their cars against the fence until the sheriff got there- that could have been quite a disaster for cows and humans alike! Cows get into a lot of trouble in our neighborhood!
I hit a raccoon. I looked at it, and decided it looked to gamey and flea bitten.
did I say raccoon? I meant mailman.
I ALMOST hit a black cow in the dark once, whew!
The impact on the total carbon footprint would minor. Eating less or no meat in general would have a significant effect though. Even more important is how we insulate our buildings for example.
@mattbrowne There is a huge environmental impact with factory farming, and a smaller impact with farming in general. If you eat wild meat that died, there would be no change in impact on the environment, vs. not eating meat at all. If you watch the video, the guy also forages for the plants in his diet as well, avoiding the impact of farming completely. I have to say, I don’t think insulating our buildings is more or less important than any other effort to lessen environmental impact, though.
I meant to imply in the details that there are a lot of reasons people become vegetarians/vegans, and that the question would extend to any of those reasons as well.
So, I have to know- Would you, personally, eat roadkill to lessen your environmental impact (or any other reason)? :)
@crisw Rick and I were coming back to the lake when we saw a herd of cows wandering through a hole in the fence and almost to the highway. Rick just gently shushed them back ward. The farmer came out right after and was impressed…he said people usually tend to yell and scream and jump up and down and simply scare the cows who scatter in all directions. Rick just kept quietly saying, “Go on, cow!” and gently waving his arms. I’d occasionally make my presence in the Suburban known, if a cow wanted to get obstinate.
@Dutchess_III
That’s how you herd goats, too :>)
Didn’t your man raise big cats at one time? Maybe the cows thought he was a tiger…
@Taciturnu – Yes, there is a huge environmental impact with factory farming in particular meat production. I didn’t say there isn’t. The issue of eating roadkill is still a minor issue.
If I killed it myself or saw it getting hit, I would and have taken road kill. In fact I just butchered a deer this weekend beside the interstate after someone hit it.
If I would have known the Deputy that came out to write up the roadkill tag and euthenize the deer was such a bad shot, I would have killed the deer before he got there too.
Answer this question 
Composing members:
0
