Achieving Meat Freedom: The Benefits of A Full Freezer
If you care about real food and seek a closer connection to your food source, then this is the blog for you! Don’t forget to check out the Year of Plenty Podcast where we cover many of the topics on this blog in more depth.
In this blog post, we will take a closer look at what it means to achieve meat freedom and why you should strive to get there.
What is Meat Freedom?
I don’t think there is an official definition for Meat Freedom, but I have created one for myself. To me, Meat Freedom is the ability to have enough meat in your freezer so that you can be self-sufficient when it comes to this vital protein source and feed your family without having to constantly buy meat from the grocery store.
There are various means to acquire the meat needed to achieve meat freedom. The best ways to do this is to hunt, fish, raise your own animals, or buy in bulk from a local rancher or farmer. At this point in my life, hunting and fishing are my preferred ways to ensure that my freezer is full. Although, there is no guarantee that I will harvest enough animals during the hunting and fishing seasons to last me an entire year. In that case, I would start buying whole cows or sheep from local ranchers around my area in Montana.
Whether you’re a hunter, angler, homesteader, or simply someone who doesn’t want to be reliant on the grocery store, let’s take a look at the benefits of achieving Meat Freedom to embrace a year of plenty.
The Benefits of Meat Freedom
Cost-Effectiveness Of Having A Full Meat Freezer
One significant advantage of hunting, fishing, or sourcing meat in bulk from a rancher is the financial aspect. Acquiring meat through these methods gives you the opportunity to enjoy various cuts of meat at an affordable price. When you require a whole animal or buy in bulk there is usually a significant cost saving. For example, the premium cuts at the grocery store can be expensive, but buying a whole animal ensures that every cut costs the same per pound. If you buy a ribeye from the store it will probably cost you anywhere from $10 to $15 per pound, or even more. Depending on where you source it from, you can buy a whole cow for $5 to $7 dollars a pound. And in this case, every cut of meat will be the same cost per pound.
The same goes for hunting! When I lived in Wisconsin a deer tag was around $10 bucks… for the entire animal. Now buying a tag doesn’t mean you will actually be successful and add a deer to your freezer, but if you become good enough this shouldn’t be a problem with the high deer population here in the USA. Living in Montana, I can get all my hunting tags that include an elk, a deer, a bear, my small game license (think squirrel, rabbit, grouse, etc), as well as my fishing license for about $120 dollars. That’s a deal! Unfortunately, the upfront costs of getting into hunting can add up quickly for all the gear that is needed, but if you take care of your stuff, and become a good hunter, this will pay for itself in the amount of meat you will acquire over the years. The cost-effectiveness of achieving Meat Freedom saves you money in the long run while allowing you to savor your favorite cuts guilt-free.
Protection From Inflation
Have you seen the grocery-store meat prices lately? It’s insane how much they have risen in the last few years. Meat Freedom shields you against food price increases due to inflation. By filling your freezer with high-quality protein in advance, you’re no longer at the mercy of fluctuating meat prices. This gives you true freedom from the will of our highly-centralized meat industry and external economic factors. Rest assured that while prices at the grocery store may soar, you have lots of meat close at hand at a fixed cost.
A More Sustainable Way of Eating Meat
A huge advantage of Meat Freedom lies in the sustainability aspect. Let’s explore this in more detail.
Minimizing Animal Death
Ever thought about how many animals need to die in order to have a constant supply of meat at the grocery store? Buying individual cuts of meat every week means you are indirectly contributing to the death of multiple animals. This demand for specific cuts of meat means more animals need to be raised, slaughtered, and processed. I think this is a major reason why we have the factory farming system we have today.
Instead, when you are hunting you likey only remove one to a few animals from the landscape every year. And if you know how to butcher you can get the most out of each animal. The same goes for buying a whole animal from a local rancher or farmer. So when you stock up your freezer with meat that was acquired through these methods, you minimize waste and have a choice not to support factory farming.
Lower Carbon Footprint & Less Food Waste
Although I don’t believe animal agriculture contributes to as much greenhouse gasses as many anti-meat propagandists would like us to believe, the meat industry does make a contribution. Think about all the energy that it takes to run a giant factory farm and slaughterhouse. Or the long distances commercially sold meat can travel before it lands on your plate. By getting your meat from your region, you are way less likely to contribute to an unsustainable world.
There is also the connection to your food that comes from knowing where your meat comes from. This is probably more true for hunters, but I don’t think my hunting buddies would disagree when I say that I want to eat as many of the animals I kill as possible! There is a deep motivation that comes from going through the work of hunting an animal, taking its life, and processing it afterward. You just can’t help, but utilize as much of the animal as possible. It’s a beautiful thing and if you have never hunted I would encourage you to experience this for yourself.
Meat Freedom goes beyond personal satisfaction, less dependence on outside forces, and financial benefits. It encompasses a sustainable approach to meat consumption that minimizes animal death and reduces your carbon footprint. By buying meat in bulk from local farmers and ranchers, or harvesting animals through hunting and fishing, you actively contribute to a more ethical and ecologically responsible food system.