“Farm to Table” is so 2010. This year, try “Road to Table.”
Every year, more than a million deer and other animals are hit by cars. What happens to them? Chances are your town has a man like Rick Johnson (featured in this video), who’s only a phone call away from picking up the animal you’ve spotted on the side of the road. Ideally, the meat will feed either a needy person or other animals and wildlife.
This video follows my quest to eat local venison, starting with an attempt at hunting with the executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association and ending in the back of a Holiday Station, where I cut the backstraps off of a recently perished roadkill find. But wait — despite the subject matter, this is NOT a gruesome video. Whether you consider eating roadkill reasonable or gross, it’s certainly one of the most responsible meat sources available.
For those interested in picking up deer on the side of the road, most states require that you report your claim to the local authorities. Others, like in Massachusetts, keep lists of people to call like this extreme-locavore couple, who feasted on roadkill deer for Christmas.
