Get a good book on edible wild plants, read it thoroughly, take it out and find them, learning to identify them.

They aren't all that tasty (keep some Taco Bell hot sauce packets in your survival kit), but they don't squeal when they're harvested (don't pay any attention to Chris, BTW), there isn't any blood, they don't transmit diseases, they don't bite or scratch (with a few exceptions), they certainly don't run very fast, and they don't have terrified little brown eyes.

I eat chicken and I have chickens. They aren't the same. <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Sue

I have definitely learnt a few things. Thanxxx to all

This problem/weakness I have is psychological, not based on religious beliefs. I do eat fish and meat, however, I still prefer or feel more comfortable at eating non-identifiable meats ( kind of denial , huh ?? ) . When I see a whole chicken for example, I may hesitate for a split second before eating, while I don’t even think when I eat a burger or fillet. (looks like some kind of self deception of sorts) …

Anyways, my problem is
(a) I cannot kill the living animal, that is the major part
(b) some kind of disgust or revulsion whatver prevents me of skinning or chopping the animal

Its not that I am a spoilt boy who cannot touch anything dirty. My wife used to leave me sometimes with the small kids (diapers and all). Judging from such incidents its not that much of an issue to deal with feces, vomit and other similar stuff . It seems that animal slaughter is a problem for other reasons than handling foul smell or filth. Part of it comes from a heart that ( I think) is too soft. Maybe.

In a survival situation, I may end up teaming with some of my “heartless” cousins. They deal with animals, and I deal with non-living stuff, like construction, obtaining and purifying water ..etc.

> There are countless stories of survival in which individuals performed acts that previously would have
> been unthinkable to them – many having to do with food.

I believe there are also the converse stories, in which people were unable to eat "tainted" food even when their survival depended on it. Such people tend to die, of course.

I've heard this can happen if your diet gets too monotonous. If, for example, your preparation consists of buying tons of rice and tuna and nothing else, and when the disaster happens you remember you don't like fish and have to eat nothing but rice for 3 months, some people will lose the will to live. It just doesn't seem worth it any more.

This is good to know about yourself before an event.

Maybe you should just accept this and always carry food with you. ( saves time, too.)

Teacher RO

"There are countless stories of survival in which individuals performed acts that previously would have been unthinkable to them..."

Even though the Donner Party was famed for cannibalism, most or at least half the people refused to do it. Alfred Packer was denounced for his preference for human meat when he had an ox carcass nearby.

You are what you are. Some people would probably break down and eat relatives, some wouldn't.

And it IS easier to keep food with you. People who are not accustomed to the fine art of hunting can have an incredibly hard time catching something. And I mean people who aren't REAL hunters, but the people who go out once a year with a high-powered rifle and gut-shoot some animal. Put them in the wilderness with a Mora and a Bic, and they'd probably starve to death.

Sue (where's the sneering emoticon...?)

You're confusing outdoorsman and backwoodsman... too bad there's such a big difference.

Troy

I'd say the concern is the threshold at which you'd consider killing. While the idea of slaughter may be repugnant to you, euthanasia might be more acceptable. Not all animals I've killed have been for food. I've had my share of "Ole Yeller" moments, and it is not something I care much for, but I accept that it is part of my responsiblity for the animals under my care. We all have thresholds for which we can accept killing. Slaughter for survival is less objective than putting an animal out of it's misery, but the end result is the same. The threshold is choice. Both ought to be based on respect for the animal, but one includes the element of compassion, which is a greater motivator than hunger may be. So long as you have a choice, you will defer from the harshness of reality. It is thus for most all of our life's events. We all prefer our cocoons.

I think even Euell Gibbons had a pretty tough time of it trying to live just off the plant life he could find. Edible plants are a way of subsisting until we get lucky enough to bag meat and fat. We are not herbivores, and the only way vegans get by is due to cultivation of replacement food sources that you're not going to get in the wild no how. There's never been a hunter-gatherer group in all of history that sustained itself exclusively by gathering and consuming edible plants. Either they supplemented their diet with meat, or they didn't make it. There are no exceptions.

I think that, so long as their is a choice in your life, you will not be willing to kill for food. That is not an indictment or derogatory, it is just an observation. In this day and age, it doesn't make you any less a man (or woman). It is just part of who you are for now. Under different conditions, I would expect you to react differently, including the possibility that you might consider killing to eat. Until then, I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. A man's gotta know his limitations (hey, that's a catchy little phrase!).

Hmm, I reckon we've faced some similar situations in life would be my take on it. <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

Skinning live rabbits is a cop-out. Whoever thought that up is lazy and undeserving of any respect. Whoever is willing to go through that training is a robot, also undeserving of any respect. The best thing you could do for either type is kill em quick. <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

To tell the truth, I would probably have less of a problem killing a person who deserved it than an animal (unless it was attacking). That sounds kind of peculiar, doesn't it? If I had to do it, I might not feel the same afterward, but I have the sneaking suspicion that I would.

Sue (Sue's Gene-Pool Cleaning Service, ask for rates....) <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />