Page 46 - Tracy Anderson Magazine | Spring 2021 Issue

ther of wildlife ecology, once wrote: “There are two spir- “SMALL CHANGES
Aldo Leopold, who is considered by many to be the fa-
itual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of ADD UP AND IF
supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the
other that heat comes from the furnace.” EVERYONE CHOOSES
What Leopold was referring to is our great and growing TO PARTICIPATE, A BIG
they no longer hold the same value to humans that they CHANGE WILL BE
disconnect from the planet, especially all things wild, for
the seasons and followed along with the migrations of the SEEN AND FELT.”
once had. We were a people who moved and shifted with
herds of animals and flocks of birds, but with the advent everyone, but still, we’d do better to find a way to connect
of agriculture around 10,000 or more years ago, came the and to participate in getting our protein another way. This
demise of the hunter-and-gatherer societies. This marked falls into the hardworking hands of the farmer and the
the beginning of the above mentioned disconnect with rancher and to how they raise and treat their herd, their
our food, the land, and with ourselves. Suddenly, humans grasslands, and the soils. It’s simple to look at the cuts of
as a society were being provided for—strangers were now meat at your local butcher shop to try and find the best
cultivating the food, doing the work, and tending to the cut, but even more important to ask yourself, “How was
new crop. Around that same time, we began domesticat- that animal raised?” It starts with grazing practices and
ing animals and building cities. This was a new revolution. the regeneration and health of the pasture or range’s soil;
it’s really a bottom-up approach. You fix the soils with
I point out this sudden change because for nearly 2 million sound grazing practices, and the pasture will be abuzz
years human beings have been hunters. In fact, “hunting” with both flora and fauna. We can literally have our cake
defines us as being human. There are debates on how our and eat it, too.
brains evolved to be significantly larger than that of the
mountain gorilla and chimpanzee, but most concur that it In the end, you can gain back your connection to your
was due to the hunting and scavenging of meat, and even protein by getting to know your neighbors and buying lo-
more importantly, the cooking of the meat that acted as cal. Find out who’s doing it the right way, buy from them,
our evolutionary catalyst. Imagine what our fitness and and vote with your dollars (or even better, volunteer with
understanding of the wilds must have been like to be able them and actually get your hands dirty). Your dinners will
to survive in those times? We were truly warriors. never be the same.
Now more than ever we’re living in a mechanized world— Small changes add up and if everyone chooses to partici-
others provide for us, the blood and soil erosion rest in the pate, a big change will be seen and felt. Think about that
hands of the people who deliver our food to the market- the next time you catch yourself mindlessly shopping or
place and now, in some circumstances, right to our own eating. Really look around. Take inventory. I promise you
front doors. Unfortunately, this is now the trend of our can discover better, more nutrient protein, and experi-
species, and so we continue to exponentially cultivate dis- ence a greater connection to your food because the closer
ease, obesity, and worst of all, overpopulation. we get to a subject, the more interesting it becomes.

I write all of this because it’s important to understand our My friends Taylor Collins and his wife Katie always say,
beginning and even more important to realize the vast “Feed people as you wish to be fed.” To that I would add,
disconnect that Leopold was warning us about in his writ- buy food from people who care about the soils, the wind,
ings. However, even with that said, there’s still hope in and the water. We can make a difference, but it’s one that
change. We can be an active participant in the sourcing of comes with being connected and taking responsibility. ■
WHERE THE WILD our meat by making important decisions as to where we Driven by nature, Donnie Vincent has consistently let the outdoors and
go, and how we acquire it, whether that be by hunting for
it ourselves or making sure we shop only from farms and
his passion for adventure be the compass for his life. The wide open
THINGS ARE Sicmanta . Courtesy Donnie Vincent ranches with the best practices. expanses of the world’s most remote territories dominate his thoughts and
conversations. Deep in the heart of the wildest of terrain is where Vincent
thrives. On his expeditions into remote wilds, in the lands where seemingly
Hunting is not only vital to us, it is to the animals we hunt
no one lives, he finds a wilderness and peacefulness that is all his own.
as well. This is not our planet. We don’t own the animals
Stripping it all back to nature, by Donnie Vincent. or the land; we’re merely part of the ecosystem, no matter The premier example of explorer, biologist, and conservationist, Vincent
takes a wider view of the topics he tackles in the field, because to him, this is
how heavy-handed our species has become.
all a story worth telling. It’s a story of ancestral heritage, native respect, and
the desire to live strongly, empowering us to open our minds and inspiring us
So, what if you don’t want to hunt? It’s certainly not for
to find our own adventure. For more info, please visit donnievincent.com.
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