Why we shouldn't eat already dead animal instead of killing

[Ganesh Ujwal]

Why we shouldn't eat already dead animal instead of killing & eat them?

My Father told me that if we cook & eat dead animals we get unhealthy, that's why we should kill & eat them. did my father told correct answer?

 

[jedishrfu]

Yes, that's true. Dead animals no longer have any circulation maintaining tissue material like muscles and organs and pathogens may increase without internal regulation and would consequently be very toxic.

Typically the meat gets rancid if not refrigerated right after death.

 

[Simon Bridge]

Most of the animals we eat are dead at the time of eating/cooking. "Aged" meat can be dead for quite a while.
The exceptions iirc are some seafood. Oysters are traditionally consumed alive while lobsters are traditionally killed by plunging into boiling water as the first stage in cooking. That sort of thing.

Your father is talking about finding an already-dead animal, taking it home and cooking it.
The trouble with scavenged prey is that you don't know the circumstances that it died in - when we kill an animal we have some (with modern farming: lots of) control over the condition of the animal when it is killed. We also have certain knowledge of what it died of.

Imagine an animal dies from disease, or from poisoning - is it a good idea to eat it?

Similarly - what sort of organism has taken up in the carcass while it was lying there?

It is technically possible to overcome objections by being careful in selecting the found-meat, as well as preparing it. .e. maybe you saw the animal keel over right in front of you? However, the risks are higher.

As for this approach to obtaining meat as an alternative to killing, you should be able to follow why it is a bad idea institutionally to wait around for an animal to die by itself before processing it for food. i.e. it won't be in the farmer's interest to keep the animal in good health.

However, I understand that it is legal in some US States to eat roadkill.
Presumably it is not legal to serve it in restaurants though.

 

[Danger]

They don't have to be deliberately killed, as long as it's recent and the circumstances are known. For instance, when I was a kid one of our dairy cows tried to jump over a barbed-wire fence and ended up with a barb in her heart. Dead instantly. There was no way that we were going to waste her, so off she went to the barn for an emergency appointment with the hoist and saw.

 

[Evo]

Why we shouldn't eat already dead animal instead of killing & eat them?

My Father told me that if we cook & eat dead animals we get unhealthy, that's why we should kill & eat them. did my father told correct answer?

Based on your post, no, that's not correct. Meat sold in stores has been dead for some time. The animal does not need to be freshly killed if it's killed for consumption and handled properly.

Can you explain exactly what circumstances your father meant? It seems everyone, including me, has decided to make assumptions of what he meant.

Also, Simon, oysters are quite often cooked, they are baked, battered and fried, roasted on a BBQ grill, cooked in stews, soups, casseroles, stuffings.

 

[SteamKing]

However, I understand that it is legal in some US States to eat roadkill.
Presumably it is not legal to serve it in restaurants though.

AFAIK, if no one sees you, you can eat roadkill every day in every US state, if that's what you want.

It's not like the highway patrol is out looking for roadside diners.

As far as serving roadkill in restaurants, I won't tell if you don't. ;)

 

[SteamKing]

Dem ersters can be et raw, but folks fries 'em up a lotta times. Here's a whole buncha recipes fer ersters, in stew and in dressing:

http://www.saveur.com/article/-/Oyster-Recipes

 

[Danger]

oysters are quite often cooked

I wouldn't normally eat something like that, but I'm somewhat addicted to the smoked ones. A rare treat for me, though; maybe once a year.

 

[Evo]

I wouldn't normally eat something like that, but I'm somewhat addicted to the smoked ones. A rare treat for me, though; maybe once a year.

I *LOVE* smoked oysters. I was thinking about them after I posted.

 

[256bits]

Raw Oysters??
http://aem.asm.org/content/71/2/893.full
Samonella and or E.Coli contamination. You take your chances.

 

[SteamKing]

Raw Oysters??
http://aem.asm.org/content/71/2/893.full
Samonella and or E.Coli contamination. You take your chances.

Ah, a Swiftian, I see, on the subject of eating oysters.

Raw oysters are the ones with the most aphrodisiacal qualities. :k

It's not just e. coli and salmonella which contaminate raw oysters, but bacteria of the Vibrio family, which are quite nasty in their own right.

As filter feeders, oysters tend to concentrate whatever nasty stuff is found in nearby waters, which is why environmental conditions surrounding their locations have to be monitored carefully. It's not uncommon for oyster harvesting to be shut down temporarily after heavy rains or floods in nearby watersheds flush a lot of contaminants into surrounding waters, increasing the chances that harmful bacteria or other nasty stuff will settle in the oyster beds.

Still, with all the potential disasters which await the consumer of raw oysters, they are often served in this manner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster

 

[mp3car]

iirc, one of those Alaska shows on discovery showed that when a large animal is hit on the road, not only is it legal to process the animal into food, but it's the law. You can't hit a moose and leave it on the side of the road and drive away (although, you'll be lucky if you're not being taken away in an ambulance after hitting a moose). This may only be true in rural areas of alaska, not in population centers like Juno/Anchorage/etc.

In contrast, I am not sure but I think in some other areas, it is illegal to keep roadkill, such as a deer, unless you call the police or local game warden's office to issue you a permit for it. I think they don't want people intentionally "hunting" for deer in the manner... of course you could still do it and claim it was an accident, but I'd imagine if you became a "regular roadkill killer" you might raise a few eyebrows.

Again, I'm not 100% sure on these statements, but seem to recall those are laws...

One thing I've always wondered about is what you're supposed to do if you hit and severely injure but do not kill an animal, such as a deer. An armadillo, opossum, skunk, racoon, etc, you're most likely not even going to pull over... but I'd feel kind of bad if I hit a deer and it's laying there suffering. I've always thought if that ever happens to me, I'd call the police and hopefully they could shoot it... Anyone know?

 

[SteamKing]

Like you said, it's hard to hit an animal as big as a moose or a deer and it doesn't leave some kind of mark on your vehicle. It's a fortunate driver indeed who is involved in such an incident who escapes without serious injury.

 

[Danger]

One thing I've always wondered about is what you're supposed to do if you hit and severely injure but do not kill an animal, such as a deer.

Where I live, it's illegal to do anything other than call a Fish and Wildlife officer whether the critter is alive or dead. I doubt that anyone would fault you for trying to pet it to calm it down, but that would most likely be counter-productive.
Things that we shoot as pests, such as coyotes and gophers, are exempt from such protection, and nobody wants to hang around tending a wounded skunk.

 

[Pythagorean]

iirc, one of those Alaska shows on discovery showed that when a large animal is hit on the road, not only is it legal to process the animal into food, but it's the law. You can't hit a moose and leave it on the side of the road and drive away (although, you'll be lucky if you're not being taken away in an ambulance after hitting a moose). This may only be true in rural areas of alaska, not in population centers like Juno/Anchorage/etc.

In contrast, I am not sure but I think in some other areas, it is illegal to keep roadkill, such as a deer, unless you call the police or local game warden's office to issue you a permit for it. I think they don't want people intentionally "hunting" for deer in the manner... of course you could still do it and claim it was an accident, but I'd imagine if you became a "regular roadkill killer" you might raise a few eyebrows.

Again, I'm not 100% sure on these statements, but seem to recall those are laws...

One thing I've always wondered about is what you're supposed to do if you hit and severely injure but do not kill an animal, such as a deer. An armadillo, opossum, skunk, racoon, etc, you're most likely not even going to pull over... but I'd feel kind of bad if I hit a deer and it's laying there suffering. I've always thought if that ever happens to me, I'd call the police and hopefully they could shoot it... Anyone know?

Hi, mp3car, I'm from Alaska. If the meat is salvageable (which is usually the case with a moose) the State takes care of it. It's usually distributed to Native Alaskan villages. You don't get to process it and take the meat yourself, you have to call somebody and report it and let them decide what to do.

 

[zyxwv99]

There's nothing wrong with fresh roadkill if it's a large animal such a deer or moose. You can even sell it to the butcher shop. (Try searching Google Images for "Roadkill Helper.")

Incidentally, one our five basic taste buds (for umami, also known as savory) detects glutamate, a product of protein breakdown. It's the savory taste of meat that's been dead for a while. Some evolutionary biologists think we may have acquired a taste for meat as scavengers.

 

[Simon Bridge]

AFAIK, if no one sees you, you can eat roadkill every day in every US state, if that's what you want...

Oh if to do were as it were legal to do... then lawyers would be paupers and legislatures empty of life. Something.

I think we are agreed on the "fresh kill is OK" part.
The question was "...instead of killing". i.e. you don't kill the animal, you just find one that's already dead... maybe died on it's own.
I don't think anyone has actually disagreed with post #2 and 3.

... oh and I can't leave the oyster sidetrack alone without mentioning Bluff Oysters ... something of a big thing around here.

 

[Danger]

... oh and I can't leave the oyster sidetrack alone without mentioning Bluff Oysters ... something of a big thing around here.

Or you could come up here and try some "prairie oysters".

 

[Simon Bridge]

@ Danger: lulz

 

[dragoneyes001]

there is one big difference between killing and already dead animals. when you hunt an animal you usually bleed it and gut it soon after killing it. this removes many toxins that would spoil the meat if left in the animal too long after death. after an animal has been cleaned the meat can last a very long time depending on the curing process used beef jerky can last remarkably long after the kill.

a found animal will have not only the blood but all the organs saturating the system for however long its been dead till its found which in itself is potentially deadly to eat. also adrenalin which a traumatic death of the animal is in the blood the sooner its bled the lesser the amount which will be in the meat making the meat less tough for one and not passing on the adrenalin to the eater which is considered unhealthy the more you ingest.

your father was correct in what he said it was just a bit simple in how it was said.

 

[Andy Resnick]

<snip>Oysters are traditionally consumed alive <snip>

Goldfish, too...

 

[zoki85]

Buffalos, too..


:D

 

[Simon Bridge]

Are lions generally considered to have traditions in this respect?