Eat With Your Hands, Just like Mark Zuckerberg

Image via Blisstree

We've come a long way since our caveman days: most people, especially those in first world countries, have access to a wide variety of foods anytime we want them. Gone are the days that we have to spend an entire day hunting animals for their meat and searching for safe produce - now we can buy a week's worth of nourishment at the store in less than an hour. While this food development has certainly lead to longer lives, there's a catch: we've massively disconnected from the source of it all and in many ways we've unhealthier and harder on the environment as a result.

However, there are some people who maintain a connection to the source of their food. Many people shop at farmers markets where they can speak to the people that grow, harvest, and prepare their food. Others have gardens in their backyards or windowsills. And a small amount of people who choose to eat meat and dairy raise or hunt animals for this purpose. Take Mark Zuckerberg for example - the CEO of Facebook recently announced that he only eats what he can kill. 

Vegetarians may find the thought of killing your own meat horrid, but at least it's a big step away from factory farms. And, since hunting is quite time consuming and involved, it can result in less meat consumption. Zuckerberg for example told Fortune magazine that he is mostly vegetarian (and healthier) for this reason: “This year I’ve basically become a vegetarian since the only meat I’m eating is from animals I’ve killed myself. So far, this has been a good experience. I’m eating a lot healthier foods and I’ve learned a lot about sustainable farming and raising of animals.”

While going completely vegetarian is the optimal choice for sustainability, hunting animals or raising livestock instead of buying at the store is certainly a greener choice because there's less waste (packaging, pollution, transportation, feed, etc.). It's also healthier because there's likely no chemicals or medical interference involved, and the meat is probably eaten a lot faster after the kill. Not to mention the direct connection to the animal providing the meat, which hopefully leads to more appreciation for the food. 

Zuckerberg said he's "learned a lot about sustainable farming and raising of animals. It's easy to take the food we eat for granted when we can eat good things every day." It's wonderful that he is bringing awareness to this matter and it would be wonderful if more people chose only to eat what they could kill or grow themselves. This could lead to a lot less animal cruelty, better health, and a more sustainable world.

Though it's unlikely that the average person will take the time to learn how to hunt or raise their own meat and dairy, anyone can start a garden and grow their own produce. Seeds are available at most grocers and at garden shops, as are potted vegetable plants that simply need to be watered and/or transferred to a garden. And if this is still too much of a challenge, taking the time to speak to the people that sell food, whether at a grocery store or farmers market, is a big step in learning about where food comes from and how it's made. Maybe the cavemen (and women) had something right after all...