What is the appeal of homesteading??

[Lady Sarah]

All I have to do is look at plants and they die. I wouldn't be able to grow anything to eat. OMG, killing and butchering animals, no,no,no! I would starve to death on a homestead. If I lived long enough. More likely some horrible animal would end up having me for dinner. I think those people are nuts. A bear can rip doors off of a car. If a bear is in the mood for homesteaders I totally doubt a wooden cabin is going to keep it out.

You never ate wild rabbit, or feral hog? You don't know what you're missing! You could also get a guide book to edible wild plants.

[Devlyn]

Growing vegetables and fruit really isn't that messy.  Depending on the climate it can be challenging. 
My girlfriend and I have a garden every year, we buy hogs from local farmers and butcher them with her uncle at his farm (the meat is so much better than that in the store), and are going to do a goat next.  Yes it's more work than going to the store, but the meat is superior, and it's WAY cheaper.

Goat is one of the best meals I ever had in my life. Surprised you don't see more of it.

[Colleen_definitely]

Agreed, it is very good.  And now that there's a local farmer raising them for fun we can get them at a really great price.  Some (dis)assembly required

[Devlyn]

It's always easier to take something apart than put it together!   

[Dena]

Agreed, it is very good.  And now that there's a local farmer raising them for fun we can get them at a really great price.  Some (dis)assembly required

My mother was raised on goat milk because she couldn't tolerate cow's milk as a baby. Her grandmother saw the problem she was having eating and instructed her mother to use goat milk instead. Kind of an insult in a way because my mother was raised on a cow dairy farm.

[BT04]

My mother was raised on goat milk because she couldn't tolerate cow's milk as a baby. Her grandmother saw the problem she was having eating and instructed her mother to use goat milk instead. Kind of an insult in a way because my mother was raised on a cow dairy farm.

My grandmother was raised on goat milk and didn't try cow milk until well after adolescence - said it tasted awful lol!

My husband and I will probably have goats for their dairy... which means capretto will be on the table.

[Kylo]

In the same way some vegans won't eat meat because they're opposed to the idea of killing, I won't eat something I wouldn't be fully prepared to kill myself.

Plenty of people will eat animals without ever knowing where it comes from or what it's like to take a life to live off it. I actually think it's a good thing to know the cost of what you're doing when you kill and eat something. Makes you appreciate it more. And the balance of nature. Losing any connection to where it all comes from makes it real easy to completely abuse land and resources.

[Julia1996]

You never ate wild rabbit, or feral hog? You don't know what you're missing! You could also get a guide book to edible wild plants.

I've never eaten rabbit. They are too cute to eat. I was watching one of those homestead shows and someone was teaching this woman to kill and slaughter rabbits. She picked it up and broke it's neck. OMG! That made me cry! I figured she would just shoot it.  Feral hog? That's a wild pig right? They taste different from regular pork you get at the store?

[Julia1996]

Goat is one of the best meals I ever had in my life. Surprised you don't see more of it.

Goat? Really? I didn't even know you could eat a goat.

[Colleen_definitely]

I've never eaten rabbit. They are too cute to eat. I was watching one of those homestead shows and someone was teaching this woman to kill and slaughter rabbits. She picked it up and broke it's neck. OMG! That made me cry! I figured she would just shoot it.  Feral hog? That's a wild pig right? They taste different from regular pork you get at the store?

Breaking its neck is just as humane (or more so) than shooting it, and it doesn't make a mess.  Feral hogs are regular domesticated pigs that escaped and went wild, they do definitely taste different.  How different depends on their diet.

I will say that the hogs that I get have meat that has a nice red color to it and isn't slimy like factory farmed pork from the store.  It feels a lot more like beef, and doesn't have that off smell the store bought meat does.

[Daisy Jane]

Humans didn't evolve to live the way we do now. We evolved in small tribes where everyone knew everyone else. Food was hunted, gathered, and grown. It seems likely that our modern conveniences are likely contributing to the rise in anxiety and depression in our species. We don't have enough real struggles to over come. I would suggest checking out Joe Rogan's most recent podcast episode #1034 with Sebastian Junger. Mostly of their discussion is about out natural inclination to engage in war, but he relates it to this topic I believe.

Speaking of, I never understood the appeal of hunting until I started listening to Joe Rogan's podcast regularly. A lot of my family members hunt, but I was never interested. After listening to him and some of his guests who are big into hunting, I'm sold on giving it a shot next fall. He often talks about the primal satisfaction of successfully harvesting your own meat.

[Julia1996]

My grandpa is into hunting. My dad and brother want nothing to do with hunting. If my only food was an animal I had to kill, I would starve. I just couldn't kill an animal. Seeing any animal killed disturbs me. Even dangerous ones like bears, wolves, etc. But that's just me. I don't judge anyone who likes hunting or saying it's wrong or bad. Well, let me amend that statement.  Anyone who could beat a baby seal with a club is sick and probably psychotic and dangerous.

[Cenna]

Most animals I'm fine with eating but rabits? No not ok too cute bunny is for snuggles not snacks.

[Lady Sarah]

In the wilderness, anything non-human that moves, is on the menu. Pythons and rattlesnakes are a delicious treat. Any bird big enough to cook is on the menu. The only problem comes with plant identification. If you do not know which plants can harm you, don't eat any of them. Even when you can identify them(such as the little bitty wild potatoes), there could be food allergies that come into play, that you may not experience with food from a supermarket. With fungi, such as mushrooms and puffballs), it helps to know when they are of the proper ripeness. Just one puffball the size of a golf ball can stave hunger for a few hours.
Knowing how to survive is key. Watching out for dangerous humans is even more important. It's much easier to scare off a 900 pound grizzle, than it is to scare off a lunatic with a firearm.