So, I'm thinking that if we weren't intended to eat meat, we would have more molars and no canine teeth.

Now, on to hunting...More deer starve and die by cars than by a hunters weapon. It is a known fact that the deer population in NY has grown to the point that they are becoming a nuisance, endangering the roads we drive our families on.

The irony of all this is that if it wasn't for hunting deer, more of them would die from car impacts and starvation -- both of which are much more cruel ways to die than by a hunters weapon.

One more irony; as the population continues to grow and since deer are truly herbivores (they possess no canine teeth), they will simply eat up all your nuts, berries, etc.

For the record, I think plants are just as delicious as animals, and especially when eaten in conjunction with.

Imagine a society that does not eat meat, I doubt people in it would be as aggressive, possessive, fearful and egotistic as we are today.

These negative qualities are all directly transferred from the meat to the meat eaters.

The cells in the meat retain these qualities (fear, anger, greed, etc.) during their last breath in the slaughterhouse or as wild animals are stabbed, shot, electrocuted or however else they are being killed and dismembered.

- It's not "sport" hunting. We eat it. Call it subsistence hunting. - Hunters and anglers are virtually the only taxpayers supporting conservation of all kinds. Example: every US Wildlife refuge was purchased and is managed by hunter dollars. - That's not counting the hundreds of thousands of acres of land purchased and managed by hunters/anglers through Ducks Unlimited, for instance, that benefit the phallaropes and frogs as much as the mallards. - The spandex sport industry has repeatedly beaten back attempts to create an excise tax devoted to conservation.

And adkerforever (among others), you don't have to wait for an excise tax. Send $ to your favorite bonafide conservation group (and I don't mean PETA) as sportsmen do to the tune of hundreds of millions per year.

Or get your hands dirty by helping out at a Trout Unlimited or Ducks Unlimited conservation project! You might actually enjoy the company of REAL conservationists!

Per your comment regarding hunting and fishing as a sick need for control- Your right as far as control, yes we do management, but as far as sick, that's just a cheap stab of ignorance. You have not a clue the wonderful feeling of putting the freshest, organic, hormone-free meat on your own dinner table for your family. For those of us that do eat meat it's not going to waste in which case it would if there was no hunting at all and I as an American am entitled to that right just as you are with your freedom of speech.

As far as fish and fishing, where do you find that sick and controlling? Fish meat is good for you as far as health is concerned. Maybe I'm just being typical...

As for yogachandra, If gas prices are going to affect commercial and industrial meat I would think then that those of us that hunt and fish close to our homes that we would be saving money as long as we do processing ourselves

How many deer would die of starvation if hunters didn't hunt? Maybe you would volunteer to feed them some of your granola to get them through the winter?

As for eating the animals in our woods and streams, I truly believe that man and womankind is evolving into more sensitive beings who realize how unnecessary it is to intentionally kill anything at all.

Imagine a society that does not eat meat, I doubt people in it would be as aggressive, possessive, fearful and egotistic as we are today. These negative qualities are all directly transferred from the meat to the meat eaters. The meat incepted these qualities in the slaughterhouse or as wild animals are stabbed, shot, electrocuted or however else they are being killed.

As for eating "twigs and berries", why is it a bad thing to eat healthy food that our bodies can easily digest? So many of the words in these comments are spoken like truly threatened people. They're defensive because THEY have not chosen a healthier lifestyle, and they'll get pissy and snap right back. Typical.

Also, these days, the only excuse for hunting and fishing is the sick need for control that some unfortunate people have.

And Dr. Spin - I would gladly pay a tax on the outdoor gear that I buy if it went to fund conservation programs. I would also strongly support a fee permit system for certain backcountry areas in the Adirondacks, with the money going to conservation funds, most notably the High Peaks - which have been ravaged and overrun free-of-charge by peak-bagging hiker-types for decades. Most "spandex sport participants," including myself, could easily afford to pay a small fee (similair to a hunting/fishing license) in order to gain access to the most popular Forest Preserve areas.

Unfortunately, spandex sport participants, their industry as a whole, and little-old-ladies-in-tennis shoes who watch wildlife refuse to tax themselves as hunters and anglers did way back during the depression to fund wildlife management at the federal level (and in most states) ... whether we can shoot/hook and eat it or not.

If Joe spent some time in the woods, he'd realize "sportsmen" don't hunt for recreation alone, although that's part of it. We eat the free-range, pesticide-free, hormone-free, sustainable game and fish we kill. We are the original locavores.

Joe's contention that young people would rather fiddle with a joystick in their living room is also disingenuous. They DON'T want to eat twigs and leaves. Give 'em a Big Mac and they're glad to eat dead things!

NativeTransplant: "I feel bad for kids who don't understand where the meat on their plate came from -- it's kind of sick to think they don't realize something died for their dinner. That's what makes it so delicious!" - - that's a horrible thought, especially when nothing really needs to die to feed that child.