Reflections on Game Meat and Environmental Issues After Tasting Venison Bowl in Akan, Kushiro City

Hello. This is Nishimoto from the Kushiro City Akan Town Regional Revitalization Corps in Hokkaido.
In Akan Town, now that November has arrived, temperatures often drop below freezing in the mornings and evenings, and the mountain ridges have begun to put on their white makeup.
Since I had the whole day off today, I went out for a casual drive.

The time spent gazing at the scenery while driving aimlessly isa precious time for me to organize my thoughts.
In front of my computer, I tend to get caught up in the tasks right in front of me, thinking, "I have to get this done efficiently," butin the car, I feel like I can think about things a little further ahead without rushing.

At Roadside Station Akan Tancho no Sato, I ate their specialty,venison bowl.

At the Akan roadside station, dishes using local Ezo deer are popular, and they also sell items likeEzo deer burgers.
It was crisp and easy to bite into, yet moist and tender.
I have eaten game meat several times before, but I reaffirmed,
"I never realized game meat could be this delicious!".

🌱 Game meat = smelly and tough? That's a thing of the past

"Game meat is smelly" or "It's tough and hard to eat"—don't you have that impression?
Actually, the reason much of the game meat that doesn't taste good isdue to the processing method.

In the past, hunters would often bring the deer they shot in the mountains back home to butcher them, which inevitably took time and sometimes resulted in insufficient bleeding.
As a result, the image of it being "gamey" or "too tough to chew" became established.

But things are different now.
Across the country,certification systemsfor meat processing facilities have been established, andspeed and hygiene managementfrom capture to processing are now strictly enforced.
Thanks to that, you can nownormally enjoy high-quality, odor-free game meat at roadside stations and restaurants.

By the way, venison is asuperfood rich in iron and low in fat.
It is also a reliable source of nutrition that helps replenish what women often lack.

🌱 Is "extermination" cruel? No, it's a choice to protect nature

I think some people feel,"It's pitiful to kill animals just to eat them."I myself feel that way, of course.

But in the actual forest,the ecosystem is being destroyed because there are too many deer.
They eat up all the mountain grasses, new buds, and even the bark of trees, eventually causing the trees to wither, leaving the soil exposed, which can lead tolandslides and river floodingwhen it rains.

Furthermore, in Kushiro City alone, there was250 million yen in agricultural damage annuallyin fiscal year 2023.
To protect our rich forests and farmland, it is necessary to keep the deer population in a "proper balance."
We aren't "exterminating" them because we hate deer, but rather it isa painful choice to protect the balance of nature as a whole.

🌱 Learning from Ainu culture: What it means to receive a life

In the Hokkaido-Akan area,Ainu culture is still deeply rooted.
Since moving to Akan, I have been deeply impressed by their way of thinking.

In Ainu culture, deer are called "Yuk," and are consideredgifts sent to earth by the god who rules over deer (Yuk-kor-kamuy).

That is precisely why, when we partake of a deer, we thank the Kamuy who brought us that life anduse everything with care, from the fur to every single bone.
The Kamuy, treated with such respect, rejoices and brings new blessings to the earth—that is the philosophy of life that exists in Ainu living.

Since learning about this way of thinking, the meaning of the act of "eating game meat" has changed for me.
I feel that it is not just about "eating meat," but rathera cycle of connecting with nature, receiving a life, and giving back.

🌱 Eating game meat is a way to support environmental protection

I practice being a"flexitarian".
In my daily meals, I choose plant-based ingredients as much as possibleand enjoy meat without hesitation when eating out.

Even so, I want to actively eat game meat.
This is because game meat is not a 'life raised for the purpose of being eaten,' but rathera life taken to protect the balance between human life and nature.

It is a life that survived in the wild, not one spent entirely in a cage like livestock.
We must take that life with responsibility until the very end.
And, without forgetting the spirit of 'gratitude' and 'circulation' found in Ainu teachings.
I believe that is a'kind choice' that we living in the modern age can also make.

🌱 Conclusion: Rethinking the Balance Between Nature and Humans

Since moving to Akan-cho, Kushiro City, Hokkaido, I have had significantly more opportunities to think about thebalance between nature and humans.

Topics like mega-solar construction, the appearance of wild animals, and the many reports of bear-related incidents nationwide this year.
I feel that all of these are phenomena where 'human life' and 'the workings of nature' areoverlapping and clashing somewhere.

Looking at the vast sky and wetlands of Kushiro, I have come to think that nature is not just something to be 'protected,' butan existence from which we learn the wisdom to live together.

Triggered by the venison bowl I ate at the roadside station, I am once again chewing over the meaning of the phrase 'itadakimasu' (I humbly receive).
Caught by someone's hands, butchered, turned into a meal, and then becoming a part of our bodies—by knowing that background, I feel that eating becomes not just 'consumption,' butan act of participating in the cycle of life.

I want to continue tomake environmentally friendly choices as much as I can.
And as one step toward that, I would like to continue the action of 'choosing game meat.'