A History of Humans and Hunting


How humanity has shifted from subsistence to supermarkets and the impact of this on health and wellbeing.
As a species, we have become so detached from our natural environment, and in particular… where our food comes from. It is terrifying how many people these days don’t know that beef comes from cows, pork from pigs, lamb from sheep, and yes, even chicken from chickens!
At Woodmill we believe we have a responsibility to educate people about the heritage of food. This includes the hunter gatherer lifestyle our ancestors had to lead to survive, and one that is now too often frowned upon as merely a ‘sport’ and no longer a legitimate methodology for sourcing our sustenance. Lack of education in this area is a real problem the world over, and so we want to share a little history lesson with you…
The first humans
Around 3 million years ago, the very first human beings were nomads who survived through scavenging from dead animals, eating larvae and insects, and of course plantlife. Evolution tells us that we then started to devise early hunting techniques to become the predator ourselves starting by tracking our prey and learning to be unseen and unheard. It was later that we saw the invention of some basic weaponry with the resources available. In the Neolithic period things shifted towards the agricultural side of our history and humans started to breed animals for the purpose of eating in the first Agricultural Revolution. At this time hunting techniques became the preliminary method of land and livestock protection as opposed to food sourcing. We resultantly saw the decline in hunting out of necessity except for in times of failed crops, or food shortages due to poor breeding or illness.
Deer have always been an important part of our history
📷 Creative Commons Search
Regal regulations
Beyond this, we start to see hunting become a pastime of the privileged which is how it can still be perceived today. Historically aristocrats used the ‘sport’ of hunting as a chance to show off their strength and potential military prowess to both competitors and their subjects. Rules around hunting started to appear in the Middle Ages for Kings who utilised stalking time as talking time and rally support for their reign. Resultantly, lawmakers protected the lands and excluded the general population from the best hunting grounds limiting their access to wild meat. The first law surrounding game was in 1389 which stated that anyone without land or tenements of 40 shillings a year were not allowed to keep dogs for hunting, or keep any hunting equipment and poaching became illegal. As we see today however, the laws also worked in such a way to control populations of wild animals that if left unchecked provided a real threat to the agricultural lands that the peasants relied on… and to each other.
These changes were pivotal in the history of hunting and was the start of game taking centre stage in feasts and festivities just like we enjoy today. Humans also started to take a greater interest in the lives of these wild animals, the food chain as a whole, and the most effective methods of hunting for the enjoyment of eating. We start to see some of the earliest recipes for game, which is where we draw a lot of our inspiration from at Woodmill.
Creative commons
📷 Hunting became a hobby of the gentry
Enter the machines
The second agricultural revolution came at the same time as the industrial revolution (between 1500-1850) for obvious reasons! It meant that production could happen on a larger scale to start to feed the increasing population. The aim was to maximise the land available to create the most food in the most efficient way. Sadly, this meant the use of chemicals was introduced at a level never seen before meaning that quantity was valued over quality - something we don’t agree with here at Woodmill Game and why wild meat wins over farmed every time until this very day.
In the 60’s and 70’s we saw the third wave of agricultural revolution which somewhat ironically nicknamed ‘The Green Revolution’ due to its foundations in bioengineering. It had a hugely positive impact on food poverty and inequality but sadly it also damaged biodiversity through pollution of the waterways leading to the significant damage of several crop types and even extinction. This ultimately provided further issues for communities who already struggled with access to food and food security. People moved further away from the wild and natural and towards food that took a very different form to traditional produce. This was also the start of the era of misinformation and scandals such as the Nestle baby formula incident which actively encouraged the worlds poorest people to shun traditional methods for paid products.
To today
Today we seem to have found the perfect balance in Scotland of hunting being a pastime for people from all economic backgrounds, used for ecological and environmental good, and some fantastic eating! We are spectacularly lucky in Scotland due to the right to roam, and the laws protecting habitats and species including responsible population management through hunting. However due to increasing population numbers and the marketisation of food, it isn’t possible for all humans to return to complete self sufficiency, meaning food security is a problem globally. Not everyone has the time, inclination, or expertise to hunt and so that is where we come in! As a species we need to choose where to spend our money to get our food at the same time consider the ethics, the nutritional value, and the value for money. We acknowledge that strain here at Woodmill game and take each of those responsibilities very seriously as a provider of fresh produce.
Written by Kylie Ashlynn
9th October 2024

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