I have never eaten so many different species of animal, ever. This past Sunday was the second Beast Feast put on by SUNY-ESF’s Wildlife Society. It was not like other potlucks I’ve attended.

The premise of the event is to bring dishes that include sustainably hunted or raised meat. Most participants were students and faculty in the environmental and forest biology department at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Although I am not a hunter, I brought an enthusiastic appetite.

There was beaver chili, duck wrapped in bacon, caribou, chicken, squirrel, venison in every form imaginable and possibly other species I did not recognize. Apparently, you can buy bison at Wegmans. I had a very difficult time keeping track of what was what, but each dish had a tag with a number, the name of the dish and the person who prepared it.

In an attempt to try everything, I took a small portion of each dish and still managed to feel like I was carrying around a lump of lead in my stomach. My body isn’t used to this much tender, chewy, gristly juiciness.

Venison baked ziti, duck delights, and bison meatloaf were voted to be the favorites. I loved the sausage with nutmeg. But I’m still not entirely sure what animal it was. I’m guessing venison.

Many of the students hunted the meat themselves and took the Hunter and Trapper Education for Wildlife Professionals course last semester. For some, the Beast Feast is a product of skills they learned in class. I was a little envious the environmental and forest biology department holds professional events this delicious.

While I listened to my friends swap hunting stories, I realized how foreign hunting is to my own life. I have never sat very still, shot an animal, killed it, retrieved it and returned home with the intention of eating it. There is food all around us, if you look for it.

My favorite story was of a relatively unsuccessful hunting trip. Victor Koos shot one squirrel. He shot it twice in the tree and watched it fall. When he went to retrieve it, there was no body to be found. As he was heading out for the day 40 minutes later, he went back to try one last time to find it. Victor shot the still feisty squirrel twice in the head to kill it.

Shortly after that the conversation turned to humane slaughter, and I could only laugh.

But they really meant it. These are biology students that have studied animal populations. In much of the Northeast, humans have driven out natural predators like wolves. There are way too many deer running around — let’s eat them.

Wildlife Society President Neil Foley emphasized the feast was a networking opportunity. Professors came with their families and donated textbooks to the raffle. They chatted with students, but they mostly stayed on the periphery enjoying the festivities.

ESF’s music society performed two sets of fun bluegrass to earnest applause. Attendees ate at tables and made sure their neighbors got a taste of everything, offering bites off their own plates. There were smiles all around the table as students lamented reptile pet troubles.

The conclusion was that this luncheon could have been improved only if it involved maple syrup.

Leanna Mulvihill is a senior forest engineering major and environmental writing and rhetoric minor. Her column appears every Tuesday. She can be reached at lpmulvih@syr.edu or followed on Twitter at @LeannaMulvihill. 

Published on February 13, 2012 at 12:00 pm