Growing up, my family operated a cattle ranch. We had nearly 100 head of cattle and a few emu’s. My family also hunted for deer, turkey, and we spend a lot of time fishing. Most of the protein we ate came from the cattle we raised or the fish and game we hunted. Since what we ate was what we raised or hunted ourselves, waste was not an option. We never took more than we needed and shared with others what we could. From a young age my brother and I were taught to respect the land, to never take more than we needed to ensure a healthy population of animals to harvest the following season. Growing up in Texas our main source of fish was bass or catfish. I have never really cared for it but to not eat it was a cardinal sin in my household and against the social norms.
With respect to our cattle operation, all of our animals were free range. By that I mean we did not feed them grain or hay. They ate from the pasture land that we had cleared and the wooded acreage they roamed. In all we had 150 acres set aside for the cattle to roam and eat freely from the native grasses and plants. We also had 2 acres set aside for our garden. We grew tomatoes, peppers, corn, carrots, potatoes, and few other seasonal vegetables. This really eliminated the need to shop at a grocery store. With exception of a few items, we were self sufficient. Although the diet was somewhat limited, we learned to appreciate what we had and had almost zero waste. Now that I am older and live in the suburbs, I grocery shop. One thing that has remained the same is my taste for whole, organic foods. Where the societal norm has been to convenience, I never developed a taste for fast food or processed foods. My view on self sufficiency has not changed either. My wife and I are in the process of buying land so that we can revert back to a more self reliant lifestyle and pass that tradition on to our kids.
