Au Naturel Cuisine

            With the rising costs of meat production and transportation, the food industry must search for sustainable protein raising methods. Some brave folks have taken the issue into their own hands by capitalizing on the byproduct of a common accident. Road kill, especially in wild areas like the Adirondacks, occurs frequently and results in the unfortunate death of wildlife. However, road kill need not always be unfortunate, as it presents an opportunity to utilize the meat of the dead animal.

While some might balk at the idea of consuming meat left on the side of the road, many find the act justified for both sustainability and ethical reasons. An unlikely proponent of meat consumption, philosopher Peter Singer even finds the consumption of road kill preferable to standard consumption as he says “If an animal has been killed in an accident…and if this dead animal is a source of food, why not eat it when it is edible?” (Kendall). Since the ethical impurities of killing an animal accidently are deemed less than those of raising animals for slaughter, road kill consumption has the potential to persuade even the staunchest animal rights proponents of its practicality.

Humans are not the only group that might benefit from this free source of meat as demonstrated by the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge’s call for any and all road kill to feed its animals. Most commonly, the Refuge seeks road kill to feed its sheltered wolves. The group consistently posts on its Facebook page urging Adirondack residents to report road kill so that they might quickly reclaim the meat. This use of the road kill can’t possibly have any negative attachments and serves the refuge well. Although a bizarre practice born from an unfortunate accident, road kill consumption turns a negative into a positive and is ultimately an easy way to capitalize on a free protein source.

Works Cited

ADK. "Adirondack Wildlife Refuge." FaceBook. December 2015Web. <https://www.facebook.com/Adirondack-Wildlife-Refuge-145482135468668/?fref=nf>.

Kendall, Gillian. "The Greater Good." The Sun. May 2011Web. <http://thesunmagazine.org/issues/425/the_greater_good>.