Whether you are reading this in the 20th story of a city apartment block, or from a bush shanty in a lost landscape, we consume. We consume food, we consume resources, we consume energy and we cannot escape that reality.
I recently watched a recording of Paul Maguire's presentation to TEDxDubbo. It was thought provoking and painted a pretty scary picture of what our children are up to these days, or to be more accurate what they're not up to; in his video he showed a graphic that painted the following picture:
A generation ago, it was reported that almost 75% of children played outdoors more often than they do in doors. Today, that number has evaporated to just 13%.
This is startling for a number of reasons, but most importantly because it paints a picture of a childhood, that coupled with unhealthy eating habits, is incredibly vulnerable to diet related dieseases and a childhood that has a total disconnect with nature and natural systems - including our food production.
In addressing the latter, I'm sure many would counter it with a "So what?". In this day and age of technology, both its breadth and accessibility, do we need to be connected with nature? Do we need to have an understanding, as the general public, of the way natural systems work?
I firmly believe the answer is yes, yes we do.
It will be these kids that will one day lead our country.
It is these kids that will one day shape policy as it relates to food production and threats to food production and food security generally.
It is these kids that will one day make decisions from their city office without being able to fully comprehend the consequences of those decisions for our environment.
In his address Maguire advocates for a reconnection with nature through zoos. In visiting zoos kids can observe animals in a replica natural environment. And I think this is incredibly important, but at the same time it can only ever be a connection through observation; a connection that is weak, delicate and subject to being lost easily on the long trip back home through the city congestion. In making a connection via observation only, one cannot truly appreciate, nor understand the complex systems at work.
Further, it does nothing to dispel the disconnect between stock in paddocks and dinner on the plate.
I have had first hand accounts of children believing that products such as mince, eggs, chicken drumsticks etc are a product of industry, that they are manufactured in a large factory and freighted to the supermarket. This is not healthy.
I suggest that we should go beyond simply observing at zoos and instead immerse ourselves in those systems that support us as a species.
Opponents of hunting especially have often decried those that take their children hunting and pass on the skills and knowledge needed to hunt successfully; their arguments often revolving around morals and safety. They often talk of love and care for an animals and that hunting erodes these.
What is often absent though is a key word: respect.
To this end hunting and fishing provide children with the opportunity to learn about this, about respect. Hunting and fishing teach respect. It teaches one to respect the individual animal, the particular species and the environment that supports them.
If we are to be successful in hunting or fishing, we must develop an understanding of our quarry and I challenge anyone to develop this understanding without respect for the animal developing hand in hand. If you fail to treat the animal with respect you will fail. If it's a dangerous animal (in Australia our most dangerous game are pigs and buffalo) a lack of respect can ultimately lead to you losing your own life.
But it does more than this, it teaches children about just how delicate life is, how easily it can end, that there are direct consequences to their actions and that once it is taken away there is no reset button to bring it back. We very quickly see the direct impact of our existence: an animal dead on the ground. And we learn that this animal's life means that we can continue to live ours; video games don't teach you that.
But most of all, it teaches us that our existence is inextricably linked to the natural world, that our ongoing survival has far reaching consequences and we cannot think of ourselves as isolated from the health and well-being of the environment. We are unquestionably a part of it and in today's political climate, appreciating this could not be more important.
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