What are venison benefits and side effects every ethical consumer must know? Here are venison pros and cons and how buying them will impact your health, the environment, animals and laborers.
Food is something we consume every day. If you’re like me, you do all the research you can to make sure you don’t hurt yourself, the planet, animals or others when shopping. As an ethical consumer myself, I am giving you all the info I’ve found on venison benefits and side effects.
You are going to learn all about venison benefits and side effects. This will include venison benefits for your health and potential risks, venison water footprint and carbon footprint, sustainability, if venison is vegan or impact animals in other ways, and much more.
After learning if venison are good or bad for you, the environment, animals and human rights, you will be able to make the best choices you can the next time you buy food.
This post is all about venison benefits and side effects that every ethical consumer should know.
Top Venison Benefits And Side Effects
Health
Venison side effects may include:
- dehydration
- high cholesterol
- obesity
- weight gain
Venison benefits may include:
- anemia prevention
- muscle building
Additionally, venison is…
- Acidic 5.5 pH level once digested
- Gluten Free
- Not a common Food Allergen
- Venison is considered “red meat”
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Environment
Water footprint: likely high, 15,415 liters of water used to produce 1 kilogram of bovine meat / 1,847 gallons of water used to produce 1 pound of bovine meat
Carbon footprint: likely high, 68.8 kg CO2e to produce 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds of beef, a car driving equivalent of 158 miles or 254 kilometers
Destruction: high, venison production is relatively destructive, land usage for pasture, grain and forage, solid waste (excrement/manure) runoff into soil and freshwater, deforestation for feed crops, animal agriculture leading cause of: species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution and habitat destruction, responsible for up to 91% of Amazon destruction
Venison is…
Animals
Kills: elk, deer, or antelope must be killed in order to produce venison
Harms: elk, deer, or antelope must be used in order to produce venison
Indirectly kills or harms: ecosystems and wildlife
Venison is…
- Not Vegan
- Harmful to wildlife and ecosystems
Laborers
Health and safety: hazardous, meat processing workers have some of the highest rates of occupational injury and illness in the USA, the work environment in processing plants is dirty, dangerous, at times machines that injure workers by crushing, amputating, burning and slicing them, workers use tools such as knives, hooks, scissors, and saws, injuries include cuts, stabs, infections, scars, scratches, missing fingers, swollen joints, working conditions are humid, slippery, loud, hot or below freezing resulting in respiratory problems, skin infections and falls, workers experience
Living conditions: poor, workers must process thousands of animals per day, they are pressured to work as fast as possible, rest breaks and bathroom breaks are discouraged or denied, many workers must wear diapers, they experience stress, physical and emotional pain
Wages: low, in the USA workers are poorly compensated and earn under $15 an hour, they are often pushed to work faster so companies can profit more
Venison…
- Involves worker exploitation, laborer issues, human rights concerns
Where does most venison come from? 📍
New Zealand is the world’s top venison exporting country followed by Germany, Spain, Austria, France, Poland, the UK, Hungary and Netherlands.
Is venison nutritious? 🥗
Venison is high in protein but may be infected with disease.
What are some vegan substitutes? 🍴
Check out this Vegan Substitutes List to see alternatives for meat, dairy, eggs, fish and more.
venison is acidic.
Is venison alkaline or acidic?
Venison is acidic.
What is the pH level of venison?
Venison has a 5.5 pH level once digested. Meats and wild game are acidic food groups.
When you eat food, it is broken down to an ash residue that can be neutral, acidic or alkaline. Minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, zinc, silver, copper and iron produce an alkaline ash; whereas sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine and iodine, which are found in meat, coffee, dairy and alcohol, leave an acid ash.
Going alkaline easier than ever with this: Acidic and Alkaline Foods List
venison is gluten free.
Is venison gluten free?
Yes, venison is gluten free. Venison does not contain gluten when unseasoned or unbreaded. Venison is a type of meat, therefore making it a naturally gluten free food.
While celiac disease may not be as rampant as many marketing trends lead us to believe, you may have a gluten sensitivity…
Celiac and gluten sensitivity symptoms are similar and may include: recurring abdominal pain, chronic diarrhea, constipation, tingling, numbness in hands and feet, chronic fatigue, joint pain, unexplained infertility and low bone density (osteopenia or osteoporosis).
There are hundreds of potential symptoms, many of which are also symptoms of other conditions.
Going gluten-free easier than ever with this: Gluten and Gluten Free Foods List
venison is not a common food allergen.
Is venison a common food allergen?
No, venison is not a common food allergen. Some people may experience allergic reactions to venison but it is relatively rare by comparison.
A group of the eight major allergenic foods is often referred to as the Big-8 and includes milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans.
These foods account for about 90% of all food allergies in the United States.
Severe food allergies can be life threatening. Following ingestion of a food allergen, a person with food allergies can experience a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis.
Persons may still be allergic to and have serious reactions to foods other than the eight foods identified by the law.
Be aware of common dietary restrictions and food allergens with this: The Big 8 Most Common Food Allergens List
venison likely has a high water footprint.
Does venison have a high or low water footprint?
Venison likely has a relatively low water footprint compared to other foods.
What is the water footprint of venison?
It takes 15,415 liters of water to produce 1 kilogram of bovine meat / 1,847 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of bovine meat.
Did you know that water is a finite, non-renewable resource?
How much water does it take to produce an apple? A serving of rice? A steak dinner?
We need to be aware of something referred to as a “water footprint”. That is, the amount of fresh water utilized in the production or supply of goods we consume. As it turns out it takes significantly more water to yield foods that come from animals than foods that come from plants. Imagine how much water a cow needs to consume to generate a piece of beef. Not only how much water a single cow drinks, rather all the water that went into producing the crops that the cow ate.
Find out how much water your food consumes with this: Water Footprints of Foods and Ingredients List
venison likely has a high carbon footprint.
Does venison have a high or low carbon footprint?
Venison likely has a relatively high carbon footprint compared to other foods.
What is the carbon footprint of venison?
It takes around 68.8 kg CO2e to produce 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds of beef, a car driving equivalent of 158 miles or 254 kilometers.
Food not only has a water footprint but also a carbon footprint, known as CO2e, which stands for carbon dioxide equivalent. Since carbon measurements are a bit more difficult to comprehend, it is common to equate CO2e to the distance which a car drives in miles or kilometers.
When calculating carbon emissions, some factors may include…
- farm equipment
- animal feed production
- hothouses (greenhouses)
- food processing
- packaging
- transport
- refrigeration
- freezing
- package waste and more
But that’s not all!
It’s best to keep the following in mind when grocery shopping:
- shopping locally reduces transportation emissions
- food without packaging reduces waste as well as the carbon footprint
- refrigerated and frozen foods increase carbon emissions
- seasonal foods reduce carbon emissions from hothouses (greenhouses)
- growing plant-based foods at home is the most environmentally sustainable method with zero carbon footprint
Find out how much carbon your food emits with this: Carbon Footprints of Foods and Ingredients List
venison is unsustainable.
Overall, is venison eco friendly? Is venison sustainable?
Venison production is relatively unsustainable.
A 2018 Oxford University study – which is the most comprehensive analysis to date of the damage farming does to the planet – found that ‘avoiding meat and dairy is the single biggest way to reduce your impact on Earth’ as animal farming provides just 18% of calories but takes up 83% of our farmland.
Consuming animal products and byproducts is not environmentally friendly and is one of the worst things for the Earth. Not only is meat production wasteful, it causes enormous amounts of pollution. The industry is one of the biggest causes of climate change.
A 2010 United Nations report said that a global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world the worst impacts of climate change.
venison is not vegan.
Is venison vegan?
No, venison is not vegan. Venison is meat, the product of a deer, therefore making it an animal-derived food. A deer must be killed in order to produce venison.
Animals of factory farms and the livestock industry are suffering. They live in horrific conditions that often include confinement, physical abuse and unnatural environments…so much so that they need to receive antibiotics to keep from getting ill or spreading disease. They’re also injected with growth hormones to become fatter faster and live short lives, being slaughtered as soon as they finish growing and are killed prematurely, well before their natural lifespan.
Because we cannot see for ourselves how these animals live and what they endure does not mean it isn’t happening. The meat, poultry and dairy industries do everything they can to distance us from knowing how our food comes to be in order to keep us in the dark about what we support each time we buy animal derived products and byproducts.
Go vegan for animals!
It’s the best way to help animals and it’s not as difficult as you may think. Speak for animals with your actions, for they cannot speak at all.
Going vegan is easier than ever, at a glance with this: Vegan and Non Vegan Foods List
venison is a product with labor issues.
Is venison a product with laborer concerns?
At this time there are human rights concerns with meat production.
It’s important to stay aware of human rights concerns and worker exploitation that may be associated with specific brands.
Did you know the single largest employer in the world is agriculture? The labor involved behind each and every product cannot go unrecognized.
Sadly, many labor concerns exist around the world in both developed and developing countries. We must be vigilant to ensure what we buy is not contributing to industries that are unfair to their valuable workers. Some known problems include workplace health and safety, child labor, gender inequality, inadequate pay, wage theft and exploitation. Workers can even experience harassment, humiliation and violence and unfair employers often fail to provide laborers with access to shade, drinking water, restrooms and breaks. Consequently, laborers can face nausea, dizziness, heat exhaustion, dehydration and heat stroke -the leading cause of farmworker death!
Such mistreatment is like modern day slavery. Workers are often afraid to report issues because they fear it will result in losing their jobs or deportation.
Fair trade organizations fight to ensure better social, environmental and economic standards.
We can improve people’s lives with foods we eat every day simply by buying products that are certified fair trade.
Be sure to read up on this list of ‘Foods You Should Always Buy Fair Trade‘
This post was all about venison benefits and side effects.
Sources:
all natural venison ground meat, venison
