# Would it be possible to supply enough venison to make a regular fast foot item. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2017, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092 "2017-10-17T00:26:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/61 "2017-10-18T01:55:52Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > I can’t think of a single supermarket I’ve ever been in that DIDN’T have lamb chops. Where do you people live? It’s hit and miss here in my neighborhood in Chicago. The two grocery stores I typically shop at do not usually have it (sometimes they do stock it, but not usually. Goat, on the other hand, I can find regularly at one of them). Another one down the street usually does, but it’s freaking expensive. If I want lamb, I drive a few miles down to the halal butcher, where the prices are about 1/2 to 2/3 of the grocery store down the street. Lamb is definitely not a meat I expect to find at most grocery stores. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/62 "2017-10-18T02:06:13Z")
Weird. My grocery shopping life has been spent in NYC and LA, and I always notice the lamb because I don’t like it and I get grossed out just having to look at the raw meat. Goat is definitely a specialty thing for me, though I’m sure it’s actually totally common in Mexican/Central American markets where I don’t usually shop. Duck is available either at a place like Whole Foods, my local fish purveyor (which also carries frozen duck/goose/quail/etc. for some reason), or you go down to Chinatown where they are ten times cheaper and fresh killed. Head’s on, though, that kind of freaks me out. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/63 "2017-10-18T02:30:27Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > Goat is definitely a specialty thing for me, though I’m sure it’s actually totally common in Mexican/Central American markets where I don’t usually shop. I knew my old neighborhood in the Bronx was changing when the local supermarket had a special on goat meat. 🙂 (Also when the kids playing stickball at the playground were wearing turbans.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/64 "2017-10-18T02:33:26Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > Duck is available either at a place like Whole Foods, my local fish purveyor (which also carries frozen duck/goose/quail/etc. for some reason), or you go down to Chinatown where they are ten times cheaper and fresh killed. Head’s on, though, that kind of freaks me out. I think all three places I’m thinking of carry duck in the frozen section, along with cornish game hens. Fresh duck, though, yeah, typically more Whole Foods types of places. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/65 "2017-10-18T04:35:02Z")
Huh, regional variation? I can’t remember ever showing at a supermarket that didn’t carry lamb. Usually chops, legs, stew meat, and maybe ribs. I enjoy lamb, and have heard it is less likely to be factory farmed, so I buy it regularly. I’ve shopped for meat up and down the northeast. Duck is a specialty item. I might find it frozen, or at an especially good supermarket. Same with bison. Goat is hard to find. I’d probably look for an “ethnic” market if I wanted it. Goat is okay, but not my favorite. Or I imagine I could special order it from the same places where I can order goose. There used to be a specialty butcher in the area that carried rabbit and venison (frozen) but they’ve closed. I rather like rabbit, and think the flavor is mild and accessible, and have wondered why it’s not more widely available. I understand why venison isn’t more available (hard to farm, stronger flavor), but rabbit? ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/66 "2017-10-18T04:38:38Z")
Bison’s not hard to find in LA. It’s sold ground at Trader Joe’s and you can buy it in quantity at Costco–though not steaks I think. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/67 "2017-10-18T14:58:17Z")
I don’t think that you can “factory farm” sheep. They need a field with grass to thrive in, but with most ewes producing twins each year, the return can be fairly good for not a lot of effort. If they are grazed on open country, some farmers will only see their sheep a couple of times a year. They are not penned or branded but they are “hefted” which gives them an innate sense of where they belong. I was looking at an American recipe book last week and was surprised to see roast leg-of-lamb treated as a rare delicacy. Rabbit was popular here before and during WW2. After that it lost favour as it had been the most common form of meat for years - it was also seen as ‘poor man’s meat’. As a consequence, the population grew and became a nuisance (undermining railway embankments etc) so some bright spark decided to infect them with myxomatosis. The sight of diseased rabbits in the last throes before death was the last straw. > [@](#): > > Myxomatosis is a foul and cruel disease, bad enough even when you don’t have to explain its filthy human provenance to the kids. The suspicion right now is that it might be back with a vengeance. Our wild rabbit populations fluctuate hugely year on year but it is generally agreed that the creature has been in very sharp decline indeed over the past 15 years or so. Haemorrhagic fever took its toll in the early 1990s; now something else is responsible. Habitat loss, for sure — but myxomatosis is the likely culprit. Anecdotally, more and more cases are being reported in an ever-expanding breadth of southern England. The truth is that the disease never went away; the suspicion is that it is changing for the worse. > > [https://www.spectator.co.uk/2007/10/it-isnt-only-rabbits-who-will-suffer-from-the-new-surge-of-myxomatosis/](https://www.spectator.co.uk/2007/10/it-isnt-only-rabbits-who-will-suffer-from-the-new-surge-of-myxomatosis/) ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/68 "2017-10-18T17:35:48Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I knew my old neighborhood in the Bronx was changing when the local supermarket had a special on goat meat. 🙂 (Also when the kids playing stickball at the playground were wearing turbans.) I forget, but I think it was Minneapolis (large muslim propulation) I was there once and I think it was Costco that had large complete goat carcasses in the freezer for sale - halal certified. (Sort of like how even Coca Cola was kosher certified in the New York City area) > [@TSBG](#): > > Bison’s not hard to find in LA. It’s sold ground at Trader Joe’s and you can buy it in quantity at Costco–though not steaks I think. And everywhere I’ve looked in Trader Joes they had rack of lamb too… ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/69 "2017-10-18T17:37:00Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > I forget, but I think it was Minneapolis (large muslim propulatin) I was there once and I think it was Costco that had a large complete goat carcass in the freezer - halal certified. (Sort of like how even Coca Cola was kosher certified in the New York City area) > > And everywhere I’ve looked in Trader Joes they had rack of lamb too… some Costcos near me (Detroit area) have whole lambs in the freezer. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/70 "2017-10-19T01:54:13Z")
Can the elk-eaters say what neck of the US they are in? I ordered it a resort in Montana, I think, and I always thought, until reading this thread, that it was a menu item more for a cultural-local resort vibe for tourists than anything else. The preference/availability for venison as a general thing in England is interesting. Trying to think why…the class memory of venison (always the mark of the upper class table, if not forbidden to most inhabitants) stuck with it, and being available for peons was part of its success gastronomically? \*Those who had it eating out, not by hunting the animal themselves, and I type all of this because I originally wrote elk-eaters-out) ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/71 "2017-10-19T16:29:02Z")
I ate last night at a restaurant that had farm-raised venison on the menu. The Convict Lake Resort, located near Mammoth Lakes, CA. The farm is in Montana. FWIIW. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/72 "2017-10-19T17:09:49Z")
The Twister Moose restaurant in La Crosse, Wi has Elk sausage. Not sure what % is Elk [http://www.thetwistedmoose.com/menu.html](http://www.thetwistedmoose.com/menu.html) Brian ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/73 "2017-10-19T17:29:07Z")
The snack bar at the Ayers Rock resort had kangaroo on the menu. Tasted like beef. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/74 "2017-10-19T18:43:14Z")
I have had elk in (at least) NV, CA, OR. The last elk I had (and probably the only place most have heard of) was an elk burger at Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR. A friend just went elk hunting, he wasn’t successful so I don’t have any in my freezer. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2017, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/75 "2017-10-19T22:21:52Z")
Fun-fact fact check: moose are the largest land animals in North America, right? ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/76 "2017-10-20T01:32:54Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Fun-fact fact check: moose are the largest land animals in North America, right? There are several elephants in North America, so… ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/77 "2017-10-20T03:12:49Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Fun-fact fact check: moose are the largest land animals in North America, right? Tallest? Maybe. Bison weigh more though, at least at the upper range. Pronghorn are the fastest land animal in North America. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/78 "2017-10-20T04:00:02Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Ostrich is a good “venison” that can be (and is) farmed on commercial scales - it’s available at most any supermarket here. Tastewise it falls somewhere between beef fillet and true venison. Ostriches actually have the best feed-to-weight ratio of any farmed land animal, so from an efficiency standpoint, farming them would make commercial sense for any food chain. Giant omelettes too. ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/79 "2017-10-20T11:18:39Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > (Reindeer are more social. But reindeer meat tastes like dry tough gamy venison. I doubt there’s much market for it outside of being a Scandinavian novelty food.) Snipped. Reindeer is delish. The steaks are tender and juicy, dark and full of flavor. The leg meat and tougher cuts makes for good stew meat. The heart and meat is often cured. I’ve also eaten ribs - dried and salted, then soaked, steamed and seared. Mmmmmm! Sami people used to make a cheese out of the milk, but I don’t think it’s very common anymore. The cheese was incredibly tough and dry, so they would put it in their coffee or broth to soften it up and make it edible. > [@Hector\_St\_Clare](#): > > I suspect you could make reindeer meat palatable. I wonder if there’s increased warming of the Arctic and Antarctic regions (although I really hope we can come to our senses and do something to stop it) if we might see reindeer farming become more of a thing in places that are currently too cold for it. Reindeer aren’t farmed. They’re tagged and range free in the tundra. The warming climate has caused the tree line to move north, causing overgrowth of shrubs, limiting the growth of plants the reindeer eat and making food more difficult to get to. It could also cause migration of competitive species and predators, further limiting their range and bringing new (for the reindeer anyway) parasites along with them. And, lets not forget extreme weather. Things are not looking so bright for the reindeer, at least not in Norway. They might have to become farm animals, if we let the climate continue to warm up. Oh well, the mosquito’s are happy. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2017, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092/80 "2017-10-20T11:53:44Z")
> [@Plumpudding](#): > > Reindeer aren’t farmed. They’re tagged and range free in the tundra. Herding is still a form of agriculture - this is no different than cattle in the Old West. Plus I’ve seen some fully domesticated draft reindeer which live on farms in Finland year-round. Not as many as the freeroaming stock, but they are even physically different, I was told. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-it-be-possible-to-supply-enough-venison-to-make-a-regular-fast-foot-item/799092.md?page=5)