Using ultra running to explore indigenous hunter gathering practices

The problem with the current meat and dairy food system: 

Having being vegan for three and a half years, and vegetarian for five years before that, I have often not engaged with information from the industrial livestock process as I’ve found it uncomfortable and difficult to comprehend. However, the current pandemic has reignited my interest in our food system, and has made me consider the environmental, ethical and health consequences of intensive industrial livestock production, and has inspired my research into what natural hunting of animals looks like and how this evolved in humans. 

Many farm animals were domesticated between 6000-10,000 years ago, and family farms provided the meat and animal products for the family in a sustainable manner (Weis, 2013). Animals usually had access to nature and were kept in respectable conditions; the value of animals served as an incentive to treat them well. The move from family farms to agribusiness corporations has changed the way we produce, consume and think about animals and their products. In the past century, there has been a shift to intensive industrial methods, with around 80% of the growth in the livestock sector being a result of industrial livestock production (Henning, 2011).

The world diet is also changing, due to a strong link between increasing economic development and increases in protein intake. Weis (2013) has termed this the “meatification of diets” and discusses how by defining this trajectory as the ideal goal, it will legitimise the industrial livestock process and naturalise inequalities. For instance, in 1961, an average of 23 kg of meat and 5 kg of eggs were consumed by roughly 3 million people, whereas in 2013, these numbers had increased substantially to an average of 43 kg of meat and 10 kg of eggs consumed by 7 billion people per year. This global trend of increased demand and consumption of animal products, particularly pigs, poultry, and cattle, has quadrupled in the past 50 years. This trend doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon: with populations still increasing, the FAO forecasts that by 2050, total global meat production will be 484 million tonnes (FAO, 2018), compared to just 71 million tonnes back in 1961. 

The interactions with animals and the consumption of their products varies greatly globally. Whilst wealthier people may only interact with livestock through their diets in the form of food, over a third (36%) of the world’s population raise livestock for a living (Weis, 2013). There is huge disparity between meat consumption in developed and developing countries, with countries in the Global North consuming three times as much meat, four times as much dairy, and twice as many eggs as those in the Global South. Furthermore, there is a strong positive relationship between GDP and consumption of animal products (Weis, 2013).

What are the impacts of industrial livestock production? 

The overconsumption of animal products is a leading contributor to a range of human health issues such as malnourishment, obesity, chronic disease, antibiotic resistance, and the spread of disease (Henning, 2011, Weis, 2013). Viral diseases in animals which have the ability to cross between species can cause pandemics (Weis, 2013), such as COVID-19 which as of 27.05.21 has resulted in the worldwide death of over 3.5 million people (WHO, 2021).

Livestock production has substantial environmental impacts and is the leading cause of freshwater use and pollution, rainforest deforestation, species extinction, and biodiversity loss (Henning, 2011). Livestock production “dominated landscapes, commands resources and wrecks environmental damages” (Weis, 2013). Moreover, the animal agriculture sector is a large emitter of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) and is responsible for approximately 9% of global CO2 emissions (Koneswaran and Nierenberg, 2008), primarily due to the fertiliser requirements necessary for feed crops, transport of feed and animal products, on-farm energy usage and land use changes (Steinfield, et al. 2006).

For the most part of agrarian history, those who cultivated plants also raised animals which were considered precious commodities in agricultural societies (Weis, 2013). However, by 2000, 81% of all beef cattle were slaughtered by just four beef corporations, with family farms almost completely phased out of operation (Weis, 2013). Large, industrialised production is more cost efficient, meaning small scale farmers cannot financially compete. For the majority, the food system is no longer one of self-sufficiency, which can lead to food insecurity and a system that depends on poorly paid labour (Weis, 2013). 

Animals are no longer raised, instead they are produced and have become a commodity for consumption. Factory farms keep animals in small, confined spaces, and animals are fed and fattened with low-quality protein such as soy and corn. This results in a range of issues, from significant antibiotic use to combat costly infections, easily caused from the living conditions in factory farms, to manure production which is in excess to the need of local cropland, leading to nutrient waste and pollution (Koneswaran and Nierenberg, 2008). These animals are devoid of a natural environmental experience, and have no way to form their own connection to the land; raising animal welfare and ethical concerns. 

How does this reflect our relationship with other species and the land?

The nature of violence which enables the industrial livestock industry to exist is reflective of the way humans relate to other species. Animals are classified as ‘legal property’ (Francione, 2000), and John Locke believed that humans were given domination over animals by God (Locke, 1690). Similarly, Descartes believed that animals had no mind and were akin to machines (Descartes, 1637). We reserve personhood just for the human species, and society has promoted the fallacy that humans are somehow more worthy of receiving Earth’s resources (or gifts), instead of accepting that we are equal members of an integrated species system (Kimmerer, 2017). These views of human exceptionalism have shaped our relationship with animals and have allowed the exploitation we see today to take place (Kimmerer, 2017). On the 13^th May 2021, vertebrate animals in the UK were formally recognised as sentient beings (GOV UK, 2021). This means that any new legislation will have to consider the ability of animals to feel pain and joy; a significant step forward, but still a long way from relinquishing the dominating status of humans over all other species.

These ideas lead into the main question of this essay and practical project:

How can we consume in a way that does justice to the lives we take? 

Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 2013 pg. 177

In her book ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’, Kimmerer introduces the moral question (above). As humans are heterotrophs, feeding on the carbon transmuted by other beings is essential to our survival. Taking without giving in return, is a key feature of our consumeristic, commodity-based, capitalist society (Kimmerer, 2017) which allows us to extinguish the lives around us on behalf of our own (Kimmerer, 2013).

We can turn to traditional knowledge from indigenous peoples to understand how cultures can engage in reciprocity with the more-than-human world (Kimmerer, 2017). In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer meets the Onondaga people who practice deer hunting to provide food for the community:

Here we get a glimpse of the gratitude held by the Onondaga peoples, and acknowledgment of the lives taken to support theirs. They obey the Honourable Harvest: a set of unwritten guidelines which govern human consumption, where plants and animals are treated with the same respect and responsibility as human persons (Kimmerer, 2017). The exchange of a life for a life is intertwined with safeguarding the Earth’s “resources” to ensure a sustainable supply for forthcoming generations. Here, Oren’s deer provided food for three families, and it provides an example of a respectful human-animal relationship, where the deer was able to live a natural life and was killed in the absence of suffering (Kimmerer, 2013). 

To understand how we could develop a sustainable relationship with animals in the future, we can look back at how humans evolved to consume animals. Back when humans were hunter-gatherers, we would run to hunt animals, and to run away from animals which hunted us; we were an active part of the food system, and therefore were fully connected to the prey that we caught. It is thought that the human ability to endurance run has played a key part in the evolution of meat-eating, specifically in scavenging and persistence hunting (Liebenberg, 2006). Persistence hunting involves the chasing of an animal, usually over large distances in mid-day heat, until the animal reaches exhaustion and collapses. Specific biomechanics have developed to enable humans to run for extended periods of time. Humans have unique sweating glands which operate at a high secretory level which allows us to undertake vigorous physical exercise at a more effective manner than other animals in warm environments (Liebenberg, 2006). Other adaptations include bipedalism, loss of body hair and a larger body surface area to reduce thermal and water stress, allowing humans to run further before encountering regulatory constraints (Liebenberg, 2006). 

Persistence hunting has been observed in several groups in recent years (Lieberman et al. 2007):

• Kalahari Bushmen
• The Tarahumara of northern Mexico
• The Navajo and Paiutes of the American Southwest
• Australian Aborigines

During a persistence hunt, the hunters must form a connection with their prey, through understanding its movements, tracking it, and spending hours on the chase (Liebenberg, 2006). When they eventually run down their prey, they kill the animal quickly with respect. As a result of this experience, people value the animals they eat. Similarly, in Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer discusses how the taking of another life is influenced by our connection to it. 

This process which follows the guidelines of the Honourable Harvest, is very different to the process of the industrial livestock industry. In the Global North, people rarely have any interactions with livestock animals, until they, or products derived from them, appear in a supermarket aisle packaged up ready to be sold. This disconnect to the land and to the species we consume is allowing humans to remain ignorant of the impacts of their dietary choices. 

Practical Project:

Aim: To undertake endurance and ultra-running to explore first-hand the challenges of persistence hunting and understand how this practice can establish respect of the natural world. 

Many of my runs were in the Lake District National Park, as I wanted my runs to be in the same place to help form a specific relationship with the land in that location. Runs completed from 01/2021 onwards had to take place in an alternate local environment instead due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The trail runs involved generous elevation gains, providing clear views of the landscape, and I was treated to grass, trail, rock, and vegetation underfoot.

With a baseline of roughly 30km total of running per week, prior to undertaking ultramarathons, I decided to investigate whether it was possible for my body to undertake long distance running (> marathon), at a pace similar with persistence hunters, without a high baseline of training. The average speed of persistent hunts was between 4.2 to 10.0 km/hour (Liebenberg, 2006), and my average speeds can be compared in Table 1. I was interested to investigate if I still held the natural adaptations mentioned in the previous section, which would allow me to adapt to endurance running. 

Date	Distance (Km)	Elevation (m)	Average speed: km/hour
24.05.2020	42	1,128	5.9
30.06.2020	50	2,848	5.33
25.07.2020	50	3,421	2.92
05.09.2020	72	4,712	2.73
01.01.2021	38	1,342	6.34
17.01.2021	45	380	8.05
02.03.2021	100	1,405	6.50

Findings:

Like persistent hunters, through spending significant amounts of time running, I became connected to the land around me. When running through all types of weather conditions, such as snow and fog, following trails became more challenging so I had to follow small marks and animal tracks to make sure I was going the correct way (Figure 2). This connected me to every person and animal who had walked my path before me, and everyone who would come after me. 

Over the summer I was fortunate to receive the many gifts of berries offered around the trails: raspberries, gooseberries and blackberries (Figure 3). The more time I spent in nature, the more I naturally noticed the berries, and over time I learnt which ones would be the tastiest. Moreover, on such long runs, collecting water from natural sources was a necessity, so understanding the local animal patterns was vital to ensuring the safety of the water I was drinking. Finally, the more time I spent in the Lake District, the more sensitive I became when interpreting the local weather system. There is rarely phone signal in the mountains, so this forced me to rely on my cloud identification skills, and observations of the topography to see how these factors would interact. 

By running at a slow consistent speed, I was able to aerobically run at a level which avoided severe muscle tear. This is a key factor of persistence hunting, as the hunters would need a short recovery time in order keep providing food (Liebenberg, 2006). My legs adapted quickly to the distance and the elevation, and the fitter I became from running, the less energy I expended (according to data from my running watch). 

Overall, my experiences of endurance running have made me appreciate the value of animals through understanding the physical process of persistence hunting. By building a relationship with an animal you can respect its life and comprehend the impact of the life you take to consume it. 

The reaction to my ultrarunning from the public has been one of admiration and surprise. Many people didn’t realise that we are biomechanically suited to endurance running, and considered long distance running and foraging to be ‘unnatural’. This highlights the social constructs put in place by the capitalist system to disconnect us from nature, as in comparison it is considered completely ‘natural’ to overconsume meat from animals living in factory farms, pumped with antibiotics and cheap feed, who may have gone outside but a handful of times in their lifetime (Weis, 2013), – in reality, this is an unnatural practice. 

Conclusion

Returning to persistence hunting isn’t necessarily the solution to industrial livestock production, but the practice can be crucial to understand how we can foster a relationship of respect, reciprocity, and relatability to the natural world.  Ultimately, society needs to re-consider how it values and treats animal lives, and a decrease in meat consumption will play a key part if we want to have a sustainable and ethical livestock industry. As discussed in my practical project, endurance running can be an effective way to re-connect to nature and respect those lives we must take in order to survive. To be aware of the effects of our consumption, we must be connected to the natural world.

Special thanks to Professor Beccy Whittle and Megan Jones.

References:

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Lieberman, D., Mahaffey, M., Cubesare Quimare, S., Holowka, N., Wallace, I. and Baggish, A., 2020. Running in Tarahumara (Rarámuri) Culture. Current Anthropology, 61(3), pp.356-379.

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Weis, T., 2013. The ecological hoofprint. New York: Zed Books.

Appendices:

Running log:

24.05.2020

30.06.2020

25.07.2020

05.09.2020

01.01.2021

17.01.2021

02.03.2021