In today’s world I think we worry far too much about some things. How many people have you heard of that died from eating venison that has traces of lead in it? I have never heard of one. We’ve been hunting and eating whatever we bag for generations. To throw away thousands of pounds of venison being held at foodshelves because it may have a tiny bit of lead in it is absolutely crazy, some people desperately need and can use this meat.

Another case of someone trying to make a molehill into a mountain.

For the private hunter that does his own meat cutting this should be a non-issue. It starts before a shot is even fired with accurate shot placement and continues through proper game handling right to the cutting and wrapping table and the decision as to what is kept and what is discarded.

Has any testing been done on meat other than venison processed by these processors?
Perhaps it’s not the animal but rather the equipment used.

Eric Atherton wrote a great article on this topic in last night’s Rochester Post Bulletin. Read the article, and it will all make sense. My family will continue to hunt and eat venison.

I cannot eat fish due to the mercury, now I cannot eat deer due to the lead. Maybe I would be better off eating fish and deer rather than risk downer cow hamburger.

Maybe we should here more about the methods of the processor, as they are being paid for this service. What are thier guidlines for food safety in this issue and are they following the same methods of inspection as they are for any other meat product that is distributed commercially. The thought of donating is great but it must be followed through from field to table to insure a safe product

This is simply a baby-step in the anti-hunting/anti-gun movement. California is banning lead everything in the name of “Condor protection” - which by the way is a Democratic movement. Today there is a bill being proposed in Minnesota that would make lead shot illegal on all public land, another Dem movement - and we all know there agenda. Is there a possiblility of a lead fragment in wild game, of course. Is there a possiblity that, like mercury, that it’s coming from a natural substance that wild game consume - absolutely. This is all about politics and very little of nothing to do with consumer heath protection. Unfortunately this will effect the good intentions of hunters to donate meat to food shelves - the loosers: Those in need.

Seems to be a very unfortunate overreaction typical of preceived health threats in this day and age. The bottom line is someone that eats venison or other lean game meat on a regular basis will live longer than someone eating only beef and other domestic livestock.
Hopefully inspectors and other regulators will be able to provide processors with some simple steps to properly trim game meat.Hopefully this is done quickly to minimize this hunter PR nightmare.

I’m 61 , raised 4 kids ( no seatbelts ) We have to many groups & people that have nothing better to do than cause problems were there are none.
Live your life , there is more to worry about than meat or fish. To the people that complain, GET A LIFE. Thank you Dwight

I’m in my 60’s and have eaten wild game my entire life, just as my family has. That includes venison and fowl, all taken with some form of shot that usually included lead. Is it a surprise that some lead (or copper slivers) will be found? Absolutely not. No different than finding a rare bone splinter in processed hamburger, a pit in a pitted olive, a fish bone, a pebble in peanuts, a sand grain in wild rice or a discolored grain in pure, highly processed white rice. How did we handle it? With common sense; you pick it out or spit it out.

My father ran a meat processing plant for many years and processed thousands of animals, both wild and domestic. Proper trimming eliminates most of the risks that were found. Along with bullet fragments in wild game, I recall seeing pork, beef and venison with large wood splinters, wire, and other metal imbedded in weird places, and not related to hunting. When found, it was dealt with but even with close scrutiny, I’m sure some escaped detection.

Frankly, I think this whole subject is being overblown, perhaps with assistance from anti-hunting forces,(Re; Rochester article). It’s a crying shame to see this meat wasted. A better choice would have been to donate it back to unsuccessful hunters who would understand how to use it, or trade it to hunters for a cash donation. Then let the food shelf folks go back to handing out rice, lima beans,mac and cheese and other so-called ’safe’ foods. Where’s the common sense?

Sounds like the press was taken in again by special interest groups. This dermatologist, Dr. Cornatzer who is a member of the Peregrine fund which advocates the banning of lead bullets and is antihunting,presented a scary scenario. To bad it wasn’t given a fair evaluation of benefits and risks. It was a shame that he caused all this fine food to be disposed of rather than be used to the benefit of the many who need good healthy protein. It is much more healthful than processed beef, chicken and pork which is fat and has been enhanced with hormones and chemicals to promote rapid growth. According to his reasoning we should dispose of all the wounded veterans of our wars who have carried lead for years in their tissues. Also plumbers and trades people who have soldered and had lead splash and burn into their skin. And those with old amalgam fillings. Also all the hunters such as myself who have eaten venison, pheasants and duck for many decades. We even occasionally swallowed a lead shot. I have eaten wild game for over 70 years at least once a week and consider it to have contributed to my good health despite its miniscule amount of lead contamination. It didn’t affect my mind too much either as I managed to achieve a Doctorate degree. This whole thing is such a sham and what a waste of perfectly good healthy food. Makes me wonder if I should continue to contribute to the food shelves if they are so quick waste thousands of pounds of a perfectly good food source. Larry Gallagher M.D.

I am primarily a bowhunter and as all bowhunters know there is no lead in archery equipment. It’s a really sad situation to think that nobody ever thought enough to sort the donated meat into the type of harvest method used (via lisc. records) and the clean veinson is tossed out with all the rest.

It angers me that MDA, DNR, MDH have no common sense to properly educate people on the “real” instead of the “perceived” risk. People are rioting across the rest of the world due to food shortages and prices and here in the US we throw out perfectly good food due to some misplaced fear over a potential contaminant that has likely been in wild game since people first started harvesting animals with firearms.

If any food shelf wants the donated meat that was tossed out replaced with venison taken via archery I’ll be the first to stand in line to empty my freezer today. Fellow bowhunters, I challenge you to do the same.

It’s interesting that a scare story like this should come out on the front page of the Star Tribune just as the legislature is about to hear a bill which could possibly ban the use of lead ammunition for hunting. I believe this is just another “back-door” ploy from the anti-gun crowd to limit the use of firearms for any reason. They can’t make any progress against the firearms so the next logical step would be to limit the ammunition available.

Am I concerned? Not hardly. Perhaps more effort should be concentrated on proper carcass handling and butchering.

I use quality ammunition, remove all blood shot meat, and prefer neck shots in general (and don’t care for neck roasts…). If deer are being mass butchered on a production line for food shelf consumption, then it’s likely that less care is taken than when we butcher it ourselves. A small particle can easily be mixed in with a vat full of burger.

That said, I find it hard to believe that the amount present really poses a danger. Crossing the street can be far more lethal. Put into the perspective of how many animals have been shot and consumed with no ill effect over the last 600 years of firearms, I’m not too worried.