Christopher L. Jorgensen
PO Box 546
Ames, IA 50010

March 11, 2020

Wild Idea Buffalo Co. LLC
1585 Valley Drive
Rapid City, SD 57703

Dear Wild Idea Buffalo Co,

​Look, I’m not some kind of activist vegetarian or vegan (or I’d tell you. Ha ha!). Hell, I don’t even do CrossFit (or I’d tell you. Ha ha!). I’m just a fat guy that doesn’t like to contribute to a wasteful meat industry. I hate the idea of industrialized confinement farming. I hate the idea that we grow an incredible amount of food to feed to animals which we then eat when we could just eat their food and cut out the middleman (or cow in this case). I think it was the great philosopher Nick Offerman who, referring to vegans, once said, “Your food is food for my food.” I get what he’s saying, but at the same time I think maybe if we cut back a bit on our consumption of meat, or even if we returned to farming practices that are environmentally friendly and sustainable we’d all be much better off!

I’m not ashamed to admit that I eat meat. I like chicken and fish. I try not to think too much about how either are raised and produced, but I’m just pointing out that it’d be hypocritical if I somehow pretended that my diet was one to be emulated or was somehow morally superior. But I don’t eat pork or beef. It’s not that I wouldn’t like to. I mean, I stopped some decades back, not because I thought I’d become healthier, or because I didn’t like the taste, but rather because I find the farming practices to be incredibly harmful to the environment. And if you say this, then people want to argue with you, rather than just saying, “Hey, here’s some tasty bovine raised exactly like you wanted.” I’d like to know that the animal I am eating had a quality life and was loved and was raised somewhat locally and not in some unregulated environment half a world away. Is this too much to ask?

I like the idea of pasture raised and grass fed buffalo. My only reservations here is I have no idea how buffalo tastes. I mean, I’m all for eating pretty much anything that’s raised humanely and cooked right, but I wouldn’t even know where to start when it comes to making a dinner out of buffalo. Are there classes I can take or something? Also, how exactly do I know how the buffalo was raised? Can I come visit and meet the animal I intend to one day eat? That would be awesome! I could visit, verify that you raise your livestock in an acceptable manner, pick out a tasty looking newborn buffalo, pay for naming rights, and then when it gets big enough you can let me know and I can return to kill it. Talk about community supported agriculture!

This sounds like a winning proposition to me. Let me know if you are interested and how much a baby buffalo goes for these days. I think this could really catch on.

Sincerely,

Christopher L. Jorgensen