"By the time it reaches us..."

"...the food no longer tries to run off the dishes."
---from Tamora Pierce's Circle of Magic: Sandry's Book

It probably is a good thing to have a stronger connection to where your food comes from. However, you still don't necessarily have to harvest it yourself. I have a black thumb and no idea how to hunt, so if I was dependent on my own harvesting skills, I would starve. However, I buy a certain brand of milk at the grocery store because I know it comes from a dairy in Lynden, and if I wanted, I could probably contact the farmer and meet some of the cows that produced the milk I drink.
I agree that often times food harvested by oneself tastes much better. I love homegrown tomatoes because they taste so much better than store bought. But it is not a reasonable system to procure all your food that way anymore, especially for those who live in urban areas. One of the reasons cities were able to develop was because farmers were able to grow enough surplus food to sell to people with specialized skills--and those people could be something other than farmers because of the extra food.
Despite my love of fresh picked tomatoes, I'm pretty sure my landlady would be wicked pissed if I decided to grow such a potentially messy plant in my carpeted apartment. I do know a lady in a suburban neighborhood who enjoys the eggs her chickens produce and the products of their backyard garden and I think her system is fantastic.
I buy my clothes without thinking about where they came from, I use electricity without knowing exactly where it comes from, why shouldn't food be another one of the products I buy without knowing it's source?

On the topic of hunting, I don't believe it is amoral to hunt for food, no matter your economic standing. Yes, there may be other food available, but if you are not wasting the food you have harvested, or wasting purchased food because you harvested food and now have more than you can eat, I have no problem with hunting. I do object to hunting for the sake of trophies. If you are going to kill an animal, don't just let it rot, or worse make it inedible due to taxidermy.

I am impressed by Steve Rinella's practicality and various scavenging skills. Last winter break, we drove past a deer that was gasping and dying on the side of the road after it had been hit by a car. We didn't stop because behind us, a man pulled over, took the gun from the back of his truck, and shot the deer. I felt badly for the deer, since it a painful and frightening death for it. But I am glad that someone nearby knew how to put it out of its misery. I liked Mr. Rinella's story of eating the doe that had been hit by a vehicle. That was a much better way to deal with it than to just leave it to be a rotting hazard on the road. Waste not, want not.

Concerning Mr. Harrison's immense meal, I adored the following remarks:

"If I announce that I and eleven other diners shared a thirty-seven-course lunch that likely cost as much as a new Volvo station wagon, those of a critical nature will let their minds run in tiny, aghast circles of condemnation. My response to them is that none of us twelve disciples of gourmandise wanted a new Volvo. We wanted only lunch, and since lunch lasted approximately eleven hours we saved money by not having to buy dinner. The defense rests."

If this is how Mr. Harrison wishes to spend the money he has earned, he is welcome to do so. He is not harming any one else, and if he wishes to eat until he explodes, he is a grown man and capable of making that decision for himself. I hope that they ate all that they prepared, or at least put the leftovers in tupperware. Personally, I wouldn't want to eat that much. As a car-less student, I probably would prefer to have the Volvo.
I do however like that it was a historical dinner, from historical recipes. I did living history re-enactments at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site during high school. For an 1845 Hudson's Bay Company fort, the residents ate very well. They had fresh produce, fresh dairy, fresh bread and fresh meat. For a girl in 2004, I wasn't so impressed by the two methods of cooking: almost everything was boiled or roasted. That said, roast beef that has been roasted over a wood fire is AMAZING. The man who cooked it liked it rare, and the smoke adds a wonderful flavor. So I approve that Mr. Harrison's host was using historical sources for the cooking; some of it is great.

An important thing to remember about both Mr. Rinella and Mr. Harrison is that they are both atypical. The tortoise population of Mr.Rinella's home state wouldn't do very well if EVERYONE grabbed a tortoise that happened to be crossing the road while they were driving by. Few people wish to eat 37 courses (that were mostly meat, I would be craving roughage pretty quickly) in eleven hours. On a small scale, both can eat as they do. Now if the entire population of the United States ate as they do, there would be problems. Sometimes, it's good to be in the minority.

And the books...
For gluttony:

• Jackson, Alison. I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie. New York: Dutton's Children's Books, 1997.

For harvesting:

• Brown, Michael P. The Jewish Gardening Cookbook : Growing Plants and Cooking for Holidays and Festivals. Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing, 1998.