(By Chika Unigwe) - Why I no Longer Use the Term, ‘Game.’
Years ago, I was enjoying my
bushmeat in an Australian restaurant in Belgium and said as much when my dinner
companion gently reminded me that what I was eating was “game” and not
bushmeat, and I had been invited out to “enjoy game.” Apparently, bushmeat is
what you get in a small, ramshackle affair by the roadside in Nsukka, paired
with palm wine and most often eaten by hand, not meat carefully paired with a
Pinot Noir or a Shiraz in a restaurant where the silverware is so shiny and so
smudge free you can use it to fix your makeup.
This morning, I did a quick
google search and found this:
“The term “bushmeat” refers to
meat that comes from wild animals captured in developing regions of the world
such as Africa. Bushmeat comes from a variety of wild animals, including bats,
nonhuman primates (e.g., monkeys), cane rats (grasscutters), and duiker
(antelope).”
“Game are wild animals and
birds. Large native game animals living in America include antelope, buffalo,
bear, deer, elk, moose, reindeer, and wild boar. “
Fact 1: bushmeat and game come
from wild animals.
Fact 2: Antelope is bushmeat
when in Africa but game once it crosses the ocean.
Question: Who does the naming?
