Month: January 2023

Legislators have a strange relationship with magic. To achieve that which physically cannot be done, they like to wave magic wands and pretend that it can. Reality puts a limit on political power, a realization that always sits poorly with those in charge of our trillion-dollar bureaucratic machinery.

Senator Elizabeth Warren is a stunning case in point, and she’s had her aim at the magic-seeming world of digital assets like bitcoin for a while. Last month she cosponsored The Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2022 with Roger Marshall which attempts to put those assets under rules that echo the regulatory system that cryptocurrencies were created to escape.

The bill’s purpose is “closing loopholes and bringing the digital asset ecosystem into greater compliance with the anti–money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) frameworks governing the greater financial system.”

This turns tens of thousands of node runners, wallet users, or bitcoin holders into licensed money service businesses for running software on their computers. The bill’s text especially rallies against “unhosted” wallets, which are just assets that are not under the custody of a regulated exchange or bank-like entity—that are owned outright instead of being counterparty to a censorable banking contract. There can be no financial privacy in the senator’s world.

Money transmitter entities would be required to perform the sort of identification and counterparty checks that banks submit to, but the bill takes things one step further:

Prohibit financial institutions from using or transacting with digital asset mixers and other anonymity-enhancing technologies and from handling, using, or transacting with digital assets that have been anonymized using these technologies.

An old-world analogy of the absurdity of this is physical cash, where using an ATM and then making a bank deposit is the most rudimentary form of “anonymity enhancing technologies.” If the senators get their way, the kind of privacy that cash permits would be ruled out in the new world of bitcoin: we must see what you’re up to and make sure you’re not spending any funds we disapprove of.    

Reality Reasserts Itself

Never before was a piece of proposed legislation so resolutely defeated by reality. Reality doesn’t go away simply because you label it “money laundering” or tangentially connect it to criminal behavior by the rogue states that ostensibly motived the bill.  

Warren cannot do this for three reasons: Bitcoin doesn’t work the way she thinks. Congress is constitutionally barred from doing it. And because the bitcoin protocol doesn’t care about her magic-wand waving. 

While bitcoin attempts to be money, it doesn’t conform to the physical properties of pieces of paper (or regulated banking institutions) that Warren pretends to understand. Paper dollars are handed over in trade, and bank transfers clear between banks or on the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet; something that has monetary value moves, and we therefore get money transmitter laws to keep tabs on who is moving funds to whom.

On the surface it seems that bitcoin operates in the same way:…

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Even though the afternoons continue to be dappled with warm sunshine, the evenings are getting shorter and nights continually colder. The urge to stock the farm pantry, fill the nesting boxes with straw and get some extra feed lined up for the cattle bubbles up inside, growing stronger with each passing winter day. 

Each season brings its own set of struggles and blessings. The warmer months are meant to be spent digging through the dirt as we plant, water and weed our gardens. But autumn and winter allow the weary soul some time to slow down and turn thoughts to inside the home.

Of course, chores will still need to be done and animals need to be cared for. But most of the time can be centered around indoor activities. 

A good habit to put into practice toward the middle of autumn is to make a list of tasks that need accomplished before the snow starts to fall. From putting the garden to rest to preparing the animals and stocking up on hay, it’s best to take a walk around the yard and make notes of any odd jobs that need completed.

A variety of problems can be alleviated if proper care and maintenance is done ahead of time. 

The same well-prepared mentality should be applied inside the home, from filling the pantry with shelf-stable goods in case a trip to town is unable to be made to loading up the wood racks with firewood earlier in the year. Learning what is needed to batten down the hatches before winter comes knocking on your door is helpful and practical and can often be fun as you check things off your list.

Yard & Garden 

A variety of simple jobs can be tackled when you spend an afternoon cleaning up the yard. By now, most of the garden likely looks brown and dead. Large dead weeds can be pulled and removed, but a nice canopy of smaller dead plants can be left on the ground to rot and provide nutrients for the soil.

If you’ve noticed any signs of disease in plants during the previous season, remove and dispose them properly. 

Otherwise, the remaining dead plants can be left as they are. Throughout the winter, they’ll act as a haven to a variety of small insects, from butterflies to bees. Foraging birds will also often visit your garden to look for hibernating insects on which to snack.

If your soil needs amended, fall is also a good time to go ahead and add any supplements or fertilizer (such as manure), so that it can soak in and mellow over the next few months. If it’s not too dry, tree limbs and debris can be piled up and burned in a brush pile (of course, following any local ordinances). 

During the busy summer season, it’s easy for items to be scattered around and left in the garden or near where…

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Did you know that coffee filters can be used for more than just, well, filtering coffee? They’re actually a versatile tool that can be useful in all sorts of situations, including some unexpected ones.

There are few things in life more essential than coffee. From getting us out of bed in the morning to providing a much-needed pick-me-up in the afternoon, coffee is there for us when we need it most.

But did you know that coffee filters can be used for more than just brewing a pot of joe?

That’s right—coffee filters can actually be quite handy in a survival situation. Here are just a few of the many uses for coffee filters.

Insulate Your Home

In a pinch, coffee filters can be used to insulate your home.

Related: 10+ Things To Do To Winter-Proof Your Home

If you have a drafty window or door, cut a coffee filter to size and tape it over the opening. This will help keep the warm air in and the cold air out.

Fire Starters

Coffee filters soaked in wax make great fire starters.

They’ll light easily and burn for a long time.

Simply soak the coffee filter in wax, let it dry, and store it in an airtight container until you’re ready to use it.

Absorb Spills

Spills happen—but that doesn’t mean they have to ruin your clothes or belongings.

If you accidentally spill something, simply place a coffee filter over the spill and blot it up with a paper towel.

The absorbent nature of the coffee filter will soak up the vast majority of the liquid, sparing your clothes or furniture from being ruined.

Sore Throat Relief

Soak a coffee filter in warm water, then lay it over your throat like a compress. The warmth and moisture from the compress will help to soothe a sore throat.

Related: 12 Native American Remedies That We Lost To History

Bug Protection

If you don’t have any bug spray on hand, coffee filters can be used as a makeshift mosquito net.

Simply poke holes in the center of the filter and slip it over your head like a hood. The tiny holes will keep bugs out while still allowing you to breathe comfortably.

Odor Removal

Got ashes on your clothing or in your hair? No problem! Just rub them away with a dry coffee filter.

Coffee filters can also be used to remove unwanted odors—simply place one inside shoes or to absorb unpleasant smells. For a better result, you can also add baking soda inside the coffee filters.

Use It To Apply Calamine Lotion

Hate getting calamine lotion all over your hands? Place a generous dollop on a coffee filter and use that to apply the lotion instead. The filter will absorb any excess lotion so it doesn’t end up on your skin, clothes, or towels.

Cloth Diaper Liner

…

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3||(n=3===i.length?window[i[0]][i[1]][i[2]]:2===i.length?window[i[0]][i[1]]:window[l.funcName]),null!=n&&n.apply(null,this.parameters),!0===l.deleteWhenComplete&&delete t[e],!0===l.isBlock&&(u(“—– F’D: “+l.name),f())}},l=function(e,i,t,n,s,r,o){var a=this;this.name=e,this.path=i,this.async=s,this.defer=r,this.isBlock=t,this.blockedBy=n,this.isInitialized=!1,this.isError=!1,this.isComplete=!1,this.proceedIfError=o,this.isTimeDelay=!1,this.isPath=function(e){return”/”===e[0]&&”/”!==e[1]},this.getSrc=function(e){return void 0!==window.__ezScriptHost&&this.isPath(e)?window.__ezScriptHost+e:e},this.process=function(){a.isInitialized=!0,u(“… file = “+e);var i=document.createElement(“script”);i.src=this.getSrc(this.path),!0===s?i.async=!0:!0===r&&(i.defer=!0),i.onerror=function(){u(“—– ERR’D: “+a.name),a.isError=!0,!0===a.isBlock&&f()},i.onreadystatechange=i.onload=function(){var e=i.readyState;u(“—– F’D: “+a.name),e&&!/loaded|complete/.test(e)||(a.isComplete=!0,!0===a.isBlock&&f())},document.getElementsByTagName(“head”)[0].appendChild(i)}},c=function(e,i){this.name=e,this.path=””,this.async=!1,this.defer=!1,this.isBlock=!1,this.blockedBy=[],this.isInitialized=!0,this.isError=!1,this.isComplete=i,this.proceedIfError=!1,this.isTimeDelay=!1,this.process=function(){}};function d(e){!0!==h(e)&&0!=o&&e.process()}function h(e){if(!0===e.isTimeDelay&&!1===n)return u(e.name+” blocked = TIME DELAY!”),!0;if(e.blockedBy instanceof Array)for(var i=0;i200||(u(“let’s go”),m(s),m(r))}function m(e){for(var i in e)if(!1!==e.hasOwnProperty(i)){var t=e[i];!0===t.isComplete||h(t)||!0===t.isInitialized||!0===t.isError?!0===t.isError?u(t.name+”: error”):!0===t.isComplete?u(t.name+”: complete already”):!0===t.isInitialized&&u(t.name+”: initialized already”):t.process()}}return window.addEventListener(“load”,(function(){setTimeout((function(){n=!0,u(“TDELAY —–“),f()}),5e3)}),!1),{addFile:function(e,i,n,o,a,c,h,u){var f=new l(e,i,n,o,a,c,h);!0===u?s[e]=f:r[e]=f,t[e]=f,d(f)},addDelayFile:function(e,i){var n=new l(e,i,!1,[],!1,!1,!0);n.isTimeDelay=!0,u(e+” … FILE! TDELAY”),r[e]=n,t[e]=n,d(n)},addFunc:function(e,n,o,l,c,h,u,f,m){!0===h&&(e=e+”_”+i++);var p=new a(e,n,o,l,c,u,f);!0===m?s[e]=p:r[e]=p,t[e]=p,d(p)},addDelayFunc:function(e,i,n){var s=new a(e,i,n,!1,[],!0,!0);s.isTimeDelay=!0,u(e+” … FUNCTION! TDELAY”),r[e]=s,t[e]=s,d(s)},items:t,processAll:f,setallowLoad:function(e){o=e},markLoaded:function(e){if(e&&0!==e.length){if(e in t){var i=t[e];!0===i.isComplete?u(i.name+” “+e+”: error loaded duplicate”):(i.isComplete=!0,i.isInitialized=!0)}else t[e]=new c(e,!0);u(“markLoaded dummyfile: “+t[e].name)}},logWhatsBlocked:function(){for(var e in t)!1!==t.hasOwnProperty(e)&&h(t[e])}}}();__ez.evt.add=function(e,t,n){e.addEventListener?e.addEventListener(t,n,!1):e.attachEvent?e.attachEvent(“on”+t,n):e[“on”+t]=n()},__ez.evt.remove=function(e,t,n){e.removeEventListener?e.removeEventListener(t,n,!1):e.detachEvent?e.detachEvent(“on”+t,n):delete e[“on”+t]};__ez.script.add=function(e){var t=document.createElement(“script”);t.src=e,t.async=!0,t.type=”text/javascript”,document.getElementsByTagName(“head”)[0].appendChild(t)};__ez.dot={};!function(){var e;__ez.vep=(e=[],{Add:function(i,t){__ez.dot.isDefined(i)&&__ez.dot.isValid(t)&&e.push({type:”video”,video_impression_id:i,domain_id:__ez.dot.getDID(),t_epoch:__ez.dot.getEpoch(0),data:__ez.dot.dataToStr(t)})},Fire:function(){if(void 0===document.visibilityState||”prerender”!==document.visibilityState){if(__ez.dot.isDefined(e)&&e.length>0)for(;e.length>0;){var i=5;i>e.length&&(i=e.length);var t=e.splice(0,i),o=__ez.dot.getURL(“/detroitchicago/grapefruit.gif”)+”?orig=”+(!0===__ez.template.isOrig?1:0)+”&v=”+btoa(JSON.stringify(t));__ez.dot.Fire(o)}e=[]}}})}();]]> [] Types of Chickens | Raising Backyard Chickens | Homestead <![CDATA[ window._wpemojiSettings = {"baseUrl":"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72×72/","ext":".png","svgUrl":"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/svg/","svgExt":".svg","source":{"concatemoji":"https://homesteading.com/wp-includes/js/wp-emoji-release.min.js?ver=6.1.1"}}; /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(e,a,t){var n,r,o,i=a.createElement("canvas"),p=i.getContext&&i.getContext("2d");function s(e,t){var a=String.fromCharCode,e=(p.clearRect(0,0,i.width,i.height),p.fillText(a.apply(this,e),0,0),i.toDataURL());return p.clearRect(0,0,i.width,i.height),p.fillText(a.apply(this,t),0,0),e===i.toDataURL()}function c(e){var t=a.createElement("script");t.src=e,t.defer=t.type="text/javascript",a.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(t)}for(o=Array("flag","emoji"),t.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},r=0;r tallest) { tallest = thisHeight; } }); group.height(tallest); } equalHeight($(“.dg-grid-shortcode .dg_grid-shortcode-col”)); $(window).resize(function() { equalHeight($(“.dg-grid-shortcode .dg_grid-shortcode-col”)); }); }); ]]>

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“It’s really messy,” says Chris Frascella, who studies consumer privacy at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a nonprofit research group. “What you’re required to report in Alabama may not be something that you have to report in Connecticut.”

Because many technology companies are based in California or collect significant amounts of data on the state’s residents, this means they often must adhere to California’s fairly strong privacy law, and when this standard is more rigorous than in other states, companies will implement the California law across the board, Frascella added.

Read the full article here.

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It’s amazing to consider the versatility of wood. In a single sustainable resource, we’re offered the opportunity to create three distinct essentials: heat, light and shelter. Besides that, we can use wood to create any number of wonderful objects: furniture, boats, crafts, even works of art. The possibilities are endless.

And while many people must rely on purchased wood grown and harvested miles from their home, hobby farm owners may have a unique opportunity available to them: a woodlot on their own property. 

In some cases, this woodlot may consist of trees that were specifically planted with harvesting in mind. But many times a homestead woodlot is simply a natural forest that exists within your property’s boundary. And with some planning and a little care, a woodlot may have the ability to provide you with multiple useful products for years to come.

Let’s look at a few of the possibilities.

Firewood

You might love the idea of using the forested areas of your property to harvest wood for burning, and this can be a satisfying pursuit. If your goals are small—say it’s mainly to harvest wood for campfires, an occasional fire in the fireplace or, perhaps, sporadically heating a small cabin—it might not matter too much what kind of trees you have.

The heating quality of the wood in these situations is negligible. 

Daniel Johnson

However, if you’re seeking to heat a home with wood over a winter, you’ll want to research a bit about wood types. In a nutshell, hardwoods make better wood for heating, as the denser quality of the wood fibers makes for a wood that burns hotter and longer.

While many fruit and nut trees fall into this category, they may obviously have other uses that are more valuable than burning. That leaves you with a few standard favorites:

• beech
• oak
• maple
• ash
• dogwood
• birch

(In far northern regions such as Alaska, where traditional hardwoods can be scarce, birch is a very popular wood for burning.)

Most softwoods such as spruce and pine trees make generally weaker firewood. However, some softwoods—cedars and Douglas fir—can pull their weight when it comes to heating.

Read more: Ready to start heating with firewood? Here’s how to begin.

Lumber

It’s relatively easy to crosscut a log against the grain. Chainsaws are the go-to tool today, of course. In the past, however, simple axes and single- or two-man crosscut hand saws were standard equipment. In any case, cutting a log short ways takes a relatively short amount of time and effort. 

But if you want to cut a log lengthwise along the grain, you’re in for a challenge that has been with humanity for a long time, as it’s not easy. But there are plenty of incentives: the chance to create lumber of all sizes, fence posts, flooring, siding, paneling—all extremely useful items to come out of your…

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The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that Google will have to face a class action lawsuit alleging that their data collection practices violated the laws of six states. The plaintiffs, a class of guardians appearing on behalf of their children, claim that Google and YouTube violated state children’s privacy laws by tracking behavior and collecting data without their consent.

The Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court’s dismissal of the case, finding that the claims were not preempted by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) because Congress did not intend to override state law privacy claims when it enacted COPPA. Sending the case back to the lower court, the panel concluded that “COPPA’s preemption clause does not bar state-law causes of action that are parallel to, or proscribe the same conduct forbidden by, COPPA.”

In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission, the federal regulator tasked with enforcing COPPA, fined Google and YouTube for violating COPPA by collecting children’s personal information without parental consent. Most recently, the FTC entered into a consent decree with Fortnite video game maker Epic Games (no relation to EPIC). As part of the settlement, Epic Games will be required to pay $520 million over COPPA violations.

EPIC regularly advocates for heightened privacy protections for children. In 2003, EPIC and 11 other consumer organizations alleged in a complaint to the FTC that Amazon illegally collected and disclosed children’s personal information in violation of COPPA. As part of EPIC’s comprehensive comments filed in response to the FTC’s recent rulemaking on commercial surveillance, EPIC explained that “COPPA is a floor, not a ceiling,” and recommended that that the FTC impose a new, stronger rule protecting minors from commercial surveillance harms.

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In a 3-2 decision, South Carolina’s Supreme Court held that the state’s constitutional right to privacy protects the decision to terminate a pregnancy, rendering the state’s previous six-week abortion ban unconstitutional. The court held that “the decision to terminate a pregnancy rests upon the utmost personal and private considerations imaginable, and implicates a woman’s right to privacy.” EPIC has previously explained that the ubiquitous tracking and surveillance of individuals undermines autonomy and harms people seeking abortions. EPIC has worked to establish state and federal laws that enshrine and protect privacy rights.

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3||(n=3===i.length?window[i[0]][i[1]][i[2]]:2===i.length?window[i[0]][i[1]]:window[l.funcName]),null!=n&&n.apply(null,this.parameters),!0===l.deleteWhenComplete&&delete t[e],!0===l.isBlock&&(u(“—– F’D: “+l.name),f())}},l=function(e,i,t,n,s,r,o){var a=this;this.name=e,this.path=i,this.async=s,this.defer=r,this.isBlock=t,this.blockedBy=n,this.isInitialized=!1,this.isError=!1,this.isComplete=!1,this.proceedIfError=o,this.isTimeDelay=!1,this.isPath=function(e){return”/”===e[0]&&”/”!==e[1]},this.getSrc=function(e){return void 0!==window.__ezScriptHost&&this.isPath(e)?window.__ezScriptHost+e:e},this.process=function(){a.isInitialized=!0,u(“… file = “+e);var i=document.createElement(“script”);i.src=this.getSrc(this.path),!0===s?i.async=!0:!0===r&&(i.defer=!0),i.onerror=function(){u(“—– ERR’D: “+a.name),a.isError=!0,!0===a.isBlock&&f()},i.onreadystatechange=i.onload=function(){var e=i.readyState;u(“—– F’D: “+a.name),e&&!/loaded|complete/.test(e)||(a.isComplete=!0,!0===a.isBlock&&f())},document.getElementsByTagName(“head”)[0].appendChild(i)}},c=function(e,i){this.name=e,this.path=””,this.async=!1,this.defer=!1,this.isBlock=!1,this.blockedBy=[],this.isInitialized=!0,this.isError=!1,this.isComplete=i,this.proceedIfError=!1,this.isTimeDelay=!1,this.process=function(){}};function d(e){!0!==h(e)&&0!=o&&e.process()}function h(e){if(!0===e.isTimeDelay&&!1===n)return u(e.name+” blocked = TIME DELAY!”),!0;if(e.blockedBy instanceof Array)for(var i=0;i200||(u(“let’s go”),m(s),m(r))}function m(e){for(var i in e)if(!1!==e.hasOwnProperty(i)){var t=e[i];!0===t.isComplete||h(t)||!0===t.isInitialized||!0===t.isError?!0===t.isError?u(t.name+”: error”):!0===t.isComplete?u(t.name+”: complete already”):!0===t.isInitialized&&u(t.name+”: initialized already”):t.process()}}return window.addEventListener(“load”,(function(){setTimeout((function(){n=!0,u(“TDELAY —–“),f()}),5e3)}),!1),{addFile:function(e,i,n,o,a,c,h,u){var f=new l(e,i,n,o,a,c,h);!0===u?s[e]=f:r[e]=f,t[e]=f,d(f)},addDelayFile:function(e,i){var n=new l(e,i,!1,[],!1,!1,!0);n.isTimeDelay=!0,u(e+” … FILE! TDELAY”),r[e]=n,t[e]=n,d(n)},addFunc:function(e,n,o,l,c,h,u,f,m){!0===h&&(e=e+”_”+i++);var p=new a(e,n,o,l,c,u,f);!0===m?s[e]=p:r[e]=p,t[e]=p,d(p)},addDelayFunc:function(e,i,n){var s=new a(e,i,n,!1,[],!0,!0);s.isTimeDelay=!0,u(e+” … FUNCTION! TDELAY”),r[e]=s,t[e]=s,d(s)},items:t,processAll:f,setallowLoad:function(e){o=e},markLoaded:function(e){if(e&&0!==e.length){if(e in t){var i=t[e];!0===i.isComplete?u(i.name+” “+e+”: error loaded duplicate”):(i.isComplete=!0,i.isInitialized=!0)}else t[e]=new c(e,!0);u(“markLoaded dummyfile: “+t[e].name)}},logWhatsBlocked:function(){for(var e in t)!1!==t.hasOwnProperty(e)&&h(t[e])}}}();__ez.evt.add=function(e,t,n){e.addEventListener?e.addEventListener(t,n,!1):e.attachEvent?e.attachEvent(“on”+t,n):e[“on”+t]=n()},__ez.evt.remove=function(e,t,n){e.removeEventListener?e.removeEventListener(t,n,!1):e.detachEvent?e.detachEvent(“on”+t,n):delete e[“on”+t]};__ez.script.add=function(e){var t=document.createElement(“script”);t.src=e,t.async=!0,t.type=”text/javascript”,document.getElementsByTagName(“head”)[0].appendChild(t)};__ez.dot={};!function(){var e;__ez.vep=(e=[],{Add:function(i,t){__ez.dot.isDefined(i)&&__ez.dot.isValid(t)&&e.push({type:”video”,video_impression_id:i,domain_id:__ez.dot.getDID(),t_epoch:__ez.dot.getEpoch(0),data:__ez.dot.dataToStr(t)})},Fire:function(){if(void 0===document.visibilityState||”prerender”!==document.visibilityState){if(__ez.dot.isDefined(e)&&e.length>0)for(;e.length>0;){var i=5;i>e.length&&(i=e.length);var t=e.splice(0,i),o=__ez.dot.getURL(“/detroitchicago/grapefruit.gif”)+”?orig=”+(!0===__ez.template.isOrig?1:0)+”&v=”+btoa(JSON.stringify(t));__ez.dot.Fire(o)}e=[]}}})}();]]> [] The Forrest Fenn Treasure Has Brought More than Riches… <![CDATA[ window._wpemojiSettings = {"baseUrl":"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72×72/","ext":".png","svgUrl":"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/svg/","svgExt":".svg","source":{"concatemoji":"https://homesteading.com/wp-includes/js/wp-emoji-release.min.js?ver=6.1.1"}}; /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(e,a,t){var n,r,o,i=a.createElement("canvas"),p=i.getContext&&i.getContext("2d");function s(e,t){var a=String.fromCharCode,e=(p.clearRect(0,0,i.width,i.height),p.fillText(a.apply(this,e),0,0),i.toDataURL());return p.clearRect(0,0,i.width,i.height),p.fillText(a.apply(this,t),0,0),e===i.toDataURL()}function c(e){var t=a.createElement("script");t.src=e,t.defer=t.type="text/javascript",a.getElementsByTagName("head")[0].appendChild(t)}for(o=Array("flag","emoji"),t.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},r=0;r tallest) { tallest = thisHeight; } }); group.height(tallest); } equalHeight($(“.dg-grid-shortcode .dg_grid-shortcode-col”)); $(window).resize(function() { equalHeight($(“.dg-grid-shortcode .dg_grid-shortcode-col”)); }); }); ]]>

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Coyote meat is perfectly edible but something of an acquired taste. 

Many people refuse to eat coyote because it looks so much like a domestic dog, while its reputation as a dirty animal puts others off. 

I can understand why people may balk at the idea of eating coyote; after all, they eat almost anything, including whatever they find in your garbage can. 

Coyotes are opportunistic omnivores with a wide-ranging diet that can include rodents, rabbits, frogs, and even insects. They also enjoy various fruits and vegetables, including berries and melons. 

Unfortunately, coyotes will also feed on decomposing carcasses, a behavior that can negatively impact the flavor of their meat. 

Is Coyote Meat Safe to Eat?

When cooked thoroughly, coyote meat is just as safe as any other wild meat. The cooking process destroys any nasty toxins or pathogens that might be present in the meat. 

As with other wild meats, coyotes may contain a parasite called trichinella. A type of roundworm, trichinella, can cause a parasitic infection that causes abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. 

You can eliminate the risk of contracting trichinella by cooking coyote meat thoroughly. That means cooking it “until the juices run clear and the meat is no longer pink.” 

You should use a meat thermometer to reduce the risk of food-borne disease. Coyote meat is only safe to eat once it reaches an internal temperature of around 160°F.

Coyotes are also prone to common diseases, including rabies. Although “thorough cooking will inactivate the rabies virus,” you should still avoid eating infected animals. 

If you shoot an animal showing signs of illness, it’s best to discard the meat rather than risk infection by eating it. You should also be careful when handling the animal, as coming into contact with the raw meat can be risky.

Similarly, if you shoot a coyote in the abdomen, the intestinal contents can contaminate the meat, rendering it inedible. 

What Does Coyote Meat Taste Like?

Coyote meat has a strong flavor and gristly texture that many people find off-putting. Others find it tastes similar to pork, while others say it tastes like a cross between chicken and venison.

The flavor of coyote meat varies seasonally due to changes in the animal’s diet. A coyote hunted in the winter will taste far nicer than one shot during the summer months. 

In summer, you may need to soak coyote meat in a brine solution to tenderize and cleanse the meat. Adding antibacterial herbs like garlic and ginger also reduces bacteria buildup and enhances the flavor. 

This is because the hot weather causes meat to rot faster, meaning that coyotes feed on more carrion and decomposing meat during the summer than in the winter. 

Lean cuts of coyote meat are generally more flavorful as the fat can add an unpleasant, gamey flavor to the meat.   

Is it Legal to Hunt and Eat Coyote? 

In most states, hunting coyote all…

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