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Food

Mississipi Wants to Feed Its Prisoners Deer and MREs

Future criminals, take note: Not every state treats its prisoners to maggot-infested meals served by corner-cutting contractors. In Mississippi, inmates may soon be dining on fresh venison instead of insect larvae.
Photo via Flickr user David Denicolo

Future criminals, take note: Not every state treats its prisoners to maggot-infested meals served by corner-cutting contractors. In Mississippi, inmates may soon be dining on fresh venison instead of insect larvae. Huzzah!

Mississippi lawmakers recently introduced the "Venison Harvesting Program for Inmate Consumption" bill, which would allow the state's correctional facilities to accept donations of deer meat to feed their inmate populations.

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House Corrections Chairman Tommy Taylor, who authored the bill, told the Clarion-Ledger that Mississippi's abundance of deer and liberal bag limits often leads to hunters hauling home more meat than they can reasonably eat or store. "This would allow state, municipal, county and juvenile corrections institutions to use processed venison, under Department of Health guidelines," Taylor said.

Any ol' deer meat probably won't suffice, though. The state's Department of Agriculture would likely—and understandably—be keen to inspect meat donations.

But if Taylor's bill doesn't pass, worry not, prisoners. Another Mississippi bill, which has not yet been taken up by committee, would have you eating MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) rather than deer.

The downside—or upside, for outdoors-y types—is that recipients of the MREs would also be housed in tents and placed in work programs, the earnings of which would go to cover the cost of their stay behind bars or to child support, if owed.

Again: better than maggots.