The Omnivore’s Dilemma Part 6 of 10: Joel Salatin & Polyface Farms
November 25, 2009 by dr. lam
We now leave the world of industrial foods to go organic. But are we? Well, that is more complicated than one or two sentences can convey. So let’s take a look at famed Virginia farmer Joel Salatin and his Polyface farms. If you ask Salatin who raises chicken, pigs, cattle and varied vegetables and crops what kind of farmer he is, he will say that he is a “grass farmer”. In essence, he is paying homage to the power that grass has on the entire structure of his farmed ecosystem. It serves as the nourishment for his livestock who run also free over the pastured lands and also upon which the crops grow in abundance. By rotating crops, he can create a sustainable farm that does not suffer the consequences of a monoculture like either the CAFOs or the corn farms. What George Naylor is to industrial, Salatin is to pastoral. Pastoral or organic? What?
Salatin actually is not organic since that is a term that the Federal Government now owns and regulates. He orders his chicken feed locally that has atrazine, a violation of federal rules for the claim on using the word “organic”. However, Salatin argues: “If I said I was organic, people would fuss at me for getting feed corn from a neighbor who might be using atrazine. Well, I would much rather use my money to keep my neighborhood productive and healthy than export my dollars five hundred miles away to get ‘pure product’ that’s really coated in diesel fuel. There are a whole lot more variables in making the right decision than does the chicken feed have chemicals or not. Like what sort of habitat is going to allow that chicken to express its physiological distinctiveness? A ten-thousand-bird shed that stinks to high heaven or a new paddock of fresh green grass every day? Now which chicken shall we call ‘organic’? I’m afraid you’ll have to ask the government, because now they own the word.”
Salatin considers himself “beyond organic” since he believes the rules that the government has set forth for being organic are bunk. As an example, he does not ship his product out of his local area because he simply believes that it is not “sustainable”, i.e., it destroys the integrity of the food item. When Pollan asked him to ship his chicken to him via FedEx, he received a polite no with the above explanation. Our labels for our food as this book outlines are a bit more contrived, vague, and elusive than we would otherwise want to believe.
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8 Responses to “The Omnivore’s Dilemma Part 6 of 10: Joel Salatin & Polyface Farms”
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Educational. I guess Salatin should coin a new term “beyond organic” on his farm products…lol That might draw some attention to the issue.
I’m interested to learn more about this, Dr. Lam!
Thanks again!!!
thanks. yeah, i would buy it! lol.
lol
Happy Thanksgiving Dr. Lam, and all you blog buddies!!!
GN!
thanks heather. a lady that i have been praying and working with her mind just found out yesterday that her stage 4 pancreatic tumor is now half the size from 6 to 3 cm and she is now almost entirely pain free. that is a miracle and a reason to give thanks and gratitude!
That is a great reason to be grateful today. Wow, that is huge move in good direction for her. Wonderful to read!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
thanks nord!
That is awesome, Dr. Lam!!! Thanks for sharing! That’s wonderful that you are reflecting on the true meaning of Thanksgiving! I think sometimes we get wrapped up in the holidays and forget the purpose, so thanks for reminding us of that true meaning!