Michael Pollan On Joel Salatin's Polyface Farm

[artistbeinghuman]

Growing up in rural farming community, farm kids were made to feel like they were some form of sub-human in school. Then profitable big factory farming came along! Problem solved! Now those farm kids can be up to snuff! With perfect homes, have swimming pools, drive new trucks and SUV's, have horses for lawn ornaments, kids cell phones, "brand name labeled clothes, get their nails done, and lots and lots and lots of stuff, including "food" from WalMart, and be the "right kind" of people.

[artistbeinghuman]

My grandfather had diversified farm dairy/hogs/"free range" chickens/pastured beef cattle/ grain/hay farm, used similar methods and horses til the 50s. My mom was laughed at in school back then because of it, bullied for bringing "homemade bread". Farmers started to buy "food" from grocery stores, and plant miles of monoculture "feed" w/chemicals and have these hideously crowded, "meat" operations we now enjoy. They need to make money to feel better about themselves. The usual story in USA

[calebmovie]

SO MUCH RESPECT FOR JOEL AND POLYFACE FARM!

Wow!

You guys are amazing!

[MegaAmused]

@TheoryIsSpeculation Not sure where you heard this, but I think you've been sold a faulty line. He's actually got a fairly conservative amount of livestock for the size of his property and his grazing methods. The entire point of what Joe's doing is to improve his soil using his own animals' fertilizers and grazing mechanics, to NOT have to buy outside feed inputs.

[billyhay]

'mad farmer liberation front' by wendell berry...check it out

[Crunchy68]

40,000 lbs beef

30,000 lbs pork

10,000 broilers 1,200 turkeys 1,000 rabbits

35,000 doz. eggs

off of 100 acres

and at the end of the year

there is more biodiversity, not less

there is more fertility, not less

there is more soil, not less.

This is NOT a zero-sum system!

[pubwvj]

This is right. Biodiversity, soil health, soil depth, etc all go up. We raise pigs on pasture/hay & dairy year round in Vermont. Our farm started with poor mountain soil. Our soils are now rich and diverse. Wildlife has also increased. In additions to our pigs we keep chickens, ducks and geese for their natural pest management abilities and sheep for how they co-graze with our main income animal - pigs. We buy no grain/commercial hog feed. It works, year round. Dogs guard our animals.

[jumar1281]

Joel Salatin is a modern day hero... he really has things figured out and i respect him