Joel Salatin

A week or two ago I went to go see a lecture by Joel Salatin at Calpoly, Rosie was unable to make it due to work. For those who are not familiar with Mr. Salatin, he is an advocate for local grown organic food and runs a ranch in Virgina (Polyface farm). To paraphrase Mr. Salatin's philosophy about his livestock raising; Animals are smart and if you raise animals in their natural environment they will be healthy. Rosie and I have been working toward this as much as we are able and with one exception had no illness on our farm and that illness came from taking an animal out of its natural setting by feeding it something other than what its species had been developed to eat. Over all the lecture was good but a little disappointing on a personal level and I will explain why. Rosie and I are already doing everything Mr. Salatin recommends and further our classes on local food production and the people we have inspired to grown their own food is in the realms of "The next step". Frankly I did not want to go to a lecture to be told I am doing stuff right, I wanted to go to a lecture and be inspired to do more and do it better. So it was a good lecture but I was hoping to be more challenged by Mr. Salatin's philosophy.

So what can our loyal readers (all 10 of you) do to learn from Mr. Salatin? Well let me cover his most basic points:

1) Anything worth doing is worth doing badly. Say WHAT? Let me explain, no there is no time let me sum up (ten points if you know the reference). If you try and wait until you know everything about home food production and are all set up and ready to do everything perfectly you will never ever get to the starting point. It is better to jump in with both feet and fail epicly than to put off trying for years at a time. As long as you are learning from your mistakes then they are mistakes worth making. Go buy some seed, some dirt and get planting. Success or failure, the effort will start you on your path.

2) Animals (and plants) are smart and want to be happy, and happy animals (and plants) are healthy. Pigs did not evolve to live packed nose to tail in a warehouse. Cows did not evolve to eat corn while up to their knees in filth on a feed lot. Tomatoes did not evolve to be shipped across the country in trucks. Do a little research and see what the natural environment and species is and then raise your plants and animals in as close to their natural environment as possible. The crap food you can buy in the mega-stores is developed for fast growth and easy transport; Flavor, nutrients, texture and toxicity are not a consideration in modern food production. Grow some heritage peas and compare them to a store bought pea, raise a chicken and compare the egg to a store bought egg. Good food is better for you and better for the life producing the food for you.

3) Buy local, buy responsible and live better. Not every one has the opportunity to raise their own live stock and feed their family from their land but if you have to buy then buy local responsibly raised food you will get better food and be healthier for it. Buying food from a local factory farm is no better than buying food from a massive factory farm some where else. Try and buy your food from repsonceable sources that "Respect the pigness of the pig" to quote Mrs. Salatin and you will help make the world a better place.

4) All revolutions start at the ground level. No one else will make the world a better place for you, the responsibility rests solely on your shoulders. As Mahatma Gandhi said "You must be the change you wish to see in the world". Do what you can, when you can and the powers of the world will fall to their knees in fear at your might, eat well, live well and be happy my friends.