Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : Books, Movies, Food, Wine, and Whatever -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: epicure who wrote (8994)	11/13/2006 8:21:48 AM
From: Tom Clarke	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 51717

If he's a lunatic, we should all be so crazy. He's written several books, mostly how-tos for the small farmer. This one is intended for everybody, it's the one Michael Pollan wrote the introduction to. Holy Cows And Hog Heaven: The Food Buyer's Guide To Farm Friendly Food by Joel Salatin A couple of amazon reviews >>This book has transformed the way I look at the food on my family's table. For pretty much my whole life, I had absolutely no problems with "industrial" food products. I trusted them as being safe, somewhat nutritious, and fairly tasty. I didn't make any effort to avoid processed foods - heck, I figured they were actually pretty nutritious with all the vitamins and minerals that were sprayed on them. When I visited my farming grandparents in Maine (very small family farm closer to Polyface than a monocrop giant), I DID notice how amazingly delicious their simple foods were - potatoes I had dug out of the ground earlier that afternoon, freshly picked peas and corn on the cob, and perhaps some lettuce, tomatoes, other greens, and butter pickles my grandmother had pickled herself. I loved collecting the eggs from their hens, picking chives from their garden, and watching my grandmother can stewed tomatoes from her garden. However, I took it for granted that times had changed and their way of life was, by necessity, going the way of the ox and cart. In fact, the first time I visited a farmer's market I was taken aback by the prices, which were significantly higher than our grocery store. I completely missed the point of what a farmer's market represented. This book, however, turned me completely around as far as food is concerned. I was fascinated by Joel Salatin's descriptions of his farming practices versus industrial farming practices. After reading this book, I joined a local CSA and signed up for a local delivery of Polyface meat (lucky me!!) I frequent farmers markets and feel a genuine sense of gratitude towards the people who work their land and sell their crops, thereby giving people like me and my family an alternative to the supermarket chains, at least for part of the year. But this book resonates beyond the idea of eating locally and supporting farmers (even if it costs more) who farm in a self-sustaining way. It is really a wake-up call for consciousness about everything we take for granted. It is a wake-up call to recognize the choices we make every single day. It is a wake-up call to shake off the sense of apathy and of "what can one person possibly do." We can't do everything, but that doesn't absolve us from the responsibility to do the small things that we can. A+++ (and his meat and eggs really ARE delicious!) >>Most of Joel Salatin's books have been aimed at small farmers or land-owners looking for an agriculture enterprise. Being in that category, I have enjoyed them all. But trying to explain to most people why it's important to understand the difference between industrial food and local food, has been hard. This is the first book of his that anyone, farmer or not, can pick up and immediately understand the serious issues involved with the American food supply, and to embrace the solution. I was always a conservative pro-business Republican until I bought my first milk cow, thinking of selling all of that great pure raw milk. Right. I then read William Campbell Douglas's 'The Milk Book' and began to understand the unnatural relationship that exists between big business and governmental regulatory agencies. Suddenly the question of 'What ever happened to the small family farmer' began to be all too clear. I also spent six months and a lot of sweat and love raising a few organic hogs, only to find all of the packaged meat stamped 'Not For Sale' from the processor. I argued that my pork was more pure and wholesome than anything from the supermarket, not to mention that it was a USDA inspected facility. But the butcher explained that although that may be so, the state Department of Agriculture mandates any locally raised meat may not be sold. Holy Cows and Hog Heaven delves deep into these issues and provides a lot of hope for the 'natural' farmer as well as the consumer. There's no doubt that at some point the problems associated with industrial food will come to a head. We now have Mad-cow, Avian-flu, SARS, and Hepatitis outbreaks. All of these have been traced to confinement operations or un-clean foreign-raised crops. The question is when that time comes what will be done about it. If the government and agri-business are allowed to define the problem, we as small farmers will be targeted directly, unto extinction. But if the truth is allowed to spread now, the consumer can define the issues and local farm-friendly food will be the solution. I agree with the previous reviewer, if you like this book, buy several copies and give them to your friends who don't realize what is at stake. amazon.com