#polyface farm

[fromscratchmom]

Folks, This Ain't Normal | Joel Salatin | Talks at Google

I bet I've shared this at least a few times on various platforms over the years. It's my favorite Salatin speech.

[wildcritterfarms]

From Polyface Farm:

I follow Polyface Farm on Facebook - I always enjoy reading Joel Salatin’s perspective on things.....

“April 8, 2016 Joel Salatin

If you've been tuned in to any news program today, you know the big story: Wal-Mart announced that by 2025 it will sell only cage-free eggs.

By 2025? Just a couple of weeks ago a group of Amish farmers from Kentucky called me desperate for egg customers. They expanded too fast with their little collaborative farm group and needed to move about 2,000 dozen a week. I had nothing to offer.

By 2025? I meet thousands of farmers around the country who desperately need just a few more customers in order to quit their town commute and enjoy their farm as a full-time enterprise. In all their publicity about this decision, Wal-Mart is very clear: they will continue to use the same supplier farms. They just want a different housing arrangement to placate the animal welfarists.

Why not change suppliers? They could be in full operation with cage-free eggs in a year if they weren't committed to dealing with people who change because they have to, not because they want to. Why not deal with people who made the change already because they wanted to, because they thought it was right?

I've been trying to think of a good analogy to help folks understand what this is. It's like somebody who beats up his wife once a week saying he's going to drop it to once a month in a few years and she suddenly feels victorious. Really?

In 2025, are these cage-free birds going to get any fresh air? Any sunshine? Are they getting any pasture? The answer: no, no, and no. In fact, they're getting one square foot of space. Did you hear that? One square foot! And they're getting perches and nests. But be assured, the nests won't look like the ones in Farmer Brown's children books, with straw and a red barn. These will not have any bedding and will roll away to an automatic conveyer.

It's all about doing bad and feeling good about it. The biggest problem with this is that thousands of people will feel like they've arrived at animal welfare nirvana, which will make consumers more lethargic about seeking out the real deal--like women whose husbands never strike them. Lulling people into a false sense of accomplishment is far worse than maintaining a stark contrast between good and evil.

The good-ole boy fraternity Wal-Mart wants kept cozy with these despicable farms belies the shallowness of the whole deal. Of course, animal welfare groups will claim victory and pat themselves on the back, and give awards to the managers who came kicking and screaming to this altar. But if anybody really wants to do the right thing, they'd go to pastured eggs with real nutritional superiority from farmers who respect chickens because they actually respect the people who eat the eggs. Now that would be switch.

Polyface could supply every egg Wal-Mart in Staunton needs within a year. That's the truth. This announcement is grandstanding for perpetuating abuse and hoping duplicitous customers will swallow the drivel. If you can really do better today, why dilly dally? If you're under conviction, Wal-Mart, come clean today, really clean, and let the true conversion begin. That's my challenge for the day.”

[wildcritterfarms]

Joel Salatin's Facebook post

From Joel Salatin, Feb. 18, 2016 I'm constantly struck by the cleverness of business to leverage mob-think to advantage. You will be seeing press reports this year regarding a new ultra-humane technology for killing chickens. It's being touted as the ultimate animal welfare killing chamber. The obvious message is if you want poultry killed humanely, this is the chicken to buy. The companies adopting this special chamber are Bell and Evans and Mary's, two brands arguably superior to Tyson. But here's the kicker: it costs $3 million. Bell and Evans processes 840,000 chickens per week. Mary's processes 200,000 per week. Tyson has several processing plants and does 1 million per week per plant. So these other two brands are certainly much smaller than Tyson, but still massive operations. By contrast, Polyface does 1,000 in a week, seasonally (none in the winter). The folks who process chickens here at Polyface do it only a few hours a week, in the summer. The rest of the day we make hay, fix fence, move cows, pick strawberries--all the things that a diversified farm enjoys. Be assured that the press releases and marketing angle with this special $3 million chamber will seek to woo customers as the most up-to-date animal-friendly system developed. The frustration is that some people will actually leave their local, pasture-based, diversified farmers for the sexy techno-glitzy promise of Star Trek animal welfare salvation. Dear folks, these chickens eat Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) feed, don't get outside, don't get to pick up bugs, don't get grass, clover and other pasture plants, don't get to feel the direct sunshine on their necks. What's more, the workers in these plants do the same thing every hour of every day, contributing to psychological and physical problems. Nobody should kill animals every day. The very foundational paradigm of these big processing plants is inhumane--for HUMANS. But all of that will be conveniently left out of the press releases and the market-speak. Here at Polyface, we practice the system used by Kosher and Halal and native peoples for millenia. Done well, it's completely respectful of the life and the sacrifice. We invite anyone to come and see. We don't need $3 million animal welfare-contrived killing chambers. What we need are thousands of diversified, multi-speciated, community-based farms. Assuming that an animal-wlelfare-certified $3 million killing chamber is the answer to everything that's wrong is simply myopic and childish. Don't be swayed by huge. Remember E. F. Schumacher: "Small is beautiful." Joel Salatin

[foodeca]

A documentary about Polyface Farm and the effects and hope it has brought.

[relayfoods-blog]

Local Guide to Thanksgiving: Charlottesville

As leaves begin to fall, and the Blue Ridge Mountains transform into beautiful hues of orange and red, we look forward to that special time of year when we gather together with family and friends to share good food and community spirit.  Charlottesville and its surrounding communities have so much to offer, and we’re here to help you prepare for the holiday season by highlighting some great local…

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[tumblebuggie]

Permaculture is revolution disguised as gardening

[part 2]   [part 3]

Celebrities shouting slogans about “sustainability” and “change” and “we the people” can’t hold up a straw against good ole’ Joel preaching the truth :)

“A culture that views its plants and animals from that kind of disrespectful and manipulative standpoint will view its citizens the same way, and other cultures.”

If you live in the city and want to support local farmers and eat better food, look up "foodshare” or “farmshare” around your area. 

[healingtheplanetandthepeople]

I think it's actually much more beneficial to take responsability for the problem. The learning that happens when we look at a mess and assume it's our fault enables us to grow as individuals, to listen to what life is trying to teach us. To assume these animals are getting sick because some disease fairies sprinkled foo-foo dust on them may sound nice for a while, but utlimately we don't become better people with that attitude. Instruction comes when we humbly ask, "What did I do to make this happen?" At that point, our eyes and ears - indeed, our minds - open and we can hear things others may not hear, and see things others may not see. The others are too busy blaming something or picking up something in a bottle to remedy the problem.

- Joel Salatin, Folks, This Ain't Normal, p221

[lynnrmitchell]

Innovate LIVE coming to Staunton this weekend

Innovate LIVE coming to Staunton this weekend

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Get ready, Staunton … Innovate LIVE is heading our way this weekend, April 24-26. Staunton is stunning this time of year — spring flowers and blossoming trees, soft warm breezes, and the historic downtown area just waiting for visitors while the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains surround the Shenandoah Valley.

A full agenda will begin Friday morning and last through Sunday.

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