Joel Salatin: Breaking Free From Factory Farms
In this twelfth video in the series “Peak Oil and a Changing Climate” from The Nation and On The Earth Productions, American farmer, lecturer and author Joel Salatin outlines the key issues America faces as its citizens increasingly rely on factory farms, concentrated animal feeding operations that require cheap energy in order to operate profitably. He condemns regulations that appear to be on the books to benefit animal factories and prevent individuals from farming sustainably. To learn more about “Peak Oil and a Changing Climate,” and to see the other videos in the series, visit www.TheNation.com.
12 Responses to Joel Salatin: Breaking Free From Factory Farms
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@theprophetnabob: as to your suggestion that the idea that everybody farming on their grossly disused suburban lawns is “rampant speculation:” I assume what you’re saying is that people WON’T grow their own food, not that they CAN’T (which they could, and with astoundingly minimal education). You’re talking about priorities, not possibilities. It would be entirely possible and feasible for people to farm their own food. You just don’t want to. Enjoy whatever reality TV show you’re watching.
bricklayerpayne
December 6, 2011 at 3:42 am
@TheProphetNabob 3. if your point is that that the yard to the kitchen and back is not a closed loop, well, I bet you are a lot of fun to talk to at cocktail parties. 4. Joel is an unabashed libertarian, but I am not, and no one would mistake me for a teabagger. The fact that Monsanto and other companies that look like them “help” write these regulations, and spend millions maintaining them, is one of the scariest things in modern America.
JDL0427
December 6, 2011 at 4:06 am
@TheProphetNabob you went to a lot of effort trying to re-frame his position his so you could argue with it through your version of what he says. nice try. 1. most of his customers live nearby. their additional fuel costs are the difference between driving to the supermarket or driving to his farm in a passenger car. 2. did you block out the part where he ticked of a half dozen ways factory farms are fuel guzzling operations?
JDL0427
December 6, 2011 at 4:12 am
Go Joel! He has some compelling ideas which we ignore at our peril. Monied interests in America will never willingly adopt these logical changes, so it’s up to you and I to do the right thing. Don’t wait for “them” to save you.
Peace.
IanClemons
December 6, 2011 at 5:07 am
@TheProphetNabob cont’d … Meanwhile, what can you do if a giant food company produces something unsafe? It will take a lot of effort to get anything done, and once it gets done the food contamination is probably at a HUGE scale and millions of chickens or whatever have to be chucked in the garbage due to possible salmonella contamiantion or something.
megatrollwarlock
December 6, 2011 at 5:20 am
@TheProphetNabob 1. That gives people the incentive to buy in bulk. That’s what I do when I visit local farmers. I may purchase 50 lbs of beef at once and store it in my freezer. That will last me for months. It’s not like people drive over there and buy 1 lbs of beef. Your argument is flawed.
2. Most small farms are not like Salatin’s farm, they are still modeling industrial farming but on a smaller scale which makes them less efficient. Again, your argument is flawed.
megatrollwarlock
December 6, 2011 at 5:38 am
@TheProphetNabob Actually Salatin’s customers are mostly local (within 100 miles) and tend to buy in bulk, and store the beef or pork they buy in freezers. You’re still thinking from the perspective that he should cater to clients 1000-3000 miles away. Clearly you missed the point of this entire video. Nice work.
megatrollwarlock
December 6, 2011 at 5:57 am
cont’d … Because if I’m a small local farmer I have much more accountability to my limited client base, and thus more incentive to deliver high quality products. If I produce something that’s unsafe, people know exactly where it came from and I’ll have a lynchmob at my doorstep.
megatrollwarlock
December 6, 2011 at 6:16 am
@TheProphetNabob 3. What if I have a greenhouse and grow 25-50% of my food there and buy the rest from a local sustainable farmer. Not a totally closed loop, but much less energy is expended, and I think that’s the point he was making.
4. Sure, in factory farms regulations are essential, otherwise there is very little accountability. But if I’m a small sustainable farmer and eat my own produce then it should be good enough to sell it to my neighbours and local community. cont’d …
megatrollwarlock
December 6, 2011 at 6:28 am
One of Salatin’s rules is that… he won’t ship his beef at all; customers have to drive to him to pick it up….Salatin should allow only shipments that use a minimum amount of fuel per pound of beef delivered. Instead, he adopts a rule that might put hundreds of cars and vans on the road, each delivering only a few pounds of beef. Salatin’s solution is emotionally satisfying but its underlying science is flawed and counterproductive to his stated goals.
skeptoid episode 4162
TheProphetNabob
December 6, 2011 at 6:39 am
3. There is no such thing as “a totally closed loop,” in reference to the chickens and feed scraps. The food is being grown somewhere, and is being transported to the house. The idea of turning everyone’s lawns into farms is just rampant speculation.
4. The dissing of regulations: They’re there for a reason: to protect people from disease and unscrupulous farmers. “Food inquisition” sounds like the claim of a Teabagger.
TheProphetNabob
December 6, 2011 at 6:54 am
1. Yes, maybe YOUR fuel expenses are less than conventional farmers, but what you don’t say is that, instead of delivering goods to supermarkets, you require people to drive to your place to pick up their food. Your fuel expenses are passed on to your customer.
2. In a regime of high fuel costs, concentrated operations will look even MORE efficient: The fewer operations there are, the less fuel will be used. Many small farms would use a hell of a lot more fuel than large farms overall.
TheProphetNabob
December 6, 2011 at 7:50 am