Hw # 7c

Chapter 11: Farmers like Joel Salatin's methods of farming are different to industrial farmers. Even though industrial farming is simpler and efficient , Salatin would argue that his system of farming the more natural way is just as efficient and minimizes his farming costs because he understand how everything is connected to one another on the farm and his animals can be used to help each other (feeding) and the farm stay healthy and produce better quality (tasting) foods.

Gems:"I'm just the orchestra conductor ,making sure everybody's in the right place at the right time" (212)

"Most of the efficiencies in an industrial system are achieved through simplification: doing lots of the same thing over and over.In agriculture, this usually means a monoculture of a single animal or crop."(214)

Thoughts: Why don't more farmers use the same natural system and methods of farming and caring for their farm as Joel ?
It seems that more natural ways of farming and using the animals to work together is less unhealthy for the animals and the conditions on the farm itself unlike industrial farming which is harmful to the animals and unsanitary.
Joel's farming methods appear to cut costs of things that industrial farmers need and use on their farms that he doesn't , but his methods seem to take longer unlike on industrial farms.

Chapter 12: When it comes to the final stage of the animals on the farm -the slaughter house. Taking into consideration how these animals are slaughtered is important. The USDA is responsible for inspecting the environments the animals are killed in ,but they take issue with farmers like Joel who prefers killing the animals he grows on his own farm, which turns out to be cleaner and the animals are more humanely killed than if they were in other slaughter houses.

Gems:"Processing but a few days a month means we actually think about what were doing, and be as careful and humane as possible." (pg 233)

"we do not allow the government to dictate what religion you can observe, so why should we allow them to dictate what kind of food you can buy?" (236)

Thoughts: Just reading about how these animals are slaughtered made me nauseous,what if people were able to see how the food they buy from supermarkets are slaughtered behind closed doors? Would there be as many meat eaters?
I don't think the government should interfere with the way the animals are slaughtered on Joels farm because if he were doing anything wrong or if it were inhumane then he wouldn't open it up for his customers to watch and inspect how their dinner is being killed.


Chapter 13: Salatin believes in finding ways to change the food system. He believes people need to change the way they eat and buy their foods. That supporting local foods is better because they factor in all the costs and are honest with the consumers about the food they are eating.

Gems: “Don’t you find it odd that people will put more work into choosing their mechanic or house contractor than they will into choosing the person who grows their food. –pg 240.
“If we could just level the playing field-take away the regulations, the subsidies, and factor in the health care and environmental cleanup costs of cheap food-we could compete on price with anyone.”
“You can buy honestly priced food or you can buy irresponsibly priced food.”

Thoughts: I don’t think that many people are willing to pay more for local foods (buying directly from their food source) because they tend to pick cheaper and more convenient food choices.
The big companies that control the food system have the power over the consumers while the farmers are trying to fight for theirs. The farms don’t have the advantage in this case.
If organic food cost less I think more people would become healthier eaters.

Chapter 14: There’s nothing better than the satisfaction of eating a delicious meal. The taste is everything, but not everything we eat is the same. We are deceived by what’s in our foods and how it reached our plates.

Gems: “The species of animal you eat may matter less than what the animal you’re eating has itself eaten.”

“When chickens get to live like chickens they’ll taste like chickens.”

Thoughts: This made me think, why don’t people usually consider the quality of their meals or the food they buy instead of focusing on the cost?
I don’t think that organic food necessarily tastes better than conventional foods even though eating organic maybe the better choice.
Food would taste so much better if the food we ate were handled differently by the farmers, the way Salatin handles his farm animals and crops.

Chapter 15: We’re in trouble; agriculture has eliminated any chance we have of living longer and healthier lives. Our food chain and the way we see food has changed because of agriculture. Now people aren’t aware of what is involved in our foods the way hunter-gathers did. Now we may never get the chance to return to hunting and gathering our food they way it used to be.

Gems: “ To look as far into the food chains that support us as I could look, and recover the fundamental biological realities that the complexities of modern industrialized eating keep from our view.”
For most of us today hunting and gathering and growing our own food is by and large a form of play.”

Thoughts: Agriculture has ruined our food chain. If people were able to hunt and gather their food instead of moving toward agriculture people would be so much healthier and live longer lives. Why isn’t the food system changing?

Chapter 16: Humans are able to eat almost anything thanks to natural selection, but deciding exactly what to eat is the problem. With so many different choices, how does one determine which to choose? We decide by following a couple of food rules and whether or not what we are eating is good for both our bodies and minds.

Gems: “"The fact that we humans indeed omnivorous is deeply inscribed in our bodies, which natural selection has equipped to handle a remarkably wide ranging diet."

“Being an omnivore occupying a cognitive niche in nature is a boon and a challenge, a source of tremendous power as well as anxiety."

Thoughts: We are facing many health issues because of the dilemma of what we choose to eat. I think people need to weigh the pros and cons of different foods like organic vs. conventional. I thought it was interesting that the author mentioned that our food not only has to taste good but we think about whether or not it is “ethically defensible to eat meat”.

Chapter 17: The less people know about the way meat is processed the better off the meat industry is and the less they seem to care. People don’t focus on how the meat as once being a living animal but rather something that just tastes good. Some would argue that animals shouldn’t be cruelly slaughtered and eaten by humans because it causes them suffering and is inhumane.

Gems: “We tolerate this schizophrenia because the life of the pig has moved out of view; when’s the last time you saw a pig in person? Meat comes from the grocery store, where it is cut and packaged to look as little like parts of animals as possible.”

“The one all-important interest humans share with pigs, as with all sentient creatures, is an interest in avoiding pain.”

Thoughts: If people actually got to see the way these animals are slaughtered less people will be willing to eat meat which would be bad for the meat industry business. It’s easier for people to not think about the slaughtering of animals. It makes the connection less personal. They just see it as a meal available for purchase.

Chapter 18: Hunting brings us closer to who we really are. Hunting should be seen valuable because it brings us closer to nature. Hunting for your food is an exhilarating feeling. The animals are there for us to eat them but we should still pay them gratitude.

Gems: “Humanity sees itself as something emerging from animality, but it cannot be sure of having transcended that state completely. The animal remains too close for us not to feel mysterious communication with it.”

“The experience of hunting suggests another theory. Could it be that the cannabinoid network is precisely the sort of adaptation that natural selection would favor in the evolution of a creature who survives by hunting?”

Thoughts: The hunt is what the hunter lives for, that feeling they get after capturing their prey successfully. I don’t think that people should mercilessly hunt animals for sport. Hunting is a good way for people to naturally eat. They can be sure their prey has been kept from the industrial factories.

Chapter 19: Hunting mushrooms is a difficult task because there is a lot you need to know about them first. Picking and eating the wrong mushrooms can end up being fatal. We hunt and eat what we want but we have to make sure it’s safe to eat it.

Gems: “Just imagine if had to decide every such edibility question on our own; only the bravest or most foolish of us would ever decide to eat a mushroom.”

“The field guides contain our culture’s accumulated wisdom on the subject of mushrooms. Curiously, though, the process of imparting and absorbing this life-and-death information works much better in person than it does on paper, whether through writing or even photography.”

Thoughts: Hunting and gathering a meal provides one with a connection to food. They know directly where it comes from. Nature plays a huge role. Knowing exactly what we are eating and if it is potentially dangerous to our health is important like eating wild mushrooms or foods produced by industrial food companies.

Chapter 20: It has finally all come together, everything to make the perfect meal. All the hunting, gathering and research I have done over a period of time has prepared me for this meal. It’s a meal that I had everything to do with from the start.

Gems:” Another thing cooking is, or can be, is a way to honor the things we are eating, the animals and plants and fungi that have been sacrificed to gratify our needs and desires…”

““The meal was more ritual than realistic because it dwelled on such things, reminding us how very much nature offers to the omnivore, the forests as much as the fields, the oceans as much as the meadows. If I had to give this dinner a name, it would have to be the Omnivore’s Thanksgiving.”

Thoughts: This reminded me of the sprouts we grew and ate and the feelings we had about growing our own foods. What it’s like to have that connection with our food. The author used his knowledge on food in order to prepare this meal which made it that more special to him. It’s important to know where our food comes from and what we are nourishing our bodies with in order to make changes.