Joel Salatin

I was fortunate enough to see Mr. Salatin speak during his book tour, and he was engaging, funny, and passionate. I came away from that presentation convinced that he has crucial insights into where we've gone wrong in favoring the industrial over the local, especially with regard to food. The book definitely adds weight to the arguments he put forth during his speaking engagement.

This book did surprise me in some ways. It's more overtly political than I expected, and the tone is a bit show more curmudgeonly. It's funny, and satirical, but at times it reminded me of that grumpy old guy with the house on the corner who's always yelling at the kids to stay off of his lawn. ;-)

The points about the benefits of traditional (a.k.a., "normal") local food systems vs. the modern ("abnormal") industrial food systems certainly convinced me. What I honestly did not realize was how profoundly government agencies / oversight ("the food police") - and the lobbying of well-intentioned but naive environmentalists (myself included, I'm afraid) - have crippled the efforts of local producers like Salatin and like-minded independent farmers. Salatin rails against the USDA, the FDA, the FSIS, the IRS, and other federal bureaucracies that have made his life (and livelihood) a living hell over the years.

Salatin points out that the federal regulatory regimes supposedly intended to ensure food safety (and generally supported by "greenies") are in actuality tools of the very industrial producers they're ostensibly designed to check. In his experience, the mega-sized agribusinesses and their lobbyists cozy up to legislators to make certain that the new regs favor their "mass-production" model while shutting out innovation from smaller local producers. The costs of compliance are manageable for a huge operation but are utterly prohibitive for small-scale operations like Polyface Farms. Often, well-meaning environmentalists who believe "the agribusinesses can't be trusted" become unwitting co-conspirators by supporting these heavyweight regulations to the detriment of the small farmers they ultimately want to help.

Salatin's libertarian streak is evident throughout the book as he rants against the IRS, the nanny state, and federal oversight in general, bemoaning the loss of personal responsibility. He also ridicules the "connected world," the willingness of most of America to suckle on celebrity gossip and reality TV, and the plague of kids playing XBox instead of doing home & garden chores. I see a lot of truth in what he has to say, but (as an info technology pro for my day job) I struggled with the extreme positions he sometimes takes. No TV in the house? If the Salatins have made that work for decades, that's awesome, but I don't think it's a terribly practical admonition for most of America.

Overall, this was an entertaining and educational read. Similarly to Bill McKibben's advice in "Eaarth," Salatin believes decentralizing and reducing regulation (and federal government intervention in general) are our best shots at restoring some semblance of normality to our lives. He makes a strong case on many fronts. When I look at the complete ineptitude in the U.S. Congress these days, a major downsizing (and corresponding reduction in federal taxes) makes a lot of sense. Hey, Washington, D.C., let us eat what we want - we don't need your approval to know it's healthy! And it doesn't have to be bathed in chlorine or irradiated to make it safe to eat if it's grown in a clean environment to begin with!!! show less

Oh, Joel Salatin, you fascinating curmudgeon. If the mild and joyful farmer’s memoirs leave you wanting more, jump into the thick of the agribusiness food debate with Joel. He’s challenging, interesting, and highly opinionated. I can almost guarantee that something in this book will tick you off, but some other part will almost certainly prove totally compelling. You may not agree with him, but he’ll certainly give you plenty to think about.

This book makes me want to be a farmer! Or, then again, maybe not... I am convinced more than ever that we have passed a point of no return in this country; we have gotten so big and bloated with bureaucracy and regulation that we are stifling innovation, initiative, and freedom. Joel makes a good case for returning to the roots of our country, our original values and principles, but also strikes a pessimistic, but realistic, note when he states that he is not optimistic about our future or show more about winning.

What can I do? Shop at the Farmer’s Market, buy locally, get to know neighborhood farmers; perhaps learn to collect firewood, even keep chickens? show less

I love Joel Salatin. He is a crazy libertarian organic farmer in Virginia. I have his EVERYTHING I WANT TO DO IS ILLEGAL; and I've read his YOU CAN FARM. The latter is his attempt to inspire and instruct young people considering embarking on a life of farming. I loved it, even though there is no way I am ever going to become a farmer.

Here, Salatin rants about how far we have gotten away from "normal" (hence the title) with our industrial food system. He ends each chapter with positive show more suggestions, some more realistic than others, for taking individual action to end the insanity and start doing something normal again - growing a tomato plant, keeping chickens as pets, etc.

This totally resonated with me. The crazy thing I've always thought about books along the lines of "My Year of Growing All My Own Food" and such, is that they treat what used to be normal as a miracle - indeed, case in point, the title of Barbara Kingsolver's ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE. What we think is fodder for an entire book used to just be LIFE. Of course your grew your own food. People of 200 years ago would be might puzzled that anyone would want to read or write a book about it.

It's NORMAL. Salatin uses the word "birthright" in this book; it was actually in reference to hunting, but I like to think of it in relation to the whole shebang of agriculture and enjoying nature. It's our BIRTHRIGHT.

The book is repetitive and ranty, not exactly a masterpiece of literature, but it has been so inspiring to me, I go with 5 stars. I'm inspired to actually double down on my local food intake. I'm researching local grain and upgrading my dairy; I'm using more butter in place of vegetable oils (big sacrifice there, not); just putting a lot more thought into it. And I wasn't exactly unconscious to begin with.

Salatin even ends the book by confiding in us an experience where he actually broke down in tears as he was about to leave his homestead for a month or two, a very long stretch of traveling for him. He had to stop the car and cry before he had even left the lane leading to his house. I'm touched, I really am.

And although I no longer identify as libertarian - and was not interested in the rants against the government which at times lurked just below surface, and at other times reared their ugly heads - I have to say simply that there's something refreshing in reading arguments for organic, back-to-the-land living coming from a place other than basic hippie liberal. It's just different and enlightening and proves that these things don't have to be "polarized." Everyone benefits from better food. It's ridiculous that this should be a politically one-sided issue - like climate change. show less