War Stories from the Local Food Front

Although Polyface farm has been glowingly featured in countless national print and video media, it would not exist if the USDA and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services had their way. From a lifetime of noncompliance, frustration, humor, and passion come the behind-the-scenes real stories that have brought this little family farm into the forefront of the non-industrial food system.

Asked recently where he thought America's food system was on a continuum of history, Joel Salatin responded: “We're at Wounded Knee. For all the foodie fluff and eco-local buzz, in the final analysis the imbedded, heritage, transparent, truthful food system is in danger of annihilation. The Seventh Cavalry wears blue pinstriped suits and sits in posh government office buildings. The Native Americans are farmers trying to heal their land, their neighbors, and their food.”

Using the stories as a springboard to the broader philosophical issues surrounding food choice and entrepreneurship, Joel comes across as both evangelist and lover. You may not agree with all of his conclusions, but this book will force you to think about things that most people didn't even know existed.

Joel Salatin
Called "the high priest of the pasture" by The New York Times, Joel Salatin likes to refer to himself as a "Christian-libertarian-environmentalist-lunatic farmer." He lives with his family on Polyface Farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

Salatin has developed a system of pasture rotation that produces nutrient-rich grass and maximizes the composting of animal waste. Each species on the farm is dependent on another. The cows, for example, eat the nutrient rich grass in Pasture A and then are moved to Pasture B. The chickens then move to Pasture A where they pick through the cow pies ...