In this weekend's reading, Pollan focuses on one farmer and his farm: Joel Salatin and Polyface Farms, the same Joel Salatin from last reading. This week, Pollan continues to talk about how Joel's farm is a wondrous adventure compared to the industrial farms who wreak havoc on the environments and the animals themselves. What Joel does is use a more natural rotation which does not rob the soil of its nitrogen and other nutrients and allows for multiple crops to be sown, not just corn. Along with this rotation, his animals are grass-fed and have area to roam, unlike the majority of industrial farms.
Now if Joel’s farming techniques are so great and natural, the epitome of organic, why do we have industrial farms? The answer is rather simple: it's consistent, inexpensive, and efficient. Industrial farms were created for the same exact reason that most other human inventions base their usefulness on. During, roughly, the 18th century is where the agricultural revolution began, when hundreds of new inventions were created to make farming much easier and more manageable, which often allowed for more organized farms. Farms shrank and as a result, so did the health-awareness of the farmers and consumers. Could we possibly get along without industrial farms? Could we fill the world with organic farms? Without reorganizing urban vs. rural land distribution, I doubt so.
(Sorry if it is a bit late.. blogger decided to not post it last night and only noticed when I got up this morning >.<)
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