Folks, this ain't normal

The food production system that we have all been accustomed to is a product of wanting cheap and efficient processes to get any food that we crave onto our tables. If we want a strawberry in winter, we go to the store and buy it. According to Joel Salatin this ability to buy out of season is relatively new and frankly, is not normal. His book, "Folks, this ain't normal" he challenges modern agriculture way of thinking, showing how it hurts the earth and animals farmers are supposed to be stewards of, as well as the people that farmers are meant to feed and keep healthy. He also presents how local farmers that think of animals (including humans) and the land as having a symbiotic relationship can actually have higher yields of product that are more nutritious that what we are accustomed to seeing in the supermarket and actually builds the soil in the process.

Salatin go to great lengths to beat into people that how we eat food today is not in any way historically normal. People do not store food anymore. Canning, freezing and dehydrating were the ways people were able to "eat in season." There were no supermarkets until the 1940's. Before then, everybody grew their own food. Now people buy from the store and have no idea as to how that food got there or the consequences of getting that food into the supermarket. People will also not think twice about throwing out food scraps that could otherwise be used as feed to chickens (yes, chickens are omnivores) and pigs that can be turned into meat for the table, or the scraps can be composted and, in turn, be used to grow produce. Either way, in my opinion, is much more superior than sending them to a landfill.

Salatin also shares that regulations meant to keep food safe for consumption is more meant to keep the existing mega producers in business and prevent competition from local farmers and indirectly creates lower quality food. I never knew that commercial eggs are put into a chlorine bath before shipping (eggs are porous!) before reading this book. Also, according to regulations a meat handler cannot be a poultry handler. Those are two different professions and the two cannot intermix. He shares a story of how it is easier for Tyson to get their chickens into a restaurant than it is for a local farmer located two miles from that same restaurant. He also shares that even if a restaurant or college wants to have a local food initiative, no compete clauses with their existing food vendors prevent it from happening.

There is a point here that I would like to get on my soapbox about and I am echoing what is found in this book. People no longer want to take responsibility for their actions. People except somebody else to find them and label them "Approved." If everyone where to start asking questions about their food and taking ownership of what goes into your body, I believe that obesity and drug resistant diseases would no longer be issues. If I want buy some food, it should be my responsibility to find the best sources and, more importantly, not choose from sources I do not like for one reason or another. I am perfectly capable of finding good food without the USDA thank you very much.

So go out there, local farmers are waiting for your business. Join a CSA, you are not only getting higher quality food, but you are indirectly being a better steward of the Earth. And if you want to get "crazy," grow some of your own. I know it opened my eyes to how food does not just magically show up in the aisle at the grocery store. For starters, read this book!