End of "Holy Cows..."

Just finished Salatin's guide to farm friendly food.  Overall, I really enjoyed it.  It was a little basic, I guess - but what did I expect from an introductory book - however, extremely thorough.  The only valid criticism I can come up with is the writing style: Salatin's words definitely show that he is a farmer first, and an author second.  From an editing standpoint I think his book could have been written a little more eloquently... he included great anecdotes and relevant stories, but I think maybe COA's Writing Seminar II could have given him a little boost.

But what's important is content!!  What I appreciated most about the book was how reasonable and practical Salatin is in all of his claims and instructions.  Unlike so many other opinions I've heard, he doesn't say that industrialism is 100% terrible, and he even admits going to Burger King every once in a while.  What he stresses the importance of is the "make it the exception, not the rule" ideology.  He says if it weren't for advancements in technology, we sure wouldn't have carcinogenic pesticide residues on our veggies - but we also wouldn't have treatment for cancer and the ability to perform open heart surgery.  Industrialization, he says, is pretty much okay in some respects, in that we definitely have a higher standard of living because of it, but our food systems are one area that industrialization never should have penetrated.  For instance, he admits that refrigerators and freezers are marvelous inventions - they allow people to store food that would otherwise go bad very quickly.  He reminds you, though, that that doesn't justify refrigerated monster trucks that drive tons of iceberg lettuce across the country from California so that we Mainers can eat a crappy salad in February.  Eat fresh, local food - freeze things when you have a surplus, so that you can eat produce or meat out of season and have a complete and nutritious diet all year round.

I really admire Salatin's series of checklists.  He provides succinct, bulleted lists at the end of each chapter, less as a way of summing up each section, but more as a method of directly instructing the reader about what to do, so there is no way one could forget any single important step.  His lists range from how to identify an eastern food system to how to reunite yourself with your kitchen; from how to show your gratitude to your local farmers, to how to become a decentralized bioregionalist.

Salatin's book is all in all an optimistic one.  He continually reminds us that we have a choice every time we eat a meal.  Rather than simply lamenting the highly industrialized, highly corrupt, highly disconnect status quo of our nation's way of feeding ourselves, he gives you a number of ideas about how to fight back - and why you should.  He makes it inescapable for one continue "being part of the problem."

I look forward to week whatever, when I'll be reading another of his books!