This is a Youtube clip featuring farmer Joel Salatin. He has been
featured in several documentaries such as Food Inc., becoming known for his revolutionary
and innovative ways of farming. He raises and slaughters animals without using
chemicals. His practices contrast drastically with factory farms and
slaughterhouses, bringing a personal and local touch to meat production. He
sets a precedent for reform to the unethical and unhealthy industries that
dominate our country.
Salatin's
farm produces grass-fed beef, pork, eggs, turkey, pasture raised chicken, and
rabbits. The farm uses many unconventional methods to take care of its land and
animals. They use a rotation system, moving the animals to new areas every few
days to make sure they are not destroying the land. They fertilize their
pastures with manure from their own animals. The farm produces what they call
clean meat - they don't use hormones, they are organic, and they send their
animals out to pasture. Salatin's farm does not ship any food products, they
only sell directly to the consumer. Using these methods, Salatin is challenging
factory conventional farming and encouraging "healing the land, healing
the food, healing the economy".
Joel
Salatin calls himself a “caretaker” of the animals. With all the images of
Salatin carefully taking care of all the cows and chickens and all his animals;
it leads us to believe that he really is just that. What is interesting about
Joel is how much different this one man is from all of the slaughterhouses out
there. Joel treats the animals with respect and care. Joel earns the respect of
vegetarians and vegans because he treats the animals well, and his primary
concern is the animal’s quality of life and not just making a profit off of
their meat, unlike most slaughterhouses. Joel talks about “respecting the
design of creation”. By saying this, Joel is giving insight into his moral
beliefs, and he believes that slaughterhouses are morally wrong.
Salatin’s
mentions, “I’m supposed to leave it (Earth) for the next generation, better
than I found it.” This quote is very telling of why Salatin is farming the way
he is, and why he chooses to work against the grain to raise his animals the
all-natural way. Salatin believes that the modern meat production industry is
working against that goal. Not only does this modern industry ignore and
downplay the quality of life of the animals it butchers, but it pollutes our
environment and misuses natural resources. Salatin hopes that by farming
organically and treating the world as God’s creation, he will start a movement
that will change how we as humans look at the world around us.
Questions:
What do
you think Joel means when he says that we need to leave the world in better
shape for the next generation? Is this possible?
Do you
think Joel is right by saying we have to “respect the design of creation”?
Do you
think that slaughterhouses are morally wrong? Or that we cannot bring beliefs
into affect when it comes to animals and food?
Can you
think of any drawbacks or problems with this type of farming, or does it seem
like a pretty foolproof plan?
Slaughter houses are technically morally wrong, however if every farmer farmed animals in the way Joel does, we would quickly see a shortage in meat I believe. Unless Joel is somehow taking this great care with 1000s of animals, the there is no way he is producing nearly the same amount of meat as slaughter houses. This being said, I agree with what Joel is doing, the animals can think too, they are not simply something to kill and eat. They deserve to have a somewhat happy life before dying for our needs. In response to leaving the next generation better than the current one, that is nearly impossible. Currently corruption is spreading like wild fire and there is not much of a way to fix this. In todays society, unfortunately, most people only care about profit and money. This being said, i believe there s no hope in improving the earth for the next generation.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was very interesting hearing Salatin's view on farming. His respect for the planet and its design are different than most other farmers. Ideally, all food would come in the way that Salatin produces food. I do not think anybody would PREFER to have food come through slaughter houses. However, slaughter houses offer a more efficient way for companies to produce food so its not likely that everyone will change. I think Joel is right in saying to respect the design of creation to a point. I think we need to respect the earth, but sometimes we may have to change the original design. Its hard to say slaughter houses are morally wrong because it is what's best for businesses. They do what is best to make the most money which is a basic basis for all businesses in America.
ReplyDeleteI found Salatin's view on farming very interesting, but in a good way because it's almost the exact opposite of the majority of farming we're used to seeing today. I do believe that modern day slaughterhouses are morally wrong because they treat the animals with no respect whatsoever. Even though the animals are bred and raised solely to make a profit, I do believe that they deserve to live in better conditions for the short time they're there. I also agree with Salatin's view about leaving the earth in a better condition than we found it. I understand that it would be really difficult to reverse some of the damage that has already been done, but I think the least we could do is make changes in our daily lifestyle to prevent further deterioration of the environment.
ReplyDeleteI think slaughterhouses are morally wrong because this shows the selfishness of human being. They don't think about the animals and treat them as they are not living things. I do agree with the way Salatin taking care of his animals and preserving the earth as it is for the children of the next generation. Thus, they are able to enjoy everything on earth like we do. Even though we cannot do anything to something damaged, but at least we can preventit from becoming worse. But, i think if every food industy do the same, this world might having the shortage of meat products.
ReplyDeleteI think Joel has a great point on keeping the land in better shape in the future because the fact we have depleted and polluted the land and still are. It would be great if his movement could encourage more invovlement in land perserving and organic farming. The quote really make sense to think that hteses animals derserve to live a life of well being because they are the ones that keep us healthy. There should be more consideration for these animals especailly the way they are slaughtered. Unfortunately, I feel it is too late for farmers to change their ways who don't do organic farming because they fear they could lose a profit if they turn back now.
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly possible to leave the world in a better place than we found it, but the problem is motivating people to do so. Salatin seems to be one of the few who doesn't just follow the "end justifies the means" attitude of farmers and slaughterhouses trying to maximize production for profit. Yes, we should "respect the design of creation" in our production of food, but the unfortuate truth is that the majority of people simply do not care or do not know where their food comes from. Like Alex said, this sort of farming probably does not produce the same amount of meat as slaughterhouses do, and from doing research for my paper, I have found that there is already not enough American beef to meet demand. As sad as it is, this sort of farming probably cannot fuel the obsession American's have with meat.
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with Satalin when he says that he should leave the land better than he found it. Just within the last 20 years we have learned so much about how to take care of the Earth so that it will keep producing successfully, and have new technology that is cleaner and more efficient than ever before. I believe as technology improves we should improve as a society because our lives are becoming similar, and we get more out of them. There is no excuse why we can't leave the planet better than we found it because we know how to prevent disasters, and understand what is good for the environment. As we continue to grow I believe that the Earth should as well. We have all the tools in front of us, and more people like Satalin should take advantage of them or else we will eventually destroy ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI believe that slaughterhouses are morally wrong but I also understand the need to be able to produce mass amounts of meat products for the consumers of America today. Instead of just ignoring the problems and conditions of slaughterhouses we should change the system as a whole, completely starting fresh. With today's technology I believe that it is possible to create a better system of slaughtering these animals so that they do not have to suffer the way they do. If this could be done it would actually benefit the meat industry because they would be able to make a better quality product at the same rate. This would also benefit us as consumers because we will not have to worry about our food being contaminated from these awful living conditions. The only problem I see with Salatin’s type of farming is that it would be harder to provide large quantities of products, like slaughterhouses do. Also, some farmers might misinterpret Salatin's organic farming practices. Instead of caring for the animals and respecting the creation of design, some farmers might just do nothing thinking this is the same thing when it is clearly not.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Salatin's view in farming. Although I wish that every farmer took care of their animals and produced their meat the way Salatin does, I know that in reality this will never happen. I think that slaughterhouses are morally wrong, but as many have said above, it is the more efficient way. In todays world, maximizing profit is the main goal and I do not think that big meat producers are going to be willing to slow down production and turn to the ways of Salatin. As for leaving the earth in better shape for the next generation, I do not think this is possible. I don't think that people will stop producing the way they are now in order to make the earth better. All of the pollution and other side effects of slaughterhouses are ruining the environment. The companies know this and this shows that they don't care much about our environment, only maximizing profit.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with Salatin's view on farming. What he believes and does is very rare in todays world. I love the fact that he treats the animals with respect and actually cares for them the proper way. Everyone has their own beliefs and morals but to me what he is doing is the morally correct thing to do. For him to say that we need to leave the world in better shape than it is now is a very powerful yet not totally controllable situation. He can preach all he wants and show the world his beliefs and what is really going on but it is going to be hard to change the majority of the farming population that kills animals the wrong way, in my opinion. I believe that it is worth every extra penny to make sure that those animals that are being slaughtered are treated the correct way. I can not think of any drawbacks to Salatins way of farming and think it is the correct way to go.
ReplyDeleteslaughterhouses are wrong in my mind, but i understand we need meat to feed our country so i think they should come up with a new way that is not so harsh. I also think that joel means by the statement "we need to keep this world a better place for the next generation" means that he wants to keep the land that he has fresh and keep producing more and more food and having the animals to fertilize the fields.
ReplyDeleteI really respect this man for standing out above all the other farmers, involving his agricultural tactics. I strongly agree with Salatin and his opinions about the slaughterhouses. I believe that these slaughterhouses are morally wrong, unethical, and gruesome tactics. I really admire Joel for raising his animals in not only a humane way, but a healthy one at that. He is going to the extent by moving the animals to new parts of land in a rotational pattern that keeps the animals both healthy and happy. Although, I do believe that there are some issues that can come of his ways of farming. I think that by his method of raising the animals naturally, takes much longer for the animals to physically develop (fully) and able to sell profitably. I feel as though his methods would negatively affect the business on an economical standpoint, but positively affect the business on a healthier and happier perspective.
ReplyDeleteI think it is possible for us to leave the world in better shape for the next generation. We just have to change certain things in our everyday lives to make sure that we are not further damaging the Earth. I think Joel is right by saying that we have to respect the design of creation. This is because, we should respect everything around us, be it living or non-living. It shows that we are human and that we care and not selfish. Nothing is foolproof. There are always drawbacks to everything. For example, with this kind of farming, the main drawback is that you are unable to rear as many animals, which doesn't make as much money and the costs are higher.
ReplyDeleteWell, I fully respect Joel's contribution to this kind of green and ethical farming. But instead of further praising him or punishing slaughterhouses from moral view, I'd rather provide a different opinion from another prospect. Coming from a country that have just overcome starvation for less than 30 years, I understand that there are still many countries which can't feed its people. Ethical farming is good, but it is a luxury for those countries. Although I agree that slaughterhouses could be morally controversial, it is the most efficient way to produce meet for people. This is a kind of dilemma that make those countries to choose from ethical farming and people living.
ReplyDeleteI see a few problems with this type of farming. I feel that this type of farming is more expensive and takes up a lot more land then the industrial type of farming that is used. Not that I am for all the added hormones and steroids, but i feel that without them this type of farming would take longer to make the animals fully grown. If everyone used this type of farming there would be less food going out to the consumers and causing prices to rise. This could cause less and less people to buy meat. I feel that allowing animals to graze is a good thing but I also feel that if all farms did this there would not be enough land to produce the amount of animals we need to provide our country. I feel that this is more of a moral issue, and could not effect me either way. Im going to eat my chicken whether he is playing in the field with his other chicken buddys or he's sitting in some dark shed with thousands of other chickens.
ReplyDeleteJoel's saying of "respect the design of creation" can be controversial to different groups of people, but i think when he bring up leaving the world in better shape than we found it, we can all come to an agreement. I think we can achieve more than our country is putting forth in its current generation.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we should bring in moral emotions into a matter of necessity of life. I think what they do to animals is wrong, yes, but meat is an important part of our diets. I think that Joel's conventional farming can birth the idea of becoming a weekday vegetarian, like we have been introduced to before. I agree that without the slaughterhouse that production would be less, but it would be better quality of food. Another difficulty that would arise, would be land to do it. We lack valuable land all across the country, and i do not think there would be enough to suffice for the amount of meat needed to keep up with the meat consumption of today's society.
(I'm not sure if I will get credit for this since it is past midnight, but whatever). There are obviously many drawbacks to this type of farming. If everyone did this, meat would become a rare delicacy because we wouldn't be able to keep up the demand. Slaughterhouses are extremely economical and the only possible way for everyone to have access to meat. Also, anyone who believes in Salatin strongly enough can go buy their meat from him or a similar farmer. That is what happens in a free market, if the demand is high enough, it can happen but otherwise not.
ReplyDelete