The Gospel According to Joel

Virginia chicken farmer and clean food advocate Joel Salatin kicked off this year's NOFA-NY (Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York) conference with a keynote speech that was part altar call and part rallying cry for everyone--especially farmers--to claim their Sacred Calling.  He spoke of Respect, Resilence, and Recompense as being part of the sacred call of organic farming.

Salatin is known to many as the man behind Polyface Farms in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.  He is known well to fans of Michael Pollan who has written about him in magazines and who devoted nearly an entire chapter to the man and his method of poultry farming in the book, The Omnivore's Dilemma.  Here are some excepts from Salatin's nearly hour-long speech.

• Part of our sacred calling is to preserve respect for the food we grow.  GMO (genetially modified organisms) asks the question:  just because we can, should we?  Our worldview (of organic, clean food) creates a border for our cleverness.  How we respect the least of these affects how we treat the greatest of these.  We don't have to understand everything.
• We not only respect the plants and animals, we respect the eater and the consumer. We want ultimate health and not short term stock dividends.  The industrial system disrespects the microflora of our intestines. 
• We've eliminated the courtship with the dinner plate.  But as a culture we applaud ourselves that there are no humans involved in the food system.  It's like prostitution food--where is the courtship?  The dating?  The romance that leads to the intimate act of dining?
• We preserve respect for the farmer and the producer in raising food without the chemicals that lead to disease.
• We preserve forgiveness and resilence.  We preserve a farm family friendly work environment so we are not just alienating everyone. 
• We preserve resilence in the landscape.  The way we farm preserves a landscape that can take care of itself.
• We don't subscribe to the "Grow it faster, bigger, cheaper" paradigm.  Is it any wonder that we are looking like our food system and we have an obesity epidemic?
• Questions for the industrialists:  Is there any nutritional integrity?  Does that food actually give/transfer life?
• We preserve recompense for the farmer  Our country has a cheap policy--it is a race to the bottom floor.  Our call is to return the money to the rural landscape in order to fund the next generation of stewards.
• Our sacred calling is the preservation of a heritage food system.

The crowd of 400 that Salatin spoke to on Friday night swelled to over 600 the next day making this NOFA-NY's most successful winter conference ever.  This conference brings farmers, foodies, advocates, educators, and gardeners from across New York State and beyond, to the Liverpool Holiday Inn the last weekend in January each year.  Put it on your calendar for 2008!

Comments

[Jill Hurst-Wahl]

How do you find time for all the fascinating things that you do??!! However you do find the time, thank you for doing the things you do AND reporting on them here. You're words are always appreciated.

[Jennifer]

Thanks Jill. I don't know how I find the time--it's really just a lot of fun--and I'm not running as much as should!

[Lisa (Homesick Texan)]

"Prostitution food" what a brilliant term! I just found your blog via Elise's Simply Recipes. What caught my eye is that you're an Episcopalian priest and so is my mom, way down in Texas. Great reading...I will be back!

[Jennifer]

Welcome Lisa! What a small world--I've got some women clergy friends in Texas...you know what they say, there are only 5 Episcopalians and the rest is done with mirrors so there's a possibility that I've met her.

And, I love your blog too!