Holy Cows and Hog Heaven: The Food Buyer's Guide to Farm Friendly Food

Joel Salatin does what we all promise ourselves that we will do about life, food, and health. Joel has researched things that nagged at his conscience, and has developed a healthful lifestyle that works. He has stepped out on the faith of his convictions, with his brave wife, and has proven some things:1. Farming is a noble thing, not for those who can do nothing else...he enlightens us on the real intellect required by farming, although we probably suspected it.2. Food today is a nutritional and economic rip-off. As the big entities take over the business of food production, the small farmer finds himself no longer in the cycle of the seasons. America is using up all kinds of enery to have strawberries in January, and tomatoes without taste . The tail has begun to wag the dog, in food production. The average person is hijacked at the supermarket, forced to buy food grown without accountability. Are we surprised at the empty calories, and the outbreak of foodborne diseases?3. We need to bravely go back to basics for our food and local farmers. We will bless them, but they will give us back things that are not poisonous, and are grown in plain sight. A decent exchange.4. We need to be more thoughtful about our land, soil, water, and animals. The focus on growing one thing, from just plums to just pigs, creates a servitude that is not healthy for anything within that cycle---excepting, of course, the big boys, who put the money in their pockets.This book is a succint explanation of what Salatin is doing so successfully, a review of the government obstructions to it, and an exciting 'new' look at sustainable farming. He is a little arrogant, well educated, and gutsy enough to take on Goliath. I like him, and his honest approach to really knotty problems. I admire his willingness to research, and to share.If you want a book that will surprise you, and inform you about things you thought you already knew about your neighborhood/state/country, get this one. Then, do what I plan to do. Make some presents of them to your selected family.Blueridge

Joel Salatin is a nut! But from my experience, all visionaries tend to be a bit nutty. I came to reading this book after reading Michael Pollan's, The Omnivore's Dilemma, which is a great book in it's own right, and which dedicates a generous portion of its pages to Joel Salatin and his farm.Joel Salatin is among the minority of Americans who have a keen insight into just how far this country has gotten off track, and he is dedicating his life to doing whatever he can to get people back on track. I am guessing he is a deeply happy man (if not a tad disturbed), because it shows in his love for the earth and the food it creates with his generous help.This book will change the way you eat, or if not that, it will at least change the way you think while you stroll the isles at the supermarket, browsing isle after isle of plastic food. It has had a very positive effect on me and my family, and I recommend it to anyone who pauses, even for a moment, to consider the quality of the food that they eat. If you don't waste time on such trivialities, well maybe it is time that you did, for the sake of yourself, your race and the earth. Joel Salatin will help you navigate the territory.Joel, I could have done without the Christian rhetoric, particularly the anti-abortion sentiment that peppered your book. I understand though ... you don't seem to be able to contain your passions any more than I can mine. We differ on some things, but agree on most. The writing can be a bit tricky in places, leaving me re-reading sentences over a few times, trying to decipher the meaning. But, all in all, this is a great book, and should be required reading for every citizen, non-citizen and illegal immigrant that shares this great country in decline.I weep for the future, but Joel Salatin provides me with a little ray of hope.

This book is a natural follow-up to the two Michael Pollan books, "Omnivore's Dillema" and "In Defense of Food." Joel Salatin nails it home with the "how-to's" of putting into practice these new insights about incorporating locally produced clean food into our diets. It's all about accountability and integrity, as practiced by small farm friendly producers and their products, face-to-face with their customers. For those who take for granted that the grocery store is the only place to buy food, try something different. Find a local farmer's market and let your senses carry you away. Bring home a big bag of cleanly produced locally grown vegetables and have a blast. The aromas, textures, and tastes will startle you. The strawberries actually smell and taste like ripe strawberries, sweet (with no sugar added!). Cut into a fresh cucumber and your nose will be surprised! Food does not have to be trucked from 1500 miles away when it grows just down the road and is so much fresher and more nutritious! Without going on and on, you get the picture. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It will inspire you to rediscover your own kitchen and eat at home. It does address some of the politics of small farm producers; but even someone as politic-phobic as myself needs to know what's going on in the world, especially concerning the food on our tables! Happy reading!!Barbara Holman

This book sums up everything very concisely. It's a very easy read and what he says makes perfect sense. It's utterly ridiculous and somewhat comical how our desire for cheap food is ruining everything from our health to the land, and is running small farmers out of business. News flash, we need small farmers as our last hope for non-industrialized food that's making us all sick. As a lifelong urbanite, this book was an awakening from the iPhone-induced slumber I've been in. If we don't want industry controlling us, we need to do something about it. Spend some time finding local, organic, sustainably-raised food. What we're putting into the complex biological system that is our bodies is surely more important than a new car or an electronic trinket?! Where are our priorities?!

Awesome