Readings Due: 2/09/10

Within the assigned readings, I found that the word “organic” was mentioned a few times. The word organic is now owned by the U.S. government to be a certification process through the USDA. Although “organic” often refers to the method of growing certain foods or creating sustenance without use of chemicals, the definition itself is misconstrued most times and becomes misleading. The harmful truth of this certification process lays just under the “diesel fuel coated foods” which owner of PolyFace Farm, Joel Salatin, describes as indisputably not organic by his definition of the word. At PolyFace Farm the organic method which he defines is evident due to the satisfactory lifestyle provided to his animals for they rely amongst each other’s natural habits of sustaining nutrition. Not only are his animals happy and healthy, but also they do not remain closed off to the world in the mockery of what today’s standards consider organic growth in an indoor crowded facility where “organic” fed chickens are standing up to their bodies in fecal matter. To this extent, Salatin is relying upon his animals to do the work at PolyFace, as opposed to the industrial agrarians working towards upkeep of protein output at the end of the day, and his 550-acre farm reaps arable benefits duly to his responsibility in his method of farming. I feel as though Salatin has redefined the true meaning of organic farming in a just manner and his wholesome method reveals itself to be a catalyst in an environmentally responsible habitat for creating sustenance.