The Omnivore's Dilemma Chapter 8: All Flesh is Grass

In this chapter of The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan talks about an alternative method of producing food that is being overshadowed by the big, industrial system we have in place to provide consumers with sustenance. He visits Joel Salatin's Polyface Farm, where a half dozen types of animals are raised through a cyclic system involving the seemingly simple food chain of grass. I say "seemingly" because, in fact, the grass eco-system is a very complex community comprised of many, many organisms (living and dead), as Pollan describes. What I find really astounding about Salatin's 100 acre Farm is how much it produces: 25,000 pounds of beef, 50,000 pounds of pork, 30,000 dozen eggs, etc. Although it is not as efficient as the huge industrial farms, this is still quite impressive.

Near the end of the chapter, Pollan brings up the topic of what the words "sustainable", "organic", and "natural" really mean. Although supermarket produce and goods may have the label of organic, it has been shipped all around the country in vehicles powered by fossil fuels. So, are these foods really "organic?" Joel Salatin would not call those foods sustainable or organic since he does not even believe in shipping his products. Though the foods may be grown organically (without pesticides, etc.) it takes a considerable amount of energy and resources to constantly stock out stores with the vast selection of food that we as consumers enjoy. Taking this into consideration, can we label any of the foods in our supermarkets as "organic?" Also, are the people who go out of their way to buy these "organic" foods truly taking a stand against the industrialization of food production?

On a side-note, the portable henhouse, or Eggmobile, that Pollan mentions caught my eye so I looked it up on google and this is what I found: