Polyace Farm Case Study

Steven Shapin is an expert when it comes to telling people the reality of the situation. In his, article “What Are You Buying When You Buy Organic?” Shapin exposes and explains the truth behind the word organic. He explains that our view on organic is not a reality. The small farms that we picture in our heads are really just big business in disguise. He then constantly goes back and forth defending those big businesses and rejecting them. While the reasoning and logic of “What Are You Buying When You Buy Organic?” is quite strong, Shapin’s lack of argument makes the article seem a little all over the place and therefore makes it unconvincing.

According to The Atlantic Magazine, organic means, “Organic means crops are grown without artificial pesticides, fertilizers, GMOs(genetically modified organisms), irradiation, or sewage sludge, and animals raised without hormones or antibiotics”(The Atlantic, Defining Organic: The Difference Between Sustainable and Local). The industrial organic food chain does not use harmful chemicals such as pesticides or herbicides. In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan says, “Organic farming rules do not allow chemical weed killers, so Greenway has to use other methods to fight weeds”(Pollan 140). The fields are watered to get any weed seeds to grow before the plants are to be grown. Then, the farmers uses a tractor to plow the weeds. The farmers do this several times. Later, the farmers use propane torches to burn any remaining weeds. “The result of all this hard work is fields that look just as clean as if chemical weed killers had been used"(Pollan 140). When Michael Pollan says this, he is explaining that, because they plow the fields and do not use toxic chemicals, there are no harmful chemicals which can seep into the food and water supply and poison the consumers. Also, industrial organic farmers are changing. They are drifting away from the industrial way of only growing one or two crops per farm and are slowly starting to grow many crops per farm. “"The efforts of organic farmers to

Other flaws in “big” organic are discussed, painting a picture  of a feel‐good movement that provides few benefits. Pollan’s final position on “big” organic is  somewhat unclear. He clearly perceives substantial flaws in the system, such as the fact that it is  as non‐sustainable as typical industrial food production, but at the same time he seems to argue  that it is at least a step in the right direction.     Pollan’s position on “small” organic is much less equivocal. He spends a substantial section of  the book detailing his visit to a small organic “grass” farm. Although Pollan does his best to  maintain a journalistic, neutral view throughout the book, it is clear that he was captivated by  the work being done by the grass farmers. Pollan shows that the most important crop to these  farmers is in fact the numerous varieties of grass, which form the foundation of the life cycle on  the farm. These farmers work to farm in a sustainable, natural way that closely resembles the  symbiosis of nature. In this section, Pollan provides a fascinating look at the evolved  relationships between different species of plants and animals, and how these relationships can  be utilized to create a sustainable farming system. Although Pollan is clearly enamored with  such “small” grass‐based farming, he also recognizes the near impossibility of implementing  such farming on a large scale. For example, the higher costs

Do you wonder where your food comes from?  In the book, "Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan, the author talks about where our food comes from. He also says how we can eat healthier.  Organic food is better than processed food in many ways based on price and healthiness.

Local sustainable farms are farms that are used to produce food of higher quality with a more organic approach. A popular local sustainable farm is the Polyface Farm, designed to feed animals more than what is needed for them, not for the farmers. Farmers can accomplish this by farming grass rather than a cheaper source such as corn. Corn is not the main course a cow or animal will eat, which harms the animal due to not adapting to living such a life. Local sustainable feed is what the animal should be fed and has been designed to eat, which is evident in the book “Omnivore's Dilemma” on page 168 when Joel Salatin states, “I'm a grass farmer.

In Chapter 14 of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan points out that “at Polyface, the Salatins try to work with the natural instincts of their animals, not against them. When Joel lets his chicken loose in a pasture, he is using their natural instinct to clean up after herbivores….Instead of treating chickens as egg-laying machines” (Pollan 192). Unlike the industrial food chain, where the chicken is kept in the factory and is forced to eat GMO soy and corn. Chickens in Polyface are free to run around in the pasture and the chickens get to eat what is naturally for them. Secondly, Pollan notes that a place called “CAFOs-Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations” contains tons on toxic waste from cows who are forced to eat GMO corn and CAFOs “are also breeding grounds for new and deadly bacteria” (Pollan 61-62). CAFOs are unsafe for cows because the feedlots contain bacteria which can possibly harm and kill animals. Different from industrial, in local sustainable farms, cows are not forced into eating corn, but instead, eat what is natural to them like grass. Seeing that cows in local sustainable eat grass, the cow manure is not toxic but instead, the manure is full of protein for the chickens to eat. Generally speaking, local sustainable farms’ animals are healthier because the animals are allowed to follow their natural instincts, free-range, and not easily exposed to harmful

In ‘What Are You Buying When You Buy Organic Food,’ by Steven Shapin, Steven talks about organic food and what organic food means. Steven states that Earthbound farm, a business in organic food, uses toxic chemical pesticide, synthetic fertilizer, and tractors to farm their products. But is it still organic after all the chemical treatment? Steven also says that organic food cost more and has better tasting. If you don’t want chemical in your food then spend more on organic food. Lastly, Steven had another meaning that knowing the person who farmed the products and are local farmers then that makes food organic. Therefore; I believe that organic foods are from professional business in farms.

All across america, cows are confined to crowded, almost prison-like cells, with little to no regard to their health. They are forced to eat food that includes such ingredients like manure, cement, or even cow brains. This is one side of farming, but there is another. This farming has cows and other animals living how they would in nature, across rolling hills and bright green grasses. This is the essence of Local Sustainable farming. As defined in Michael Pollan’s award-winning commentary about the food we eat, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, the Local Sustainable Food Chain, one of four possible food chains, is characterized by not using pesticides, treating animals humanely, and sustainably creating healthier organic food. Out of Michael Pollan’s food chains, the Local Sustainable Food Chain is the best for America as it is much less harmful to the environment and lets animals live in their natural states.

Part 1 Pros – Organic foods can be costly but you also get what you pay for. Understandable not

Organic farming is farming without the use of growth hormones or genetically altering the growth of the food. Organic farming is a great alternative to the way the meat industry is ran now. Many large corporations, like Stonyfield Farm, are broadening the horizons on organic foods. Organic foods may take longer to produce, but it will be a very good exchange for health over time. Without the food being genetically altered, it will be rid of the nasty E. coli which has stricken the nation so often. Stonyfield Farms are even getting places like Wal-Mart to carry organic foods in their stores, which is a big step, Wal-Mart is thought of as one of the low grocery places, somewhere that the cheap people get their food. But, with this new movement, it could change the face of organic food, and the way we think of supermarkets. Organic farming is a step the industry must take to improve health

In paragraph 2, Rachel Cernansky, says, “The big price tag can lead people to assume organic food is better than conventionally grown food.” On the other hand, organic food should not be consumed because of its price. “Besides, she said, why would she want to pay a markup that can run double or triple the cost of conventional food” (Lazarus 14). This statistic shows that organic food is a much higher cost than regular food. In paragraph 20, David Lazarus, stated, “According to Consumer Reports, organic foods and beverages run an average 47% more in price than conventional alternatives. In some cases, the markup can be more than 300%. That’s a hefty difference.” This quote shows how much organic food can be sold for. There is no point in buying organic food that is triple that amount of conventional food. In conclusion, we should not buy food because of its

I was recently reading your book The Omnivores D(cite)ilemma when I came across a section about the farm at which I reside. I agree in that PolyFace Farm has the ability to change the way that many people see farming today. However, I noticed that you claimed that we, the pigs, are exploited by Joel Salatin. To me this seemed like an attempt to slight Joel Salatin even though he is trying very hard to create a successful sustainable farm.

What exactly does organic means? "Simply stated, organic produce and other ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. Animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones." (Forstel) Do we know where exactly the chicken nugget from McDonald’s come from? All they have to do is just throw the whole chicken in a blender, toss it onto an assembly line and let some giant mechanical cutter chop it up into bite-sized nuggets for company. It is also amazing how long it takes a healthy product to gain customers compared to a greasy or boxed product. This most likely has to do with the culture.

Traits of organic food can also be misconstrued in the sense of the ingredients and how it is different from the way processed food is produced. “In reality, certified organics have lower levels of chemical residue, Roethal argues, which is positive for consumers, farm workers and the land itself, but organic growing practices have no impact on how many nutrients, calories or grams of fat are in anyone's favorite foods”(SFGate). As mentioned previously in the quote, often times organic food can benefits one’s health because of the little amount in which chemicals and calories are in the substance. The concern about organic food is that it is substantially more expensive than non-organic food. However,“Organic food sales are increasing by double digits annually, and more than 80 percent of parents reported buying organic food for their families last year”, according to Batch. With the high-price of organic food, this could also be a reason on why people tend to lean more towards the less healthier items, all because of the low cost. Even though there are different and confusing standards on what organic really is, the ideal description would typically be foods that do not have the same producing process as non-organic food.

The organic food industry has seen a huge spike in growth that is expected to continue into the future due to an increase in consumption. This will provide Whole Foods Market with huge opportunities. In addition, a wave of ethical and responsible consumption has swept across America. Whole Foods’ decision to pursue sustainable activities will certainly give consumers an added incentive to purchase its organic products.