Joel Salatin by geoffandsherry, on Flickr

Joel Salatin by geoffandsherry, on Flickr

Joel Salatin came to a local college for a speaking engagement this week. It was a wonderful evening. He brought a slide show, answered questions and had so much to say that I can’t begin to remember it all, despite taking notes! Kate, animal lover and nutrition student, came with me.

The comment Mr. Salatin made that totally hushed the audience (with the exception of a few awestruck, “Wow”s) was:

“Every bit of the alleged science linking methane and cows to global warming is based on annual cropping, feedlots and herbivore abuse. It all crumbles if the production model becomes like our mob-stocking-herbivorous-solar-conversion-lignified-carbon-sequestration fertilization. America has traded 73 million bison requiring no petroleum, machinery or fertilizer for 45 million beef cattle, and we think we’re efficient. At Polyface, we practice biomimicry and have returned to those lush, high organic matter production models of the native herbivores. If every cow producer in the country would use this model, in less than 10 years we would sequester all the carbon that’s been emitted since the beginning of the industrial age.”

It really is a “Wow” statement. I’ve been quoting it in comments to all the “Red meat is destroying the planet!” news articles I can find. Stop and think about that for a moment: Raising beef cattle with biomimicry can stop global warming in its tracks almost singlehandedly. Wow, indeed.

The other moment that really struck me was a comparison of the “get-by-selfish-me-first” protocol versus the “artisanal-sacred” protocol. Any endeavor, Salatin claims, can be artisanal if approached with awareness, excellence and a desire to serve.

I confess there have been times that I have fallen into a “get-by” mentality. Sometimes I allow the pressures of my life to rush me into doing good enough instead of excelling. I am guilty of not editing and thinking through sufficiently, opting for faster and easier methods of living, homeschooling, blogging, raising a family, being a wife and neighbor. Joel Salatin inspired me to seek excellence, not just a check in a box of my to-do list.

Farmers rock.

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays, hosted by Food Renegade.

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