Rise and shine at 6am. The Salatins are already up and working on the farm. Pollan spends a day learning the pieces of the whole operation. Morning chores consisting of: Feeding and watering the boilers and moving their pens. The movable pens allow the chickens to eat the grass after the cows and fertilize the soil with what comes out the other end. Then there is the Egg mobile where the laying hens are. This impressive device makes retrieving the eggs easier. Everything functioning at the farm runs on a schedule, which leads to its success. And everything functions in a way where it is all connected, “This farm is more like an organism than a machine.”(213) The rabbit-chickens there in pens suspended over an area where the chickens get to mine for worms. The making of manure to compost takes place in the barn itself, which conveniently saves on heating costs. It both hard to describe and understand since a system like this has countless variables involved.
Chapter 12
A farm produced food. Having animals on the farm eventually ends in killing them. I cannot imagine what it was like for Pollan to witness the ‘slaughtering’. I would imagine for some that might make eating the food more challenging. So, Pollan describes the process beginning with rounded up the chickens into boxes. Then they are individually placed into cone like tools that slit their throats. Although it is not senseless killing Pollan is not to comfortable killing all these chickens. But if you can see you food being killed you know that it is fresh. Although this might not prove that it are well healthy, but at least it is fresh. Having a cleanlier, less painful for the animals and more organized way of slathering animals allows fro a success business. More places should take this example.
Chapter 13
Once the food on the farm is ready to be then what? where does does all this food go? Still living on the Polyface farm Pollan shadows their way of life. It starts early in the morning when the brothers deliver the food to local restaurants. he does the deliver so people can get what they want. "dont you find it odd that people will put more work into choosing their mechanic or house contractor than they will into choosing the person who grows their food?" I mean there is just way to many of us to each have a certain farmer who supplies us with food. A form of this is shown with people who have nutritionists. Even then people still dont know where their food is coming from. its such a simple idea that is not addressed in peoples lives. where does your food come from? seems like such an easy answer. But yet no one knows, no one knows where their freaking food comes from. The substances we fuel our bodies with multiple times a day and no body knows? honestly its just getting frustrating. people are getting careless, they dont consider where it comes from. no one asks questions. Pollan points out that americans currently spend 10 percent of their salary on food, decreased from the 20 percent people used to spend in the 1950's.
Chapter 14- THE MEAL
After his experience on the farm Pollan plans to cook a meal. He gathers what he needs on the farm, the chickens that he took part in slaughtering, the eggs that he gathered. A long process of working, but Pollan does it and seems pleased with the result, , "There was nothing terribly subtle about this meal, but everything about it tasted completely in character." He can take ease when eating everything because he knows the whole life cycle of each part of the meal. I think it was a little creepy he pictured the chickens when eating the prepared meal. In my mind, Pollan lacked some sensitivity there.
Chapter 15
This was the first part on the way to creating Pollans last meal, the one that he prepare solely on ingredients that he hunts, gathers and grows. The hunting-gathering position is not a common life style anymore. That’s because it is unnecessary, we have everything accessible to us. A task most of us today probably could and would not do. The lifestyle we have developed is creating a shattering effect on our survival skills, now that’s only a theory I believe. Unlike today’s world, this method of hunting and gathering shows a person "in full consciousness of what was involved" in making the meal. But today we are hidden from the world where our food is produced? We have evolved into a lifestyle where people are blind consumers. Can it be fixed? We can’t use the method of hunting and gathering, Pollan points out that there is simply to many of us.
Chapter 16
Omnivores = eats a wide range of foods. Therefore can live in a variety of climates and places. The only challenge is to consider if the food being consumed is safe or not. Through eating with reoccurring uncertainty we have become more aware of what we should and should not eat, along with our taste preferences. By memory we get a better understanding of the boundaries of our food. We have been able to develop through this whole life style, unlike koalas that are stuck eating according to their strict diet. Human have figured out the different ways to obtain, cook, and eat food. Which fortunately has put us on the top of the food chain. Pollan does not fail at seeing the problem with this.
Pollan started with this idea of America having an eating disorder. At first I did not understand what exactly he meant. After reading as far as I have Pollan is on the verge of fully exemplifying this idea. He explains how a single magazine article has the power to completely change the way people interpret food. We do not have a culture that is deeply rooted with traditions about food, so our mind are easily changed.
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