Goodreads Bookshelf
Book Review: Salad Bar Beef
This is now the third book by Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm in Virginia that I have read, and it has very much shaped my ideas about what is possible for agriculture going forward into the future. From his other books (particularly You Can Farm), I already had the basic idea of his model for raising grass-fed beef, but this book fleshed out the concepts and practices that he uses to raise what he hopes is the best beef inthe world.
From the title, you may have noticed that Salatin doesn't call it grass-fed but, instead, "Salad Bar" beef. He talks about this from a marketing standpoint, but it's also a term that's more accurate for what he's doing. Central to his project is a model for animal husbandry that listens to the animals, that gives them in many ways a salad bar of options (though grains such as the corn that conventional beef is raised on is not one of those options). It's husbandry that pays close attention to the animals and to the land, treating each with almost a reverance that is at odds with industrial production models. Research, both that which Salatin cites and that which I've read elsewhere, suggests that cattle raised the way Salatin describes (and other similar grass-fed models) offer many benefits, from food quality to better land management to a better livelihood for the farmer.
As with his other books, there is a section on marketing, as Salatin advotes direct relationships between the farmer and the customer, cutting out the middlemen both to better profit the farmer and to build greater understanding in both directions between farmer and customer. This material is only slightly changed from what is included in his other books.
At times, I wish for greater specificity, especially as someone with only a minimal farming background. Still, this is an excellent practical guide to excellent practices in raising herd animals (many of the principle also apply to sheep).