This is not a book about raising pigs humanely…like I thought it was. If you desire to tighten up your spiritual walk a notch with God, in ways you may never have thought about, then this is a good book to read. As a Christian, it really is hard to think of ALL the ways we live hypocritically. This will help you to appreciate the "Godness of God", as the author opens your eyes to appreciate the Glory of God and all the things he has created for us.

The Bible warns against gluttonous, slothfulness, and idol worshiping lifestyles. I am all! I have become fat and incredibly lazy in my daily life in taking care of responsibilities to the BEST of my abilities. And I will purchase the cheapest cuts of meat in the supermarket, processed foods that are not good for me (or my family), GMO's instead of paying those higher prices for organic foods (supporting small organic farmers, local farmers and farmers market), or growing my own organic foods. I eat out and support many restaurants that don't give a second thought on how God's creatures have been treated. And, the fact is, when saving a little money so I can throw it away somewhere else becomes the most important thing in life above anything else, "it's an icon of anti-Christian thought and practice" (p. 8). The liberal left sees our hypocrisy and calls us out on it. We need to set the example! We must develop that walk-talk consistency in our lives to be taken seriously.

This book was written for Christians, although Joel Salatin has friends on both sides of the political spectrum. He, himself, leans on the right and is a Christian, but he also believes as the left liberals do...that we have a responsibility to care for the earth, our environment and God's creatures, even though they also show a huge amount of hypocrisy in their actions as well. But, Joel Salatin walks the walk when it comes to these issues and is a true organic environmentalist and backs up his lifestyle and thinking with Bible verses. His farm, Polyface Farm, is open to the public 24/7 and 365 days a year. The truth is..."the religious right has neglected earth stewardship and given it over to creation worshipers instead of owning it as Creator worshippers".(p. 12). This book is intended to help us, as Christians, to think and do better in our earthly stewardship in life as we try to follow God's words.
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A FEW NOTES ON THINGS THAT STOOD OUT FOR ME THAT I DON’T WANT TO FORGET:

In the 1980's when many farmers were going bankrupt because they could no longer afford machines and chemicals, and banks were closed to lending and markets were down, Joel Salatin was running a sustainable farm by making their own fertilizer, direct marketed to local customers, grazed cattle, and built ponds for water. Even James Dobson was empathizing and crying foul play with those farmers who had sold out to big industry. Joel's father wrote to James Dobson from Focus on the Family about how farmers can be sustainable with better earth stewardship, but they never even got a response in return. I write this down to remember because of the fact that I have always revered James Dobson and it shocks me that they never even had the courtesy to reply back.

The scripture uses the word "glory" to describe the "uniqueness" of God, but also for many other things as well. When mentioned in the Bible, glory means "showing a deep respect and honor for the uniqueness of all created beings-and things" (p. 19) How we live our lives and treat other humans, as well as how we treat and raise animals, plants, the earth, the environment, is showing outwardly our respect and honor for the glory of God, or the Godness of God. (p. 19). If you don't appreciate the pigness of a pig, or, in my case, the chickenness of a chicken, then you don't appreciate the Godness of God.

To show appreciation for the chickenness of chickens: You let them run around outside, get exercise, eat grass, and scratch in the dirt (p. 94). Pastured chickens don't get "high-pathogen" salmonello or avian influenza. "Based on every sample and study to-date, pastured poultry is immune to these industrial-strain diseases." (p. 96) Plus, the quality of the egg is so much better for the human body. See below:

FDA vs. Joel Salatin's POLYFACE FARM (p. 96):

FDA (Grocery store eggs)
Vitamin E - 0.97 mg
Vitamin A - 487 IU
Beta-carotene - 10 mcg
Folate - 47 mcg
Omega-3s - 0.033 g
Cholesterol - 423 mg
Saturated Fat - 3.1 g

POLYFACE FARM
Vitamin E - 7.37 mg
Vitamin A - 763 IU
Beta-carotene - 76.2 mcg
Folate - 1200 mcg
Omega-3s - 0.71 g
Cholesterol - 292 mg
Saturated Fat -2.31 g

To know if you are truly honoring and appreciating all of God's glory, look at your animal/s and ask yourself: If I were an animal, would I want to live like this?

The Bible never says that killing and eating animals was forbidden or a sin. Jesus ate meat. In fact, Jesus uses the example of a seed being planted as a way to life. Unless, it first dies, the new shoot can't sprout. We collect seeds from flower heads that are dead, which we plant the following year. The same with animal or human life. Absolutely EVERYTHING in life requires death in order to create life. Eating food "should" remind us of that, and remembering this brings glory to God because we are showing appreciation for the cost of life in Him. "What makes the sacrifice of plant or animal sacred is how it was honored in life" (p. 28). Many Christians will use the excuse...as long as the heart means well...hogwash...not an excuse. It's not about liking the Truth, it's about "doing" the Truth. (p. 32) All human inventions are not acceptable to God (Psalm 106:29). CAFO's (concentrated animal feeding operations) may feed more people, but at what cost to animal and human health, even environment health. 1 Corinthians 10:31: "Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

The "glory of the pig is in its ability to move things around, to till things, and disturb soil." (p. 22) On Joel's farm, they use the pigs as "pigaerators" to help build compost. Example: They bed the cows with wood chips, straw, peanut hulls, and other carbon to absorb the nutrient droppings from cow poop. They add corn and hay on top to feed the cows who tromp the pile down making it anaerobic. The corn ferments over the winter. Then cows are let out to pasture and pigs are let in to dig and feed off the corn, aerorating the compost, rather than using depreciating (and expensive) machinery. This is what is meant by honoring the “pigness of pigs”. They are happy and doing what they love to do, then they are let out in large pastures to scavenge for bugs and roots and greens. (p. 22-23). "If we do indeed serve an awesome God, people who encounter us, who walk on our farms, should be astounded at the health and strength they see." (p. 68)

In CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations), farmers cut off the pigs' tail. This is called "docking". It makes them sore and very tender and keeps other pigs from biting their tails and drawing blood when bored and stressed in such tight confinements. If blood is drawn then all pigs, being omnivores, will be drawn to that blood and kill and consume that pig. (p. 21) In large chicken operations, the beaks are cut off and chickens are in such tight quarters they can't even lay down to lay an egg. Conditions are so filthy in all large animal operations that all meat and eggs are dipped in chlorine to sterilize from high-pathogens.

P. 34: "Our interaction with the physical defines and establishes our relationship with God. Our stewardship of things we can see illustrates our stewardship of things we can't see."

P. 42: Gardens and earth connections bring us closer to God. He started humanity in the Garden of Eden, and in His last hours, He retreated to the garden in Gethsemane for prayer in His final hours on earth. This might explain why, in years that I do garden, I "feel" close to God. And in years I don't Garden, it's like I don't even know Him.

P. 43-44: Revelation 11:18 - God will "destroy those who destroy the earth." The test of good stewardship is to leave the land better than you found it.

P. 44: He talks about the one thing that has always bothered me... how the Democratic liberal left (creation worshippers) have hijacked noble earth stewardship (just like the rainbow has been hijacked by the gay-pride movement)...with their political calls of global warming or climate change. But, because we know God's whole game plan (like we know God created the rainbow as a promise to us, His people, that He wouldn’t forget us), we know His patterns of sustainable life used here on earth, and what His Word has to say on earthly stewardship, this gives us a chance to testify from a Biblical perspective of our personal responsibilities. So, don’t give up! I was green before green was popular, and I was green before it became a political vice.

P. 141: As far as today's farming practices go, we are very much removed from God's original intention. Single animal factory farms are completely unnecessary and unsustainable for the long-term....as well as these single crop farming for fuel and cattle feed, GMO seeds injected with insecticide and that don't reproduce, etc... Another fallacy I've heard a lot on the media is that raising and eating herbivores, such as cows, is very inefficient. That's not true at all if you consider that cows consume 28 lbs. of forage...even nutrient-deficient grasses, and water, but excrete 50 lbs. of poop full of regenerative nutrients full of nitrogen the land needs. They are symbiotic and go hand in hand....if farmed properly. We've been tricked into believing that these factory farms are necessary to help feed the world. We have adopted a farming system that depletes wildlife instead of stimulating it. (p. 141) And we are increasing dead zones, where nothing will no longer grow, all across the world.

P. 142: "Plants breathe in carbon dioxide, splitting off the carbon and exhaling oxygen. It we take a long-term view, we'll be interested in plant health because ultimately that affects planetary health." It's all God's stuff!

P. 143: Grasslands are literally the lungs of the earth, and restoring them with large herds of grazing animals through holistic, or long-term management is not only necessary, but it's the most efficacious way to restore water cycles and the carbon cycle.

P. 240-41: Forgiveness farming can provide relief from Salmonella, E. coli, Avian influenza, Pfiesteria, Capylobactor, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, hoof-and-mouth disease, obesity epidemic, fish kill, dead zones springing up all over the earth, etc....none of which was even heard of a couple of decades ago. So, consider forgiveness farming!! ( )