In the U.S., most of our meat is provided by "industrial" farms. They're huge animal factories designed to grow thousands of animals as efficiently and cheaply as possible. That's all. And we've done it; we provide amazingly cheap and plentiful food to feed ourselves and to ship around the world.
But there are problems. Maybe a chicken should not be grown like a widget is assembled in a dark factory. Tens of thousands of chickens, confined and concentrated for economy of scale, may have their beaks cut off because they injure each other.
By contrast, farmer Joel Salatin (yesterday's post) likes to mimic the pattern of nature. His hundreds of chickens are moved every day to follow the herds of cattle. They use their beaks and feet to "sanitize" the pasture, scattering manure and eating bugs. It's their perfect employment.
(cont'd tomorrow)
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