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by Joel Salatin

At a recent House committeehearing in Richmond, Virginia,the state Commissioner of Agri-culture, Carlton Courter seat-

ed next to me at the polished oval table thatonly government buildings contain pro-claimed that raw milk is just as dangerousas moonshine.

That statement, of course, was based

on sound science. Seated behind himwere credentialed experts, the representa-tives of sound science. From industry per-sonnel to Virginia Department of Agricul-ture and Consumer Services bureaucratsto Federal Food and Drug Administrationacademically credentialed professionals,

all trumpeted forth sound science as theHoly Grail. With one voice, all of thesecultural elites extolled the virtues ofrBGH, irradiation, genetic engineering,and pasteurization as representing soundscience.

Those of us at the committee hearingwho would dare to ask for consumerchoice were called borderline criminalin our intent, because sound science has

proven that consumers are incapable ofinformed, responsible, rational decision-making. These experts have done theirconsumer surveys, and they know soundscience proves that food choice is tanta-mount to Russian roulette on a plate.

Only government food is safe food.Sound science dictates what is safe.No other standard will do. Only T-bonesteaks wrapped in million-dollar, agricul-turally prohibited, quintuple-permitted,government-sanctioned processing facili-ties are fit for human consumption. I cant

buy a pound cake from a neighbor whowhipped it up and baked it in the familykitchen. Thats not safe. Sound sciencehas thus decreed.

But Coca-Cola is safe. McDonaldsHappy Meals are safe. So is irradiatedfood. Genetic engineering is the darlingof sound science. And until just a coupleof months ago, sound science decreed thatfeeding brains and spinal cords to herbi-vores was state-of-the-art technologyNow the denizens of the ivory towers aredebating whether or not to eliminate thefeeding of chicken manure and deadchicken carcasses to herbivores. Rest as-sured, when the edict comes down fromthe powers that be, it will be based onsound science.

Things are getting crazy. Ive decidedwe all need some relief from sound sciencebefore it kills us. Please, relieve us fromsound science! If all this is sound science, Iwant no part of it. And yet it is worshippeddaily on the news by a fawning media toopreconditioned to question pontificationsfrom credentialed scientists.

Its time those of us in the alternativecommunity shout a new truth from thehousetops: Science is not objective!Ive tried out this statement at several con-ferences this winter, and the result is a

hushed, incredulous, shocked audienceOur Greco-Roman, Western, compart-mentalized, disconnected, fragmentedlinear, reductionist culture is steeped inthe notion that we, more than any otherpeople in history, are scientific. We wearthe mantra of science as if it bestows ever-lasting life.

At the risk of being labeled a Luddite,I would suggest that equally powerful iswhat is not readily observed. Matters ofthe heart. Belief systems. Soul. This is adecidedly Eastern approach: holistic, con-nected, were all relatives, community

Reprinted from

April 2004 Vol. 34, No. 4

Joel Salatin Point of View

Sound ScienceIs Killing Us

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we. Science without soul is just as imbal-anced and whacky as soul without sci-ence.

In his classic book Paradigms: TheBusiness of Discovering the Future, JoelArthur Barker notes, The essence of thepioneering decision is: Those who chooseto change their paradigms early do it notas an act of the head but as an act of theheart.

Eco-agriculture, to use the preferredAcres U.S.A. moniker, was developed byparadigm-challenging pioneers. From J.I.Rodale and Louis Bromfield to CharlesWalters and Phil Callahan, these framersof a new paradigm approached agriculturewith a heartfelt, intuitive sense that all wasnot right down in the halls of the USDA.While farmers were dusting their childrenand cows with tons of DDT, these pio-neering thinkers did not yet know aboutthe legless frogs and sterile salamandersthat would be part of its toxic heritage.

But their morality, their ethics their

souls demanded an alternative view.Daily I am assaulted by the cultural eliteas being unscientific. What could bemore unscientific than putting chickensout on pasture? Here in our neck of thewoods, where the vertically integratedpoultry industry got its start, I am knownas a bioterrorist, because red-wingedblackbirds, starlings and sparrows cantouch our chickens and thus, the rea-soning goes, transport their diseases asthey do to the immuno-deficient sound-science birds compressed in inhumane,fecal-factory, concentration-camp mau-

soleum houses.Pigs out on pasture is a backward no-

tion relegated to a bygone era whilesound science gave us first the confine-ment hog house, which necessitated thedocked tail due to stressed pigs bitingeach other, and today is driving govern-ment-funded research to find and elimi-nate the stress gene so these inhumanelycompressed pigs wont try to eat each oth-er. The ultimate goal of sound science isto make pigs satisfied with their grotesqueanti-pig quarters.

While I appreciate some of the scien-

tific discoveries of our day, I also appreci-ate their limitations. I kind of like electriclights, four-wheel-drive tractors withfront-end loaders, and low-impedenceelectric fence, to name just a few im-provements. But when scientific discov-ery is used to destroy heritage wisdomcontained in the DNA and the innate pig-ness of a pig or chickenness of a chicken,then it ceases to be an instrument of goodand becomes instead an instrument ofevil.

A diesel tractor can either pull an an-hydrous-ammonia-fertilizer injector, or itcan pull a manure spreader full of com-post. It is the heart, the soul, the beliefsystem that determines how technologywill be used. Electricity can be used topower feed augers and ventilation fans,medication timers and artificial lights in aconfinement poultry house, or it can pow-er an energizer hooked to high-tech, infor-mation-dense, polyethylene-stainless-steel-threaded poultry netting in a pasture

setting. The belief system defines the use.Many of us who have been in this eco-farm movement for a long time rememberthe early sound science experiments onland-grant research plots. In one infamousexample, two plots that had been used forcountless toxic studies for decades weredesignated the organic plots, while two oth-ers were designated the conventional plots.Masters degree students dutifully plantedcorn in each plot, The organic ones receivedno amendments. The conventional ones re-ceived the regular dose: fertilizer, herbicide,pesticide.

At the end of the season the two cropswere measured, and the organic was woe-fully lacking. Plugging the results into acomputer proved beyond a shadow of adoubt that half the world would starve un-der organic farming. That finding ofsound science became the backbone of the

industrial warning against large-scale organic farming. Of course, anyone whoseheart is in the right place understands thaorganic by neglect is far different than or-ganic by design.

Witness the current research regardinggenetically engineered food. Corporategiants have carefully selected mature ratsin their feeding trials to avoid ill effectsIn Scotland, when pre-pubescent ratwere used under the same feeding regimen, all sorts of maladies occurred

poor organ development, behaviorachanges. The agenda defines the discovery, and the heart defines the agenda.

Wall Street science will only find whatsatisfies Wall Street. The fact that it ischampioned as sound science makes it nomore sound or truthful than a cult leaderon an ego trip. Anything trumpeted asscience needs to be filtered through theheart. And if it is touted as sound scienceyoud better filter it twice. Its almost likethe adjective sound, when linked withscience, is a dead giveaway for: Werereally making this one up, so wed bette

dress it in more profound verbiage.The problem with sound science is thait changes every day. Look at the many in-stances of what has been commonly accepted as sound scientific practice, but halater been proven disastrous. Here are afew examples:

Spreading manure on dormanground. Now its illegal in many areas be-cause this material is winding up in citywater supplies. Intuitively, I know that nature does not apply soil amendments inthe winter because the living soil cannometabolize nutrients when it is hibernat-

Reprinted from

April 2004 Vol. 34, No. 4

Sound science has created horrifying new environments for animals that bear no

resemblance to those evolved by nature.

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ing. I dont need a bunch of scientists totell me that.

Feeding brains and spinal cords toherbivores. Duh! Herbivores in naturenever eat carrion, or grain, or fermentedforage, for that matter. I dont need scien-tists to tell me that feeding herbivoresdead animals may not be a good idea.

Dusting everything with DDT. Nottoo long ago, this was the universal elixir,

the key to the Green Revolution. Intuitive-ly, I cant figure out why I should use abunch of stuff with the suffix -ide (Latinfor death) to grow my food. It doesnt takea rocket scientist to figure that out.

Cleaning out and sanitizing poultryhouses. Now most farmers are aeratingthe bedding between batches to stimulatedecomposition and encourage nature togrow the good bugs. Weve been doingthis for decades on our farm because viru-lent decomposition is natures sanitationmodel. No scientist needs to tell me that.

What are the new darlings of sound

science? Irradiation, genetic engineering,more concentration, less domestic pro-duction, and a Wal-Mart on every cornerstocked to the hilt with Archer DanielsMidland, amalgamated, extruded, recon-stituted, chlorinated, adulterated, manipu-lated, constipated pseudo-food. The onlyproblem with this scenario is that the 3trillion critters inhabiting my intestines and yours were not designed for theseWall Street concoctions. These critters

dont know anything about the liberal leftor the religious right. They dont evenknow who is running for president.

They certainly arent familiar with theterm sound science. Nevertheless, if wedo not respect and honor them, they willfail to function as the Creator planned and if they fail, no miracle from soundscience can reenergize them. Im bettingon heritage wisdom. Im betting on moral

and ethical parameters that make sense tomy heart. Everything else must fit thattemplate.

In eco-agriculture, we must boldly andhumbly hold fast to our heart. It is whatanchors us. It is what moors us to truthwhen our culture vacillates every Mondaymorning with the latest discovery fromsound science not. Enjoy science, butonly when it reinforces the spiritual, theheart. This reduces confusion and liber-ates the soul.

Joel Salatin operates Polyface Farm, a

model diversified farmstead in VirginiasShenandoah Valley. His books FamilyFriendly Farming, You Can Farm, SaladBar BeefandPastured Poultry Profitsare available from the Acres U.S.A.bookstore for $30 each, plus shippingand handling. To order, call 1-800-355-5313 or visit our website at .

The Salatin Familys Polyface Farmwill be hosting two sessions of Intensive

Discovery Seminars this summer oneon July 9-10, 2004 and the second on

July 23-24, 2004. Participation isextremely limited, and these seminarsalways sell out quickly. Early registra-tion is advised. For more informationcall Acres U.S.A. toll-free at 1-800-3555313, or register online at .

Acres U.S.A. is the national journal of sustainableagriculture, standing virtually alone with a real trackrecord over 30 years of continuous publication.Eash issue is packed full of information eco-con-sultants regularly charge top dollar for. Youll be

kept up-to-date on all of the news that a ffects agri-culture regulations, discoveries, research

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