Chapeter 16 and 17

I really liked how the title of the book was talked about in more detail than in the beginning of the book..... the fact that we are omnivores and that we are capable of eating both plants and animals is an amazing advantage.... also, he says how it is a disadvantage too, he argues that because we are omnivores, we have to actually think about what we are going to eat instead of just eating. Like the Monarc Butterfly and how it only eats one thing, the milk-weed leaves. Because it only has one thing to eat, no emotion or thought goes into if it likes it or not, or if it is good or bad to eat. But we as humans have to choose what is most healthy, what we like the best, and even what could kill us or not..... This is a tough thing if you think about it.... and we as humans spend a large amount of time thinking about what we are going to eat.... I don't know about you... but about 11 in the morning I start thinking about what I want for lunch.... I can't help it.... I just really like the example of the rats and how they are like us in the fact that they can eat most anything but if they don't already know a food, they will taste it and see if they like it and if it hurts them or makes them sick or not. Then they forever associate the feelings they got from eating it to that specific food.... just like humans....Just like all omnivores.

Omnivore's Chapter 8

In this chapter, I thought it was very interesting when Pollen got into describing in detail the reasons and methods of Polyface Farms. I really like the whole entire concept of the completely and entirely self sufficient and sustainable farming of chickens, pigs, cattle, eggs, ect...... Using natures natural processes, they have firtilizer, pest control, and feed, all of which are produces using the combination of the natural processes of the animals being raised! The cattle graze on the grass, the chickens clean up ofter them, spreading the cow patties, and eating the insects and pests and then their droppings that they leave in pasture returns the nitrogen much needed to make healthy grasses. These healthy grasses are again used to provide nutrients for the cattle. It is an amazing cycle when you think about it. Refering back to Chapter 9's The Slaughter, you can see how he even makes use of the guts of the slaughtered chickens, he places them in sawdust and makes his own compost with it which is yet another natural form of fertilizer but is natures way and not mans way. I think this idea of self sufficient farming has the potential to change the face of America's food production. Not only because it is good for the environment and clean and pleasant for the animals, but it is capable of producing surprisingly large amounts of products. Much more than you would think in fact. On his 100 acres, he produces 25,000 lbs of beef, 50,000 lbs. of pork, 12,000 broilers, 800 turkeys, 500 rabits, and 30,000 dozen eggs. "...still more astonishing is the fact that this pasture will be in no way diminished by the process--in fact, it will be the better for it, lusher, more fertile, even springier underfoot..." Why would people want to do it any other way?

Chapter 12 and 13

Chapter 12 of Omnivore's Dilemma had a very detailed description of the slaughter of 300 chickens on a Polyface Farms. I, being someone who has been hunting animals for food for a long time and have slaughtered my fare share of animals also, was interested to hear what Pollen would have to say after taking part in the killing, feathering, and gutting of the chickens. What would his reaction be the first time he spills the blood? I was not really surprised that he eventually came to not even think about what he was doing other than his slicing technique. I have seen first timers before and if they are willing to try it and able to get past the first one without something overly catistrophic happening, then they usually can keep right on going, giving less and less thought about taking a life as they go. I agree that if you had to work full time slaughtering animals, it would have some type of affect to mood or moral, but from personal experience in slaughtering, though never working full time, I don't think it has as much of an impact as Pollen lets on.
Chapter 13 was covering how Polyface Farms does it's buisiness. I really like the way that Joel does things on his farms. The way he raises, pastures, butchers, cleans, and recycles the remains all on the same property is the way things should be done when possible. I personally don't see this replacing the giant corporations, but I do see this type of farming becoming more popular and prevalent in the future.

Omnivore's Chapter 9

In chapter 9 of omnivore's.... I got a few different ideas from it. First, I liked how the owner and founder of the organic Cascadian Farms corporation stated that, "Everything eventually morphs to how the world is." When he said this he was talking about how his strictly organic and independent organic farms slowly but surely conformed and began doing business exactly the same way as the big non-organic agra-business corporations. It just goes to show that when a business starts to make it big... I think that people start to care only for making money than their original values that made them want to grow organicly in the first place...... this is reinforced when Pollen said that when producers realize that consumers only care about the "number" or price of the item, they start to only thing about yield. I am a not a supporter of either organic or in-organic food one way or the other, I am one of those people that want the best tasting, looking, and price on food.