Free Viewing This Week Only: American Meat

Movie Review: American Meat


Joel Salatin: American Meat


This blog posted at the end of August, and I have not changed it.  I am reposting it now, because as an act of generosity for this season of Thanksgiving, Leave It Better has made this documentary free during the week of Thanksgiving!  Read my review below, and then click on this link to see the full length documentary.

Happy Thanksgiving!

–Chaya

 



 I should state that I purchased my own copy of this brand new documentary, we do not sell it,  and was not asked to review it.  I think that is important because my review is sincere and based upon much reading and documentary-watching on this and similar subjects over the last few years.


Daniel Salatin

 


I am an Ohio girl.  I remember the pork farmers and corn farmers giving the weather as a prayer request in church meetings.  I remember friends winning ribbons at the county fair for their grain-fed animals.  Farmers work harder than just about anyone else you could ever meet.  They are well-meaning, thoughtful people.  Yes, I hate the system but wow—do I love the people!  This is where the “love the sinner/hate the sin” philosophy comes into play for me.  I have a healthy respect for farmers, and yet I am an activist against some modern farming practices.

 


Farmer in American Meat

 

I worry about the bitterness I see in those who have discovered healthy food towards farmers who have yet to educate themselves on organic or permacultural farming practices.  We know that those GMO foods are killing us, and that our environment is suffering from their “conventional” pesticides and herbicides.  We need to actively seek to educate both consumers and farmers.

 

American Meat

 


Torching GMO fields, however, will not win converts to our scientific and healthy approach.  For this reason I really appreciated American Meat.  If you have farming friends, you cannot throw picket signs and screaming activists at them and expect an engaging dialogue.  They will write you off as ignorant of the trials of modern farming, and then go back to ordering next year’s seeds from Monsanto.  American Meat interviewed several farmers; some were doing the modern thing and some were actively pursuing a healthier way.  I really believed that this was the most balanced documentary I have yet to see on behalf of the American Farmer that still ultimately comes to the conclusion that current practices are unethical, dangerous, and unsustainable.

 

 

Pig at Polyface


As with many other documentaries about our current food system, there is a strong divide between the initial complaints about the realities and the secondary portion which provides solutions.  If you have watched Fresh, Food Inc, or any of the other well-known documentaries, then I will draw a comparison for you;  this one was not nearly as vomitous.  Our food system is bad and many documentaries will give you and your kids nightmares.  I see a value in that footage reel of CAFOs and egg factories to spur you on to make better consumer decisions.  However, it is often a turnoff and not always appropriate for children.   I felt like the point was made in American Meat in a less shock-value way.  It was way less offensive.  They did not show you the food system through hidden cameras, but through the eyes of real farmers.


Another contrast, and perhaps my only negative one would be the animation used to explain the meatier points (no pun intended).  I appreciated the basic 101 given of the meat system and using animation seemed like a logical choice—but it seemed a bit overdone and not very polished.  This was more at the beginning of the documentary when they were just getting the average consumer up-to-speed and was less annoying as the documentary went on.  Perhaps it annoyed me only because it was more basic information.  Remember, though, that most of your friends have no idea about where their food is coming from and this will be a first-heard for them.   I watched the documentary with a well-informed friend who was not as distracted by the animation as I was.  Maybe it was my ADD kicking in.  Or maybe I was anxious for them to get to the Polyface Farm stuff!


Joel at Polyface


I will not lie, Joel Salatin on the cover drew me in.  The quality of the documentary would have fallen dramatically had it not been for his explanations and farm tour found later in the documentary.  But is it because of my own bias towards him? Perhaps it is—the information given in the documentary stands on its own, but seeing Joel at Polyface Farms lends much credibility.  If you want to learn more about how the Salatin family does things on Polyface, you can download this podcast.



If you want to inform friends and family that are unaware of where grocery store food comes from or to friends with a farm-culture background, I would recommend this documentary above the others.   Start a discussion with them, learn about their reasons for purchasing store-bought meat, and help them prioritize the local farmer who is doing it right. 


Start the (non-GMO) popcorn,

Chaya


 


All pictures are property of Leave It Better, “American Meat”.

 



 

 

 

 

 

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