Chapter Eight through Chapter Nine Summary and Analysis

To study the pastoral food chain, as he calls it, Pollan begins his journey in chapter eight at Polyface farm, owned by Joel Salatin, helping to make hay. As he looks over the land, he explains that this farm is what one thinks of when they think of pastoral beauty. Pollan notes this is an alternative farm, dedicated to the old agrarian pastoral ideals, and that grass is the underlying foundation for the entire farm. The pastures are filled with a variety of native grasses, all of which benefit from grazing, and a host of creatures who help to make this farm fully functional without outside pesticides, fertilizers, or animal antibiotics or steroids. Pollan notes that this type of alternative farming was once coined "organic", but that now, "organic" can mean several things...