Organic farmer to sow seeds SLOcally

Cal Poly’s Real Food Collaborative Club will feature Polyface, Inc. farmer Joel Salatin as part of the university’s week-long Focus SLO Earth Day series put on by Empower Poly Coalition. This event is on April 19 in the Spanos Theatre.

Salatin, who appeared in the critically acclaimed documentary “Food, Inc.,” will speak about modern-agriculture, particularly the differences between traditional and his neo-farming methods, as well as regulatory pitfalls set by local, state and federal government.

“The goal is to start the conversation about local, organic and humanely raised food,” said Tessa Salzman, city and regional planning sophomore and event coordinator for the series.

Polyface Inc., according to its website, is an organization dedicated to farm and informational outreach in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.”

“His values align with our values,” Salzman said. “It’s all about organic foods that nourish the people and the land.”

Similar to the farm’s mission, the club works to increase awareness and dialogue on sustainable food systems, she said.

Club members said they are excited for the event. Nutrition junior Alana Hendrickson said ultimately the club wants to educate people about food.

“We want people to think about what kind of food they’re eating,” Hendrickson said.

Since its inception in the fall of 2010, the club has shown steady growth on campus, Salzman said.

Still, fundraising was a necessity, so the club sent letters to businesses and farmers. In all, the club raised enough to pay Salatin’s honorarium of $4,000.

“We hit the right people,” she said. “We’re in the right community.”

Among the donors are the California Certified Organic Farms agency, former Cal Poly organic farm faculty adviser John Phillips and Butte County-based Lundberg Family Farms.

Agricultural science professor and director of the agricultural advocacy group I Love Farmers … They Feed My Soul J. Scott Vernon said Salatin’s advocacy is interesting.

“I hope that his message is, ‘Here’s a business model that works for me,’” Vernon said. People attending should go with an open mind, he said, because “to know how food is produced will help maintain food independence.”

The public is invited to a free showing of “Food, Inc.” today at 7 p.m. in Chumash Auditorium. The showing is “to get the bullet points out there and spark interest,” said Ryan McLeod, a computer science sophomore and club member.

Tuesday morning before the scheduled event, Salatin will tour the campus led by animal science professor Rob Rutherford. Rutherford said he would describe Salatin as a preacher; and, according to the Polyface, Inc. website, Salatin considers himself one, too.

“I hope he will stimulate a spirit that it’s OK to be a farmer,” Rutherford said. “It’s truly noble for people to produce food.”

After the tour, Salatin will speak to Rutherford’s holistic management class. Since modern agriculture is a highly regulated business, Salatin offers a fresh look at where we can head as far as feeding our civilization, Rutherford said.

In fact, Rutherford said he predicted Salatin will make a case about established, pending and forthcoming regulations and its impact on family farmers. Family farmers may be driven out of business because we over-regulate ourselves, Rutherford said.

After the keynote speech, another forum for students will run from 3:30 to 5 p.m.