Beloved farmer and author Joel Salatin — the writer of our very own department The Pitchfork Pulpit and regular Mother Earth News Fair keynote speaker — has served up another book that’s sure to delight his fans. In The Marvelous Pigness of Pigs Salatin delves into more personal territory than in any of his previous books. He calls on readers to ditch factory farming and the kinds of food systems and eating habits that don’t honor life. Instead, he says, we can honor the way animals and plants were designed to exist in nature — understand and embrace the “pigness of pigs” — and collectively raise our food in that vein.
Salatin, a self-described “Christian, libertarian, environmentalist, capitalist, lunatic farmer,” wears many hats. While this book may be geared toward a faith-based audience, it includes the kind of lively storytelling and food insight in which we can all find gems of truth.