After having watched Food, Inc. a little while back we decided to mend our ways: spend a bit more on our meats and, at the same time, cut back a little on our overall meat consumption. At the moment we are just a few bucks shy of the hoped-for zero sum game, which is perfectly fine by us.

It isn’t the easiest movie to stomach, watch it anyway!

The movie made quite the impression on us and, following a bit of online research (?), we were quite surprised to discover that the farm featured in the movie as one of the positive examples in modern agriculture is just around the corner (alright, a bit of a “large” corner, but close enough) from where we live.

The intro from their own website describes it quite aptly: ‘Polyface, Inc. is a family owned, multi-generational, pasture-based, beyond organic, local-market farm and informational outreach in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.’

Joel Salatin and his family run Polyface Farms

Not only is Polyface Farms located in Virginia, there is even a buying club, aptly named Polyface Yum, where like-minded folks have come together to make it easier to purchase Polyface Farms products without having to undertake a grueling car journey. Simply visit the site, create an account, place your order, show up on the pick-up date, bring money, load up your order, done.

Having used the service once now (they come to each town just once every 6 weeks), I can say little more but that everything worked flawlessly – a brilliant idea ably executed.

So, now we too do our (admittedly) tiny part to heal the planet; one Schnitzel at a time. It may not be earth-shattering, and at times it may even be a bit of a nuisance, but if you have seen Food, Inc. I have got little doubt that you will agree with us.

It is either ‘become a vegetarian’ or ‘put a bit more effort in’. And since pork fat still doeth rule the day, buying Polyface meats is definitely worth the expenditure.