Reader’s view: ‘High Priest’ of local food will speak at UMD

The April 17 Local View column by Dr. Nancy Sudak and St. Louis County Commissioner Steve O’Neil on improving institutional nutrition practice was most welcome (“Northland hospitals need to put prevention into practice and support nutritious food”). Their examples of what private and government entities have done and should do to make further improvement were excellent.

For those who would like to know more about the producer end of local, nutritious-food logistics, I have a recommendation.

There is arguably no farmer spokesman to equal the indomitable Joel Salatin (dubbed the High Priest of the Pasture by the New York Times) for elucidating this often-obscure-to-the-general-public part of the food-production equation. Salatin cuts right to the chase with well-reasoned, articulate, unambiguous verbal remarks and body language that are hard to ignore (he also favors run-on, excess modifiers, much as I do). You may have seen him (the guy with the white hat) in the spate of recent food documentary films “Food Inc.,” “Fresh” and “Farmageddon: The Unseen War on Family Farmers.”

Salatin is one of those embattled, local-food-producing farmers who’s treated like an enemy combatant by some of the more onerous government regulatory agencies. He tells some vivid war stories and comes up with resourceful solutions. I attempted to see him in 1993 but was trapped by a Midwest blizzard and missed his appearance. I caught up with him in 2003 at a St. Paul event and plan to be front row and center when the “High Priest” brings us the gospel according to Joel at the third annual Community Wellness Day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in Romano Gym at the University of Minnesota Duluth. The event is free and open to all.

Ken Lindberg

Superior

Tags: readers' views, opinion, editorials, food, environment, health