Joel Salatin...a messy discussion

[Occamstazer]

So depending on where J (significant other) gets into law school, I might be moving to Virginia next year. Out of curiosity, I looked up the Polyface farms site to see if they offer apprenticeships.
Yep.



For men only.
I am floored.
Yeah, they offer a shorter term class that allows women, but only two out of the eight spaces, and for the serious farm work, men only.
What the he** is that about? I'm so dissapointed that someone I've so admired is apparently so sexist. The "men are stronger" argument (what else could it be?) holds no water here. I have done quite a bit of "serious" farm work, and not one time has their been an instance when my feeble female self was unable to complete a task. The thing is, if a job is too much for a woman, then it's not safe for a man to be doing solo either, even if he perhaps could.

For the record, all my heavy farm work experience was under the tutelage of a tiny little female veterinarian who could make an angry bull tremble

 

[Up-the-Creek]

Ouch!

 

[FarmerDenise]

 

[1stepcloser]

Wow. That is utter bull****. :/

 

[Occamstazer]

There is contact info on the website, I seriously think I'm going to cool down for awhile, and maybe call sometime and respectfully ask what their basis is for this policy.

 

[big brown horse]

That bites.

Let us know what they say.

 

[Blackbird]

It seems a lot of people who admired him are finding out he is not what it seems :/

Too bad he is that narrow minded. He's missing out.

 

[bibliophile birds]

there are LOTS of things i apparently don't agree with Mr. Salatin about, this obviously being one of them.

but he's just so smart and knowledgeable about what he does (and what i'm trying to do) that i can't help being drawn back to him as an example time and time again. it worries me, however, to repeatedly praise someone who's beliefs on MANY things don't gel with my own. NOT because i don't think it's valuable that we all spend a little time getting to know people different from us or that he's not completely entitled to his beliefs. they don't taint my appreciation of his knowledge... it just starts to rub me the wrong way whenever i think about the ripple effect of his personal biases. like this one apparently.

what message do you send as the poster-boy of local, sustainable agriculture when you aren't willing to apprentice women? to a lot of women, it's a really really terrible one. and, as this site has made sufficiently clear to me, it is quickly becoming the WOMEN who are interested in what people like Joel are doing (not offense guys, you are very important too, but it seems we have you outnumbered).

 

[big brown horse]

We should all just go to Bee's house and pay her for an apprenticeship!


What do ya say Bee?

 

[Hattie the Hen]

How about emailing him with a link to this thread -- just to let him know what we think about his policy....????

Hattie