It’s important that we embrace these things not out of fear, but out of faith. So that rather than turning ourselves into armed bunkers, we can become lighthouses of hope and help when the culture becomes hopeless and helpless…
That comes from a talk Joel Salatin gave at an event called The Greater Reset last year.
The name of the event was a play on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) “Great Reset” initiative. For those not familiar with it, the WEF suggests that we should herd all humans into small 15-minute cities where we’ll be completely cut off from nature.
Once there, we’ll have limited freedom, no privacy, and very little autonomy. “You will own nothing and be happy”, is the slogan the WEF promoted in their commercial.
Of course, the speakers at The Greater Reset promoted the exact opposite idea. Humanity is meant to be free. And economic independence is more attainable today than ever before.
We’ve been talking about Thomas Jefferson’s agrarian vision for America this week… and Joel probably embodies it more than anyone else in this country. He runs a farm in the foothills of Virginia that’s completely self-sufficient.
Yet, Joel does not use any industrialized practices.
He’s not spraying chemicals everywhere. The animals roam free – they aren’t caged and corralled. Everything is in harmony with the surrounding ecology.
It’s a beautiful system. And it has provided Joel’s family with complete economic independence. He sells his product to local restaurants and individuals within driving distance of the farm… and that income covers all his expenses and then some.
As such, Joel has had time to do all kinds of great work off the farm. He’s written several books. He’s played a role in several documentaries, including the popular Food, Inc. And he’s given talks all around the country.
To me, this is what the agrarian vision looks like in modern times. It’s pure freedom.
I had the privilege of meeting Joel at a small gathering of local farmers in Highland County, VA a couple years back. He came up and shared some tips with our local agriculture community.
And he did so at no cost. The group offered to pay his normal speaking fee… but he refused it.
Shoot, you guys are my neighbors, he said. What kind of person charges money to talk to his neighbors?
I couldn’t help but think – that’s the America Jefferson envisioned. We’re living it.
But there’s a misconception out there that farmers are uneducated anti-technology luddites. That’s completely false.
Anyone speaking to Joel would find him to be incredibly sharp. He’s an encyclopedia of both knowledge and wisdom. As are the small farmers I’ve met in my community.
And Joel is plugged into the agriculture technology (AgTech) space – at least to a certain degree.
He was telling us about a device his friends are developing that can gauge the nutrient density of food with just the press of the button. The idea is that consumers could take this device to the supermarket and use it to pick out the highest quality fruits and vegetables.
And this speaks to the fact that the modern agrarian vision doesn’t mean we should all be farmers. Not at all. The robust division of labor we enjoy has already created a world of abundance.
Instead, it’s the idea of economic independence and mutual collaboration that I find so inspiring. There’s something about small, resilient communities that stands the test of time.
It’s funny, I didn’t sit down with the intention of making this email about Joel.
My original idea was to write about generative AI. I’ve experimented with several different AI tools the last few months… and something of an insight came to me yesterday. That insight brought Joel’s above quote to mind.
So tomorrow I’ll share with you my insight about generative AI and where it’s going.
For today, I’ll leave you with the saying Joel uses to close out his talks. It’s a blend of an ancient Irish blessing and a verse from the Book of Proverbs.
May the rain fall gently on your fields… the wind always be at your back… your children rise and call you blessed… and may we all make our nest a better place than we inherited.
-Joe Withrow
P.S. One of the gentleman who organized The Greater Reset event is also the founder of the Live Free Academy.
His name is John Bush. And his academy is constantly putting together workshops and summits featuring people, ideas, and skills that are aligned with the agrarian vision we’ve been discussing all week.
For anyone intrigued by these ideas, I highly recommend paying the Live Free Academy a visit. You can find it at https://livefree.academy/