Editing Polyface Farm (section)

==Criticism==
[[File:Eggmobile and flock of chickens at Polyface Farm.jpg|thumb|right|A mobile coop for free range laying hens on the farm]]
Salatin is criticized by poultry farmer Frank Reese in [[Jonathan Safran Foer]]'s book ''[[Eating Animals]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goodshepherdpoultryranch.com/index.html |title=Good Shepherd Poultry |accessdate=2010-05-04 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130124234640/http://www.goodshepherdpoultryranch.com/index.html |archivedate=2013-01-24 }}</ref> for raising [[Broiler|industrial birds]], not heritage birds. Reese says of Polyface, "Joel Salatin is doing industrial birds. Call him up and ask him. So he puts them on pasture. It makes no difference. It's like putting a broken-down Honda on the autobahn and saying it's a Porsche."<ref>Jonathan Safran Foer "Eating Animals"</ref> Salatin maintains that this statement is not entirely true. Polyface uses heritage breeds for its egg production. However, for meat birds Salatin uses the [[Cornish cross]], the same type of bird used in the industrial system. Salatin candidly admits in his book, ''The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer'', that the meat bird operation is currently the least sustainable aspect of the farm. Salatin goes on to say that he looks forward to the day that customers are willing to buy (and he is able to raise) a non-industrial meat bird. Reese's critique also aims at Michael Pollan's view in his book ''The Omnivore's Dilemma'' that depicts the farming principles of Polyface as exemplary and sustainable. Salatin confirmed, in an interview with ''[[The Observer]]'', that he raises non-heritage breed chickens. He explained that he had raised [[heritage birds]] for several years, but the poultry from these birds had gained little interest from consumers, and was therefore not economically viable for him.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/31/food-industry-environment|location=London|work=The Guardian|first=Gaby|last=Wood|title=Interview: Joel Salatin|date=31 January 2010|access-date=16 December 2016|archive-date=30 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160830145535/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/31/food-industry-environment|url-status=live}}</ref>

''The [[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' in their article "Let Them Eat Acorns" quotes unspecified, uncited and unknown individuals: "Some say he is cheating the notion of sustainability by feeding his pigs grain that he does not grow himself. Others contend that confinement operations are the only practical way to feed the world, and that pastured animals do more damage to the [[Natural environment|environment]] than is acknowledged in this farm-to-table era."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/01/dining/preaching-the-gospel-of-the-forest-fed-pig.html|title=Let Them Eat Acorns|first=Kathryn|last=Shattuck|date=Dec 30, 2013|accessdate=Jul 6, 2021|via=NYTimes.com|archive-date=January 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113124405/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/01/dining/preaching-the-gospel-of-the-forest-fed-pig.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

After Polyface's 2019 growing season, a website went live that claimed to be run by the season's former interns, it is entitled ''One Experience of Many.'' The website includes both positive and negative reviews of the farm and the family who run it, the reviewers all discuss substandard housing, which is alleged to include known negligence of water quality standards and the poisoning of 10 out of 11 interns. One of the reviewers, Emma, reports two hospital visits due to a bacterial [[infection]] from their housing's water supply including a diagnosis of [[campylobacteriosis]]. The interns' allegations also include crude and manipulative behavior on the part of farm ownership and management, along with low pay and little educational value.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Intern Reviews|url=https://oneexperienceofmany.weebly.com/intern-reviews.html|access-date=2020-10-07|website=ONE EXPERIENCE OF MANY|language=en|archive-date=2020-11-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120181612/https://oneexperienceofmany.weebly.com/intern-reviews.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===COVID-19 pandemic===
Polyface Farm repeatedly violated [[COVID-19 pandemic]] protocols by holding various gatherings. Salatin regularly expressed in his blog "Musings from The Lunatic Farmer" that he believes that COVID is not a danger and that it should not be taken so seriously. He implied that 5G may be the true cause of COVID.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Salatin|first=Joel|date=|title=CIRCULAR DOTS|url=https://www.thelunaticfarmer.com/blog/11/9/2020/circular-dots|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113123508/https://www.thelunaticfarmer.com/blog/11/9/2020/circular-dots|archive-date=2020-11-13|access-date=2020-12-20|website=The Lunatic Farmer|language=en-US}}</ref> In March of 2020, he wrote: "Okay folks, enough is enough. I want coronavirus. I've been watching all the personal stories of the folks who have gotten it and the overwhelming testimony is pretty simple: a day of sniffles, another day of fatigue, then a couple of days of recovery, and life is back to normal."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Salatin|first=Joel|date=|title=I WANT CORONAVIRUS!|url=https://www.thelunaticfarmer.com/blog/3/16/2020/i-want-coronavirus|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205203711/https://www.thelunaticfarmer.com/blog/3/16/2020/i-want-coronavirus|archive-date=2020-12-05|access-date=2020-12-19|website=Musings from The Lunatic Farmer|language=en}}</ref> While criticism of Joel Salatin and Polyface for minimizing COVID-19's impact were widespread<ref>{{Cite news|last=Carman|first=Tim|title=Famous farmer and activist Joel Salatin gets blowback for declaring: 'I want coronavirus!'|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2020/03/26/famous-farmer-and-activist-joel-salatin-gets-blowback-for-declaring-i-want-coronavirus/|access-date=2021-03-06|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=2021-05-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516163034/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2020/03/26/famous-farmer-and-activist-joel-salatin-gets-blowback-for-declaring-i-want-coronavirus/|url-status=live}}</ref> the farm continued to host large and mostly maskless events well into the fall of 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Get Access|url=https://www.newsleader.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsleader.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2F2020%2F11%2F18%2Fpolyface-farms-large-event-many-maskless-furthers-farmers-covid-minimizing-reputation%2F6330943002%2F|access-date=2021-03-06|website=The News Leader|language=en|archive-date=2023-04-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408160456/https://www.newsleader.com/restricted/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsleader.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2F2020%2F11%2F18%2Fpolyface-farms-large-event-many-maskless-furthers-farmers-covid-minimizing-reputation%2F6330943002%2F|url-status=live}}</ref>