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Joel Salatin — Christian Libertarian Capitalist
Joel Salatin — Christian Libertarian Capitalist
Jul 8, 2026 12:21 AM

Farmer Joel Salatin is a rising star in the slow food world for his appearances in the documentaries Food Inc., Fresh, and in Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma. What gets minimized or overlooked in these treatments are Salatin’s Christian, capitalist and libertarian leanings.

Michael Miller had the chance to explore this under-reported side in an interview with him at his farm in Virginia. Some choice bits from their conversation are at Salatin’s PovertyCure Voices page, and you can see video excerpts from the interview in the PovertyCure DVD Series.

Also, former Acton intern Elise Amyx recently had the chance to interview the self-described “Christian-libertarian-environmentalist-capitalist-lunatic-Farmer.” In the first of a three-part series, she describes Salatin as “a farmer of faith … dedicated to holistic stewardship in order to heal creation for a higher purpose.” In the same piece, Salatin describes his approach this way:

Every day I pray, “Lord, let me operate this farm exactly like you would if you were here in person.” It’s a ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ situation, realizing that the land is holy; indeed, all of creation can be sanctified by our interaction with it.

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