Well maybe until he let the world know about his views on the COVID-19 vaccine, which from a business perspective probably wasn’t his best decision but is fully consistent with his world views. You can argue still to this day, Salatin is one of the most successful homesteaders out there. I wouldn’t say, go woke, to broke.

I was listening to the NY Magazine podcast this morning when they were talking about the origins of the word “woke”. The term has become associated with left-wing political activism, particularly that worn on one’s sleeve without much conviction. Feel good politics not grounded in reality. And a sober look at how people exploit it.

Humans like stories and good feelings. Many if not most successful businesses – outside of commodities and essentials for living are about telling a story. People need a reason to buy your product. Smart business owners find ways to tell a story.

People should be aware of what is happening in their community and in the world. They should care about others. Good business people are savvy when it comes to maximizing their resources. Salatin has developed some neat ideas to run his homestead that reduce the need for inputs.

And he’s built a story about it and diversified himself both in his ag business and the books and lectures he does. I’ve supported his farm by buying his books even though I’ve never been to his part of Virginia.

Like many people, being woke leaves me with a bad taste in myself as it is often based on denying reality and hiding yourself from the real world. But if you can play into consumer beliefs while being grounded in reality behind the scenes then I see no problems with being woke.