What do you think?
Rate this book
Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America
Wenonah Hauter owns an organic family farm that provides healthy vegetables to hundreds of families as part of the growing nationwide Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement. Yet, as one of the nation's leading healthy–food advocates, Hauter believes that the local food movement is not enough to solve America's food crisis and the public health debacle it has created. In Foodopoly, she takes aim at the real culprit: the control of food production by a handful of large corporations—backed by political clout—that prevents farmers from raising healthy crops and limits the choices that people can make in the grocery store.
Blending history, reporting, and a deep understanding of American faming and food production, Foodopoly is the shocking and revealing account of the business behind the meat, vegetables, grains, and milk that most Americans eat every day, including some of our favorite and most respected organic and health–conscious brands. Hauter also pulls the curtain back from the little–understood but vital realm of agricultural policy, showing how it has been hijacked by lobbyists, driving out independent farmers and food processors in favor of the likes of Cargill, Tyson, Kraft, and ConAgra. Foodopoly demonstrates how the impacts ripple far and wide, from economic stagnation in rural communities at home to famines overseas. In the end, Hauter argues that solving this crisis will require a complete structural shift—a change that is about politics, not just personal choice.
Written with deep insight from one of America's most respected food activists, Foodopoly is today's essential guide for anyone who wants to reform our food system, from seed to table.
Blending history, reporting, and a deep understanding of American faming and food production, Foodopoly is the shocking and revealing account of the business behind the meat, vegetables, grains, and milk that most Americans eat every day, including some of our favorite and most respected organic and health–conscious brands. Hauter also pulls the curtain back from the little–understood but vital realm of agricultural policy, showing how it has been hijacked by lobbyists, driving out independent farmers and food processors in favor of the likes of Cargill, Tyson, Kraft, and ConAgra. Foodopoly demonstrates how the impacts ripple far and wide, from economic stagnation in rural communities at home to famines overseas. In the end, Hauter argues that solving this crisis will require a complete structural shift—a change that is about politics, not just personal choice.
Written with deep insight from one of America's most respected food activists, Foodopoly is today's essential guide for anyone who wants to reform our food system, from seed to table.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
87 people are currently reading
1951 people want to read
About the author
Wenonah Hauter
4 books17 followersI am author of Frackopoly: The Battle for the Future of Energy and the Environment which is due out on June 7, 2016 (http://www.frackopoly.org), and Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America (http://www.foodopoly.org).
Executive Director of Food & Water Watch (http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org), I've worked extensively on food, water, energy, and environmental issues at the national, state and local level.
Executive Director of Food & Water Watch (http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org), I've worked extensively on food, water, energy, and environmental issues at the national, state and local level.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
February 25, 2019
3.5 Can one possibly be surprised to hear that above all money and power talks? It is apparent in almost every societal issue, that this is true. So that this is true, even in the control of the food we eat, the lack of policies that should proect us, was not a surprise, but some of this book was as we're the statistics. The loss of 1.4 million cattle, hog and dairy farms in the last thirty years, didn't realize this number was so huge. Also didn't know that hedge funds were grabbing lands. That four bug grocery chains control the quality and the prices. Big corporations taking the place of individual farms, setting prices and controlling advertising. What is marketed and how to the consumer. Not at all concerned about standards, our health, our children's health, nor the long range consequences of such actions. Money is indeed king.
The bottled water market, is a scan and a very money making one at that. Even when we think we are doing the right things, buying organic foods, that may not be the case. Much of our organics, even if farmers here could supply the same, the profit margin is much larger, if they are imported from other countries. Countries were safety and health standards are not the same as ours. Hence, many of the cases of ecoli, and samonella that seem to be be on our news monthly with new recalls.
Knowing where your food is coming from is key, buying from local farms smart, but many just don't have access. Current anti trust laws little stop these corporations from grabbing more control, and don't act as though deterrent they should. The author feels that these laws need to be changed to better protect the consumer, and that communication between consumers and local farms need to be strengthened. Flexitarian is the word for those who are incorporating meatless days into their meal planning. Not only better for health but for the environment.
The author presents much information, even graphs for comparisons. One can certainly tell where her bias is, but this doesn't mean it is wrong. In fact, after reading this, it is almost impossible not to see where we are heading, if nothing is done. Scary thoughts. Who and what are in control of feeding our families. It should be us and this book at least lets one make an informed opinion.
The bottled water market, is a scan and a very money making one at that. Even when we think we are doing the right things, buying organic foods, that may not be the case. Much of our organics, even if farmers here could supply the same, the profit margin is much larger, if they are imported from other countries. Countries were safety and health standards are not the same as ours. Hence, many of the cases of ecoli, and samonella that seem to be be on our news monthly with new recalls.
Knowing where your food is coming from is key, buying from local farms smart, but many just don't have access. Current anti trust laws little stop these corporations from grabbing more control, and don't act as though deterrent they should. The author feels that these laws need to be changed to better protect the consumer, and that communication between consumers and local farms need to be strengthened. Flexitarian is the word for those who are incorporating meatless days into their meal planning. Not only better for health but for the environment.
The author presents much information, even graphs for comparisons. One can certainly tell where her bias is, but this doesn't mean it is wrong. In fact, after reading this, it is almost impossible not to see where we are heading, if nothing is done. Scary thoughts. Who and what are in control of feeding our families. It should be us and this book at least lets one make an informed opinion.
May 3, 2019
-Corporations, which should be carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people’s masters. –Pres. Grover Cleveland
Money really is the root of all evil.
Wenonah Hauter does a formidable job of addressing what exactly has screwed up the food industry in America today. You can call it lack of mass education; a deliberate misleading of the public, a slow change in consumer tastes (fashioned, not oddly, to run increasingly in tandem with the producers' tastes for making profit); a flagrant abuse of our most basic democratic principles, a drive to lower, lower, lower the cost of food production by sacrificing the integrity of the ingredients all the way back to their individual cells--the overuse of antibiotics to keep animals from dying in the horrid conditions they are kept; the desire to create genetically engineered food sources; the grossly questionable honor system that trusts the food industry to regulate itself (ha ha ha)--the antitrust laws that have enabled retailers and packers to consolidate, making it virtually impossible for small/mid scale farmers to break into the market (aka, 'get big or get out'); the misappropriation of the label 'organic' by major companies and retailers seeking to cash in on consumer concern; and at the bottom of this huge roiling mess, winking up with its little golden eyes is--
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$
$.
Sadly, the main lesson of Foodopoly is that food policy has, for decades now, been for sale to the highest bidder and the consumer no longer has the power to change these dangerous trends by 'voting with their forks,' as the author aptly puts it. Many of us (myself included) may have been under the happy delusion that if we simply buy 'good/healthy/green' products--if we pay that extra for something labeled 'free-range' or 'organic'--if we in the cities support our local farmers, we can with our dollars felicitate change--how is that possible, Hauter asks, when many of these 'organic' products are now being produced massively and under false pretenses, often by the very same companies mass-marketing the most unhealthy processed foods and pumping millions into officials who duly turn the other way? When the rural farmer who has no way to get his/her products to the consumer/urban farmer’s markets and no distributor willing to deal with such small scale?
A modern day The Jungle.
Money really is the root of all evil.
Wenonah Hauter does a formidable job of addressing what exactly has screwed up the food industry in America today. You can call it lack of mass education; a deliberate misleading of the public, a slow change in consumer tastes (fashioned, not oddly, to run increasingly in tandem with the producers' tastes for making profit); a flagrant abuse of our most basic democratic principles, a drive to lower, lower, lower the cost of food production by sacrificing the integrity of the ingredients all the way back to their individual cells--the overuse of antibiotics to keep animals from dying in the horrid conditions they are kept; the desire to create genetically engineered food sources; the grossly questionable honor system that trusts the food industry to regulate itself (ha ha ha)--the antitrust laws that have enabled retailers and packers to consolidate, making it virtually impossible for small/mid scale farmers to break into the market (aka, 'get big or get out'); the misappropriation of the label 'organic' by major companies and retailers seeking to cash in on consumer concern; and at the bottom of this huge roiling mess, winking up with its little golden eyes is--
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$
$.
Sadly, the main lesson of Foodopoly is that food policy has, for decades now, been for sale to the highest bidder and the consumer no longer has the power to change these dangerous trends by 'voting with their forks,' as the author aptly puts it. Many of us (myself included) may have been under the happy delusion that if we simply buy 'good/healthy/green' products--if we pay that extra for something labeled 'free-range' or 'organic'--if we in the cities support our local farmers, we can with our dollars felicitate change--how is that possible, Hauter asks, when many of these 'organic' products are now being produced massively and under false pretenses, often by the very same companies mass-marketing the most unhealthy processed foods and pumping millions into officials who duly turn the other way? When the rural farmer who has no way to get his/her products to the consumer/urban farmer’s markets and no distributor willing to deal with such small scale?
A modern day The Jungle.
March 6, 2013
Agribusiness is destroying the land, feeding us unhealthy food, and price gouging with monopolistic power. This is only the beginning of the list of bad things that giant globally powerfully agribusiness corporations do to harm people and the planet.
Wenonah Hauter has done a tremendous job of detailing and explaining the decades-long takeover of our government by giant companies like Monsanto that seem to confuse poison with food and then pass laws to make it the only thing available to eat.
Hauter's main point is that people who are aware of the terrifying state of our food system CANNOT change it by simply shopping for organic products. Most organic producers have been bought by giant companies and there's little way to know if the products are actually good for you anymore.
Food safety in the U.S. is a total sham. Factory produced meat is NOT REALLY inspected. Poisoning people is kept in check by dousing food with disinfecting chemicals and zapping it with radiation.
The author calls on people to take political action and make the government begin enforcing anit-trust laws in order to break up the power of the giant companies that control food delivery from Earth to mouth. Sadly with our rigged election system, corporate monetary control of all politicians, and no representation for people I don't see how political action can accomplish anything. I know in theory we the people have power, but have you noticed how it never works out that way anymore? It's not our world, we just live in it and are increasingly being forced to eat genetically modified low nutrition food contaminated with toxins.
Maybe we can't change our government or stop the people who think poisoning and destroying Creation is a good business plan, but no one has to support the lie that they're feeding the world or doing anything positive because they're not.
Wenonah Hauter has done a tremendous job of detailing and explaining the decades-long takeover of our government by giant companies like Monsanto that seem to confuse poison with food and then pass laws to make it the only thing available to eat.
Hauter's main point is that people who are aware of the terrifying state of our food system CANNOT change it by simply shopping for organic products. Most organic producers have been bought by giant companies and there's little way to know if the products are actually good for you anymore.
Food safety in the U.S. is a total sham. Factory produced meat is NOT REALLY inspected. Poisoning people is kept in check by dousing food with disinfecting chemicals and zapping it with radiation.
The author calls on people to take political action and make the government begin enforcing anit-trust laws in order to break up the power of the giant companies that control food delivery from Earth to mouth. Sadly with our rigged election system, corporate monetary control of all politicians, and no representation for people I don't see how political action can accomplish anything. I know in theory we the people have power, but have you noticed how it never works out that way anymore? It's not our world, we just live in it and are increasingly being forced to eat genetically modified low nutrition food contaminated with toxins.
Maybe we can't change our government or stop the people who think poisoning and destroying Creation is a good business plan, but no one has to support the lie that they're feeding the world or doing anything positive because they're not.
May 12, 2013
I have a tough time with books that are strongly biased towards a specific point of view. I found the information in this book around our food policies and business environment really useful, but the specific food policies recommended are so extreme that I can't see them working at scale across the entire world. Mostly I found reading this book irritating whenever policy was discussed.
July 11, 2013
I was surprised by how much I learned reading this book (full disclosure: I work for Food & Water Watch and Wenonah Hauter is my ED). However, this book is flawlessly researched and many chapters are totally gripping. Not only is this book a wealth of information about the food system that I will turn to in both personal and professional lives, but it's actually an inspiring read. It easily could have been a depressing book that simply made people afraid to eat again, but that's not the case.
As a organic farmer who runs a CSA, I think it's clear that Hauter grasps the importance of local, sustainable food but has seen from her own experience that there are hard limits to how buying at the farmers market or purchasing organic produce can change the food system. This book is informed by her experience, but it's also a fascinating in lesson in public policy over the last several decades. It goes without saying that this book is political, but it is also empowering.
As a side note, I was particular wowed (and terrified) by the chapter on nanotechnology as a field that's almost entirely unregulated. It's impossible to read this book without feeling outraged and I hope this leads more people to engage with food as a political issue.
As a organic farmer who runs a CSA, I think it's clear that Hauter grasps the importance of local, sustainable food but has seen from her own experience that there are hard limits to how buying at the farmers market or purchasing organic produce can change the food system. This book is informed by her experience, but it's also a fascinating in lesson in public policy over the last several decades. It goes without saying that this book is political, but it is also empowering.
As a side note, I was particular wowed (and terrified) by the chapter on nanotechnology as a field that's almost entirely unregulated. It's impossible to read this book without feeling outraged and I hope this leads more people to engage with food as a political issue.
April 9, 2016
I'll repeat what I told my FB friends: "Everyone in America who eats good should read this." You may never want to again.
January 19, 2013
This is about the survival of our planet. An executive summary would be useful. Very well researched. Someone not wanting to read that many pages could read just the last part and assume that the evidence supporting it is found in the earlier parts. Everyone should learn this and act accordingly.
January 19, 2013
This book is not for everybody, only those who eat.
If you've seen Food Inc., Foodopoly is the next step. It's a must read for understanding the destructive hegemony of global agribusiness.
If you've seen Food Inc., Foodopoly is the next step. It's a must read for understanding the destructive hegemony of global agribusiness.
October 3, 2022
Well organized but dated; would be great to have an updated edition.
July 11, 2024
A sobering look at big businesses' search for profit over Americans' livelihood and health, from monopolies to legal maneuvering to outright ignoring disease and cruelty. The market is not enough to give us healthy food and American jobs back - we need to reign in the mega corporations at every level.
May 17, 2013
Wennoah Hauter is the Executive Director of Food & Water Watch; she is also an organic farmer.
Hauter also cares deeply about the future of our food, our agricultural land, and our future. In Foodopoly: The battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America she breaks down the complex nature of our food system and the issue of consolidated power. Food factory monopolies. Vertical integration of delivery systems from field to table, she offers a political history of how big business took over agriculture, consolidated control over the production of factory food, and did so with the help of federal agencies like USDA and the FDA, just to name two. It's a documentation of the collusion between business and regulatory agencies, via the lobbyists' revolving door.
Hauter is concerned about fairness. She's concerned about how the food we eat is raised--factory farms are horrible entities. Animals are treated inhumanely. Their wastes pollute the land. Routine use of antibiotics on these animals in filthy, crowded conditions are putting us all at risk--as bacteria that make us humans ill are becoming resistant to the drugs.
Hauter is concerned about a sustainable agriculture. After describing how our food production system became what it is today, she offers a way to make agriculture sustainable, moral, and healthy. Would that her words are heeded.
Hauter also cares deeply about the future of our food, our agricultural land, and our future. In Foodopoly: The battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America she breaks down the complex nature of our food system and the issue of consolidated power. Food factory monopolies. Vertical integration of delivery systems from field to table, she offers a political history of how big business took over agriculture, consolidated control over the production of factory food, and did so with the help of federal agencies like USDA and the FDA, just to name two. It's a documentation of the collusion between business and regulatory agencies, via the lobbyists' revolving door.
Hauter is concerned about fairness. She's concerned about how the food we eat is raised--factory farms are horrible entities. Animals are treated inhumanely. Their wastes pollute the land. Routine use of antibiotics on these animals in filthy, crowded conditions are putting us all at risk--as bacteria that make us humans ill are becoming resistant to the drugs.
Hauter is concerned about a sustainable agriculture. After describing how our food production system became what it is today, she offers a way to make agriculture sustainable, moral, and healthy. Would that her words are heeded.
February 20, 2013
Foodopoly
A very scary story of the state of our food supply. The almost corruption of the elected officials that are suppose to look after the American people but as always looking out for themselves and the big corporations . This book should be read by every one that eats. This book brings a lot of stats on how food is produced today and how it was produced before big corporations took over. This book brings to life how big corp. sets pricing, qulity and availability of food. Maybe if enough people read this book we can take bake our food quality and distribution for a healthier tomorrow.
A very scary story of the state of our food supply. The almost corruption of the elected officials that are suppose to look after the American people but as always looking out for themselves and the big corporations . This book should be read by every one that eats. This book brings a lot of stats on how food is produced today and how it was produced before big corporations took over. This book brings to life how big corp. sets pricing, qulity and availability of food. Maybe if enough people read this book we can take bake our food quality and distribution for a healthier tomorrow.
October 17, 2013
OK, if you want to be shocked, read this book. Our food system is broken, Hauter says. The big business of agriculture have control from farm to shelf and exert a great deal of political power. You'll read about arsenic in food additives, the pressure to deregulate the meat industry, genetically engineered foods and much more. She gives many ideas of what can be done at the local level to provide the best food for your family. This is a disturbing book. it will make you think twice about how that packaged food got to be on the grocery shelf, what is in it, and how the shelf life can be so long! See my full review at http://bit.ly/1hZ4aOI.
November 10, 2013
Not an easy read, but very informative. I felt, at turns, shocked, angry, puzzled, disillusioned, despairing, inspired.
In our broken food system, as in so many other arenas, monopolistic mega corps with massive political influence put short-term profit ahead of all other considerations, to the detriment of the commons.
It leaves me wondering if there is a healthy way to eat short of raising my own food.
In our broken food system, as in so many other arenas, monopolistic mega corps with massive political influence put short-term profit ahead of all other considerations, to the detriment of the commons.
It leaves me wondering if there is a healthy way to eat short of raising my own food.
October 29, 2016
Excellent coverage of all that's wrong with our current food system, from abuses of labor and growers to the favoring of industrial farming over small farms to lack of appropriate regulation to inappropriate regulation to genetic engineering.
I highly recommend this to anyone concerned about the alarming changes to our food supply and the need to ensure that our supply is healthy and uncontaminated.
I highly recommend this to anyone concerned about the alarming changes to our food supply and the need to ensure that our supply is healthy and uncontaminated.
Read
April 6, 2013A shocking exposé of the history and development of the monopolistic food industry, and how its power and practices are destroying farmers and endangering our food supply. Look out for Monsanto. Save our plants!
April 10, 2024
The latest book in my antitrust bender. A great source of information about the consolidation and predatory practices in the food industry, ranging from manufacturers to grocery stores to produce to livestock factory farms. Classic story of industrial monopolies squeezing the little guy and the government backing down from enforcing antitrust law due to corporate influence, backroom deals, and campaign donations. Unfortunately, the book was as dry as an overcooked Cargill chicken breast and I had trouble finishing it. Would give it 3.5 stars though because more people should be aware of these industry issues.
The 2 chapters about the organic produce industry and history of consolidation / gross monopolization of the food manufacturing industry were my favorite. The chapters about genetic engineering were my least favorite because I felt that many technical topics were not well-explained and those chapters also came off as dramatic diatribes, even though I agree with a lot of her beliefs. I think the book would have benefitted from at least a small attempt to host the devil as an advocate within each chapter to understand the ways the present-day industry benefits consumers in its current state. There was a lot of focus on bashing large-scale agriculture and returning to small/local production without concurrent discussion of how to realistically provide food for a nation of 300+ million and a massive global population. The chapters on factory farming of livestock were very effective at being sad and disgusting, but would have been more impactful for me if they connected the dots with how taxpayers are also effectively subsidizing these large food corporations through farm subsidies that support underpriced feedstock commodities like soy, wheat, and corn.
Also found the discussion of the negative impacts of the WTO and NAFTA agreements on global agriculture to be very important but not thoroughly addressed in her solutions chapters at the end. She discussed some political and organizing solutions in the last two chapters, but I think it would have been more interesting/optimism-inducing to dole these out with each respective chapter. It would have made me feel a lot less sad about the state of the world and made it easier to finish the book. I think I need to read a couple of lighthearted memoirs next to give myself a break after this one.
The 2 chapters about the organic produce industry and history of consolidation / gross monopolization of the food manufacturing industry were my favorite. The chapters about genetic engineering were my least favorite because I felt that many technical topics were not well-explained and those chapters also came off as dramatic diatribes, even though I agree with a lot of her beliefs. I think the book would have benefitted from at least a small attempt to host the devil as an advocate within each chapter to understand the ways the present-day industry benefits consumers in its current state. There was a lot of focus on bashing large-scale agriculture and returning to small/local production without concurrent discussion of how to realistically provide food for a nation of 300+ million and a massive global population. The chapters on factory farming of livestock were very effective at being sad and disgusting, but would have been more impactful for me if they connected the dots with how taxpayers are also effectively subsidizing these large food corporations through farm subsidies that support underpriced feedstock commodities like soy, wheat, and corn.
Also found the discussion of the negative impacts of the WTO and NAFTA agreements on global agriculture to be very important but not thoroughly addressed in her solutions chapters at the end. She discussed some political and organizing solutions in the last two chapters, but I think it would have been more interesting/optimism-inducing to dole these out with each respective chapter. It would have made me feel a lot less sad about the state of the world and made it easier to finish the book. I think I need to read a couple of lighthearted memoirs next to give myself a break after this one.
March 7, 2022
This is a very important informative books, though dry as a dust. So I'll just list a few key points:
- BIG BAD (big multi-conglomerations covering big agribusiness, meat-packers, dairies, retails and many others) lobby the government to dismantle regulations that ensure fair pay to producers, driving most prices to the bottom (often below the cost of producing it) so that farmers ended up needing subsidy from the government just to survive. A genius move by BIG BAD since it effectively get super low prices products subsidized by taxpayer money.
- If you buy any products from big retails or supermarket, chances are you're buying BIG BAD products. Meaning veggies that maybe contaminated with salmonella, chicken that are likely fed with arsenic, irradiated meat most likely contaminated with feces among other thing, milk laced with artificial hormones, eggs from misery chicken, etc etc. Of course any processed foods made from these products were just as bad if not worse for you.
- Organic label has been hijacked by BIG BAD. So if you buy 'organic' products from Wholefoods or Walmart or the like, it probably still come from the same factory farm which pay slave wages, polluting the environment (does anyone want to live near lagoon of feces?), bankrupting local farmers and most likely bad for you.
- The current food safety approach in USA (and most likely for all other products as well) was All food products either genetically modified or containing artificial additives/hormones/chemicals are deemed safe until proven otherwise. Well, I don't know if I should rejoice that I don't live there, or whether I should be more worried since if even USA was that bad, was there any hope that developing countries would be any better? At least I'm thankful that I still can buy eggs and veggies from locals.
- BIG BAD (big multi-conglomerations covering big agribusiness, meat-packers, dairies, retails and many others) lobby the government to dismantle regulations that ensure fair pay to producers, driving most prices to the bottom (often below the cost of producing it) so that farmers ended up needing subsidy from the government just to survive. A genius move by BIG BAD since it effectively get super low prices products subsidized by taxpayer money.
- If you buy any products from big retails or supermarket, chances are you're buying BIG BAD products. Meaning veggies that maybe contaminated with salmonella, chicken that are likely fed with arsenic, irradiated meat most likely contaminated with feces among other thing, milk laced with artificial hormones, eggs from misery chicken, etc etc. Of course any processed foods made from these products were just as bad if not worse for you.
- Organic label has been hijacked by BIG BAD. So if you buy 'organic' products from Wholefoods or Walmart or the like, it probably still come from the same factory farm which pay slave wages, polluting the environment (does anyone want to live near lagoon of feces?), bankrupting local farmers and most likely bad for you.
- The current food safety approach in USA (and most likely for all other products as well) was All food products either genetically modified or containing artificial additives/hormones/chemicals are deemed safe until proven otherwise. Well, I don't know if I should rejoice that I don't live there, or whether I should be more worried since if even USA was that bad, was there any hope that developing countries would be any better? At least I'm thankful that I still can buy eggs and veggies from locals.
January 22, 2023
Aggravating book but still worth reading. Packed with research on the policy, market, and business motives that warped our agricultural system. The author is a farmer who is fighting unimaginable, deeply-fixed mechanisms that too many of us are ignorant and dismissive of because we were taught to scorn farming culture in favor of business and knowledge work. Farmers are frustrated and desperate for action at policy level, and they need our help.
Fail: author paints scientists in negative stereotypes while advocating for progressives to stop doing the exact same thing to farmers.
Success: depth of research on the disasterous state of our food system, and the purposeful destruction of peoples' connection with the land and the autonomy to make a fulfilling living outside the relentless growth model of capitalism.
Fail: author paints scientists in negative stereotypes while advocating for progressives to stop doing the exact same thing to farmers.
Success: depth of research on the disasterous state of our food system, and the purposeful destruction of peoples' connection with the land and the autonomy to make a fulfilling living outside the relentless growth model of capitalism.
April 30, 2021
Very interesting and very scary
I really enjoyed this book. It is very disturbing to read, though. I like the way the author goes into details about all the atrocities in the food chain. Really sickening how large conglomerates control everything we put in our stomachs and the environment. There are chapters on fruits, vegetables, red meat, chicken, genetically engineered foods and animals. You will never look at burgers or vegetables the same way.
I really enjoyed this book. It is very disturbing to read, though. I like the way the author goes into details about all the atrocities in the food chain. Really sickening how large conglomerates control everything we put in our stomachs and the environment. There are chapters on fruits, vegetables, red meat, chicken, genetically engineered foods and animals. You will never look at burgers or vegetables the same way.
July 19, 2019
This is a super informative read & I recommend for everyone who is interested in the food system and not to give it at least a skim! We all eat, and it is important to realize where all that food comes from. This book is packed full of hard facts that I believe are important for every consumer to consider while purchasing their next meal!
June 7, 2018
There's a lot of great info, and I definitely learned more about our food system. But the book has a very clear agenda, and everything in it is constructed in support of this agenda. Think of this as an op-ed book, not a balanced view.
September 8, 2020
Expansive in scope - a comprehensive examination of the corporate stronghold on food. Detailed attention to policies is helpful in establishing the current context. Hauter exposes daunting and unsettling truths in this carefully researched book.
January 1, 2021
Tough to review. Important book but so dense and fact-packed so as to be incomprehensible for this reader. Charts and figures in the book were designed poorly/were difficult to interpret. Wish the book had just been written in a different way. Didn't finish.
July 29, 2018
Enlighteningly scary.
October 14, 2018
Informative page turner ! I love reading about our environment and politics very good read. I would recommend this to everyone.
December 9, 2019
Some of it's pretty familiar from books like Fast Food Nation and Eating Animals, but much of it's valuable in its own right.
May 6, 2020
Extremely interesting. At times readable and at times a slog. Clearly extremely well-researched. Wide-reaching, informative.
August 19, 2022
Listened to the audiobook.
August 1, 2024
This was a real wakeup call of a book. Everyone should read this.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews