Today’s show will cover the origins of the supermarket, and will trace how its invention opened the door for consumerism.

Guest Raj Patel explains how Clarence Saunders and his supermarket, Piggly Wiggly, set the stage for food to radically transform. We discuss Raj's book Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System.

Raj Patel is an award-winning author, film-maker and academic. He is a Research Professor in the Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin.