<p>In this episode of Unconfined, author Austin Frerick discusses the barons who dominate US food production, including an Iowa farm couple who spun enormous, manure-spewing hog operations into a vast fortune.  </p>

In this episode of Unconfined, author Austin Frerick discusses the barons who dominate US food production, including an Iowa farm couple who spun enormous, manure-spewing hog operations into a vast fortune.

<p>In this episode of Unconfined, author Austin Frerick discusses the barons who dominate US food production, including an Iowa farm couple who spun enormous, manure-spewing hog operations into a vast fortune. &nbsp;</p>

Monopoly Money: On the Iowa Hog Barons Behind Your Bacon

US consumers enjoy access to a veritable cornucopia of meat. We consume an annual average of more than 220 pounds of chicken, pork, and beef per person—one of the highest rates of carnivory in history. What makes it possible is a factory-like model of meat production that took root in Midwestern stockyards in the late 19th century and boomed after World War II. For decades, the transnational meatpacking giants that dominate US production have been exporting this model to countries across the globe. But it's not all about just widely available burgers, tacos, and nuggets. What are the model's downsides—the impacts on communities, workers, ecosystems, and public health? And are there better ways to farm animals? In Unconfined Podcast, veteran meat industry observers and CLF staffers Tom Philpott and Christine Grillo dig into those questions, interviewing the researchers, community organizers, journalists, and farmers documenting or experiencing the ills of our dominant mode of meat agriculture—and those who are exploring alternatives.

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Monopoly Money: On the Iowa Hog Barons Behind Your Bacon

Monopoly Money: On the Iowa Hog Barons Behind Your Bacon

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