{"product_id":"barons-money-power-and-the-corruption-of-americas-food-industry","title":"Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"a-fixed-left-grid\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"a-fixed-left-grid-inner\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"a-fixed-left-grid-col a-col-right\" id=\"ppdFixedGridRightColumn\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-cel-widget=\"bookDescription_feature_div\" data-csa-c-id=\"nfw2zl-6ccvkj-5gdra7-j567wk\" data-feature-name=\"bookDescription\" class=\"celwidget\" id=\"bookDescription_feature_div\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"a-expander-collapsed-height a-row a-expander-container a-spacing-base a-expander-partial-collapse-container\" data-a-expander-collapsed-height=\"140\" data-a-expander-name=\"book_description_expander\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"a-expander-content a-expander-partial-collapse-content\" aria-expanded=\"false\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"a-fixed-left-grid\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"a-fixed-left-grid-inner\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"ppdFixedGridRightColumn\" class=\"a-fixed-left-grid-col a-col-right\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"bookDescription_feature_div\" class=\"celwidget\" data-feature-name=\"bookDescription\" data-csa-c-type=\"widget\" data-csa-c-content-id=\"bookDescription\" data-csa-c-slot-id=\"bookDescription_feature_div\" data-csa-c-asin=\"1628251840\" data-csa-c-is-in-initial-active-row=\"false\" data-csa-c-id=\"4vgtxq-78pdsn-kxp11d-u92c92\" data-cel-widget=\"bookDescription_feature_div\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-a-expander-name=\"book_description_expander\" data-a-expander-collapsed-height=\"140\" class=\"a-expander-collapsed-height a-row a-expander-container a-spacing-base a-expander-partial-collapse-container\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"a-expander-content a-expander-partial-collapse-content\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"bookDescriptionBox\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eWhy pay $22 when you can get it in our store for just $15? 🎉 Don’t miss out on this amazing deal!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eBest Books of 2024: \"Frerick's prose throughout is both direct and masterfully controlled, with every point supported by extensive references and notes. This is no alarmist screed but rather a careful, systematic, and utterly damning demolition job—an exquisitely informed exposé... A genuinely revelatory look at mass food production in the United States\"  —\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e, starred\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In this eye-opening debut study, Frerick, an agricultural policy fellow at Yale University, reveals the ill-gained stranglehold that a handful of companies have on America's food economy...It's a disquieting critique of private monopolization of public necessities.\" —\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold a-text-italic\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e, starred\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eBarons\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is the story of seven titans of the food industry, their rise to power, and the consequences for workers, eaters, and democracy itself. Readers will meet a secretive German family that took over the global coffee industry in less than a decade, relying on wealth traced back to the Nazis to gobble up countless independent roasters. They will visit the Disneyland of agriculture, where school children ride trams through mechanized warehouses filled with tens of thousands of cows that never see the light of day. And they will learn that in the food business, crime really does pay—especially when you can bribe and then double-cross the president of Brazil. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eBarons\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e paints a stark portrait of corporate consolidation, but it also shows that a fair, healthy, and prosperous food industry is possible—if we take back power from the barons who have robbed us of it.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"celwidget aplus-module module-4 aplus-standard\" data-csa-c-id=\"sd4gef-t35en2-u045hj-2934ex\" data-cel-widget=\"aplus-module-4\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"aplus-module-wrapper apm-fixed-width apm-spacing\"\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"a-spacing-small\"\u003eA selection from chapters of Austin Frerick's Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"apm-flex\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"apm-flex-item-fourth-width\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"apm-text-center\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"Photo by Mark Stebnicki; Pexels; Austin Frerick's Barons\" src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/S\/aplus-media-library-service-media\/6632ded9-3800-4178-bde5-a40c903f2d37.__CR0,0,220,220_PT0_SX220_V1___.jpg\" class=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/S\/aplus-media-library-service-media\/6632ded9-3800-4178-bde5-a40c903f2d37.__CR0,0,220,220_PT0_SX220_V1___.jpg\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 class=\"a-spacing-mini\"\u003eFrom Chapter 1: The Hog Barons\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"a-size-small\"\u003e\"The state’s hog industry, led by the Hansens, has cultivated close relationships with state politicians on both sides of the aisle to roll back regulations. Even as California has passed animal welfare laws and North Carolina has tightened its permitting program for confinement operations, the hog industry in Iowa goes almost unchecked. Today, Iowa raises about one-third of the nation’s hogs, about as many as the second-,third-, and fourth-ranking states combined.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"a-size-small\"\u003e...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"a-size-small\"\u003eMeanwhile, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources rubber-stamps permits for medium and large animal warehouses and levies only paltry fines for manure spills. The department’s leadership is appointed by the state’s governor. A recent state audit report determined that the Iowa DNR was 'mismanaging a multimillion-dollar fund set up to help oversee Iowa livestock farms and their manure,' but nothing has come of it.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"apm-flex-item-fourth-width\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"apm-text-center\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"Photo by Igor Haritanovich; Pexels; Austin Frerick's Barons\" src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/S\/aplus-media-library-service-media\/7b8eff73-3069-434f-8359-562af36e4515.__CR0,0,220,220_PT0_SX220_V1___.jpg\" class=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/S\/aplus-media-library-service-media\/7b8eff73-3069-434f-8359-562af36e4515.__CR0,0,220,220_PT0_SX220_V1___.jpg\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 class=\"a-spacing-mini\"\u003eFrom Chapter 3: The Coffee Barons\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"a-size-small\"\u003e\"The Reimann family—more than any other baron portrayed in this book—is good at keeping secrets. The family has studiously avoided the sort of media coverage and public appearances that have proved irresistible to the other barons. In fact, rumor has it that when family members turn eighteen, they sign a pledge not to show their face in public, which is why no photos accompany their names in the annual\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eForbes\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003elist of the world’s wealthiest people. As the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eEconomist\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eput it, the Reimanns are 'faceless,' letting the wild success of their coffee empire speak for itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"a-size-small\"\u003eYet just a few decades ago, this guarded German family likely could not have assembled its empire. Its acquisition spree was made possible by seismic shifts in the law, with profound consequences for JAB’s competitors and customers and even those who never drink a sip of coffee.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"apm-flex-item-fourth-width\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"apm-text-center\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"Photo by Suzy Hazelwood; Pexels; Austin Frerick's Barons\" src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/S\/aplus-media-library-service-media\/596add91-ab01-47c6-b818-5cfff55fe0f2.__CR0,0,220,220_PT0_SX220_V1___.jpg\" class=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/S\/aplus-media-library-service-media\/596add91-ab01-47c6-b818-5cfff55fe0f2.__CR0,0,220,220_PT0_SX220_V1___.jpg\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 class=\"a-spacing-mini\"\u003eFrom Chapter 4: The Dairy Barons\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"a-size-small\"\u003e\"Sue McCloskey’s cows never get a chance to roam on pasture. But, as she told\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eFood \u0026amp; Wine\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003emagazine in 2018, she strives to keep the girls happy. Sue’s husband, Mike McCloskey, is chairman of a dairy production facility and tourist attraction called Fair Oaks Farms, which has been referred to by some media outlets as the 'Disneyland of agricultural tourism.' At the facility’s vast complex of Amazon-like warehouses, the 'happy girls' pump out more than four million school milk cartons’ worth of milk per day, making Fair Oaks one of the largest dairy producers in America.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"a-size-small\"\u003eBut it is far from exceptional. For decades, huge operations like Fair Oaks have been replacing family dairy farms across America. ... Today, more than half of America’s milk is produced on less than 3 percent of its farms. And those megafarms are like Fair Oaks: factories that are larger than any operations in agricultural history.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"apm-flex-item-fourth-width\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"apm-text-center\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"Photo by Mark Stebnicki; Pexels; Austin Frerick's Barons\" src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/S\/aplus-media-library-service-media\/3e94e91a-7456-4b67-a0cf-b630f987056d.__CR0,0,220,220_PT0_SX220_V1___.jpg\" class=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/S\/aplus-media-library-service-media\/3e94e91a-7456-4b67-a0cf-b630f987056d.__CR0,0,220,220_PT0_SX220_V1___.jpg\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 class=\"a-spacing-mini\"\u003eFrom Chapter 6: The Slaughter Barons\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"a-size-small\"\u003e\"The Batista brothers control the largest slaughtering empire the world has ever seen. According to their own website, Joesley and Wesley are the largest global butchers of beef and chicken and are number two in pork. In addition to their meat monopolies, JBS is the world’s largest leather processor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"a-size-small\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eBloomberg News\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eestimates the Batistas’ personal fortune at $5.8 billion. They produce almost enough protein daily to give a four-ounce portion to every citizen of Australia, Canada, Poland, Spain, and Italy combined. To keep all these kill lines running, the brothers employ a quarter million people globally.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"a-size-small\"\u003e...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"a-size-small\"\u003eThe Batistas first entered the American market in 2007 with their purchase of the historic Swift \u0026amp; Company. JBS’s purchase of Swift made it the third-largest seller of beef and pork in the United States overnight.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"celwidget aplus-module module-9 aplus-standard\" data-csa-c-id=\"qjccy2-nymdj1-a7biai-q0aht\" data-cel-widget=\"aplus-module-9\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"aplus-module-wrapper apm-fixed-width apm-spacing\"\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"a-spacing-small\"\u003ePraise for Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry by Austin Frerick\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"apm-flex\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"apm-flex-item-third-width\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"apm-text-center\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"Kirkus review, Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry\" src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/S\/aplus-media-library-service-media\/fe747851-3c9e-4184-8a4b-51cd2c3e91ef.__CR0,0,300,300_PT0_SX300_V1___.jpg\" class=\"a-spacing-mini\" data-src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/S\/aplus-media-library-service-media\/fe747851-3c9e-4184-8a4b-51cd2c3e91ef.__CR0,0,300,300_PT0_SX300_V1___.jpg\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"apm-flex-item-third-width\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"apm-text-center\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"Praise for Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry by Austin Frerick\" src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/S\/aplus-media-library-service-media\/de426cb1-74d5-47ca-b4dd-e2fb23270a1d.__CR0,0,300,300_PT0_SX300_V1___.jpg\" class=\"a-spacing-mini\" data-src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/S\/aplus-media-library-service-media\/de426cb1-74d5-47ca-b4dd-e2fb23270a1d.__CR0,0,300,300_PT0_SX300_V1___.jpg\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"apm-flex-item-third-width\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"apm-text-center\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"Praise for Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry by Austin Frerick\" src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/S\/aplus-media-library-service-media\/b70c3067-6a2e-45f5-8db1-dea48820a642.__CR0,0,300,300_PT0_SX300_V1___.jpg\" class=\"a-spacing-mini\" data-src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/S\/aplus-media-library-service-media\/b70c3067-6a2e-45f5-8db1-dea48820a642.__CR0,0,300,300_PT0_SX300_V1___.jpg\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"apm-text-center\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eReview\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"a-section a-spacing-small a-padding-small\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eBarons\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eis a powerful reminder of the stakes involved and the need for change in a food system that only works for a few.\" -- Carrie Balkcom, Executive Director of the American Grassfed Association\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-expanded=\"true\" class=\"a-expander-content a-expander-extend-content a-expander-content-expanded\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"a-section a-spacing-small a-padding-small\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAustin Frerick is an expert on agricultural and antitrust policy. He worked at the Open Markets Institute, the U.S. Department of Treasury, and the Congressional Research Service before becoming a Fellow at Yale University. He is a seventh generation Iowan and first generation college graduate, with degrees from Grinnell College and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"apm-text-center\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Bookread","offers":[{"title":"PDF","offer_id":56754518589771,"sku":null,"price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1031\/1204\/8971\/files\/9153ikm2VWL._SL1500.jpg?v=1773062679","url":"https:\/\/bookread.io\/products\/barons-money-power-and-the-corruption-of-americas-food-industry","provider":"bookread","version":"1.0","type":"link"}