Understanding Market Concentration in America’s Food System
How a handful of companies dominate the foods that we eat.
Hogs are raised on the farm of Gordon and Jeanine Lockie April 28, 2009 in Elma, Iowa.
Photographer: Scott Olson/Getty Images North AmericaWalk into a grocery store today and there are seemingly endless shelves of product to choose from. But behind all those different options are a handful of agricultural giants that have grown to dominate the food industry. Companies like Walmart and Cargill are well-known at this point, but there are also dominant players in everything from berries to dairy to pig farming. In this episode, we speak with Austin Frerick, an antitrust and agricultural expert. His new book, Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry, details the behemoths behind American agriculture and how they got so big. He talks about the choices that went into our current agricultural system, the impact of all that concentration, and what can be done to change it. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Key insights from the pod:
What drove agriculture concentration? — 8:45
What are the hidden costs of the existing food system? -- 10:17
Who is Cargill? -- 13:43
What is the history of Iowa's hog industry? — 19:35
What is the checkoff system? — 29:49
What could change farming in Iowa? -- 35:37
What is the ‘Southern Model' of food production? — 37:03
What is the influence of Walmart on the food system? -- 40:46