6 things you need to read on the meat industry

In preparation for our event that will be broadcast on CSPAN on how America’s meat industry is returning to the Jungle on Monday, October 20th, here are 6 articles you need to read on the topic.

How the Meat Industry Killed the Free Market
by Christopher Leonard

Our health, the well-being of animals and large swaths of rural America are all under threat by America’s monopolized meat industry, Leonard says, and the full extent to which it’s taken over should be making us a lot angrier than it is.

The Meat Racket: The Secret Takeover of America's Food Business by Christopher Leonard

In The Meat Racket, Christopher Leonard delivers the first-ever account of how a handful of companies have seized the nation’s meat supply. He shows how they built a system that puts farmers on the edge of bankruptcy, charges high prices to consumers, and returns the industry to the way it was in the 1900s before the meat monopolists were broken up.

Farmaceuticals
by Reuters staff

A collection of reports from the investigative team at Reuters detailing the drugs that are fed to farm animals, and the risk it poses to humans.

This Little Piggy Bred a Superbug
by Ted Genoways

An excerpt from the book The Chain, which explains how the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections in U.S. hospitals can be traced directly to modern farming practices.

At Chicken Plants, Chemicals Blamed for Health Ailments are Poised to Proliferate

After the sudden death of a 37-year-old man, a federal investigation raises questions about the health risks associated with a rise in the use of toxic, bacteria-killing chemicals in poultry plants, an attempt to keep up with the rising consumer demand for chicken and turkey.

Bacon, China, and the American Farmer
by Lina Khan and Christopher Leonard

What does it mean when a Chinese company buys Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the U.S.? Chris Leonard and Lina Khan talk about the proposed purchase and its potential impact on the American farmer and you.