Raw Deal

Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed, and the Fight for the Future of Meat

Description

A shocking and unputdownable exposé of the United States meat industry and the growing disappointment of alternative meat producers that “is required reading for anyone who eats” (Christopher Leonard, New York Timesbestselling author).

Well before COVID-19 swept across the United States and the chairman of Tyson Foods infamously declared that the food supply chain was dangerously vulnerable, America’s meat industry was reaching a breaking point. Years of consolidation, price-fixing, and power grabs by elite industry insiders have harmed consumers and caused environmental destruction. And while that’s hurting us, it’s also making others rich.

Now, financial journalist Chloe Sorvino presents a “deeply informed and eye-opening” (Publishers Weekly) look at the meat industry and its future as its fundamental weaknesses are laid bare for all to see. With unprecedented access and groundbreaking research, Raw Deal investigates corporate greed, how climate change will upend our food production, and the limitations of local movements challenging the status quo.

About the author(s)

Chloe Sorvino leads coverage of food, drink, and agriculture at Forbes. Her work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, NPR, Fast CompanyFinancial TimesThe New York TimesNew York magazine, and many more. Find out more at ChloeSorvino.com and follow her on X @ChloeSorvino, Instagram @CSorvino, and LinkedIn.

Reviews

"If you think you understand the meat industry, please think again. Chloe Sorvino provides a fascinating, gripping, and ultimately indispensable portrait of the powerful companies at the heart of our food system. This story is as shocking as it is revelatory, showing how the meat industry manipulates our political system, drives climate change, and hikes prices for American meals. This book is required reading for anyone who eats."

Christopher Leonard, New York Times bestselling author of The Meat Racket and Kochland

"Raw Deal is Chloe Sorvino’s deeply reported, firsthand account of how business imperatives drive the meat industry to mistreat workers, pollute the environment, fix prices, bribe, and manipulate the political process, all in the name of shareholder profits. She argues convincingly for holding this industry accountable and requiring it and other corporations to engage in social as well as fiduciary responsibility. Raw Deal is a must-read for anyone who cares about where our food comes from."

Marion Nestle, author of What to Eat and professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health, New York University

"Raw Deal is poised to become the next definitive authority on the current state of the broken food system in America and our desperate fight to curb climate change. Insightful as it is harrowing, what can often seem like an impossible hornet's nest to untangle is illuminated. Raw Deal will shake you into sharp presence while shining light on a road toward a decentralized, community-centered food system."

Camilla Marcus, chef of Westbourne and cofounder of the Independent Restaurant Coalition

"Some meat-packers will hate this book, but it will force everybody to think. The big-is-fragile problem also applies to other industries such as electronic chips and baby formula."

Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation

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