Make Me Smart

How Big Food changed the way we eat

May 29, 2024

Agricultural and antitrust policy fellow Austin Frerick discusses how Big Food monopolies inflate prices and degrade food quality. They delve into the concentrated American food system and Walmart's dominance. Also, the podcast touches on Boeing's challenges against SpaceX and misconceptions about teen social media curation.

23:37

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Episode guests

Austin Frerick

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Quick takeaways

Consolidation in the American food system has led to higher prices for consumers, particularly seen in markets like the meat industry, abusive practices such as labor issues and price fixing have become rampant.

Consolidation in the food system has not only impacted pricing but also the quality and taste of food, examples like industrial milk tasting different from pasture milk highlight how inputs matter in food quality.

Deep dives

Consolidation Impacting Food Prices and Labor in Food Industry

Consolidation in the American food system has led to higher prices for consumers, particularly seen in markets like the meat industry. With markets more concentrated than ever, abusive practices such as labor issues and price fixing have become rampant. The consolidation, starting largely in the 1980s, has eroded choice for consumers, often presenting an illusion of variety with one company dominating a significant market share.

Introduction

2min

The Impact of Market Consolidation on the Food Industry

10min

Exploring the Influence of Big Food on Consumers and Promoting Tech Discounts and Communication Skills Podcasts

3min

Consumer Behavior and Inflation

4min

Boeing vs SpaceX: Contrasting Approaches to Space Missions

7min

Discussion on Social Media, Listener Interaction, and Show Credits

2min

Today we’re talking about food. Specifically, Big Food. In his book, “Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry,” Austin Frerick, agricultural and antitrust policy fellow at Yale, argues the food system is the most consolidated sector in the United States. On the show today, Frerick explains how the American food system became so concentrated, how that’s inflated prices and eroded quality, and what we should do about it. Plus, Walmart’s role as king of grocery kings.

Then, we’ll get into why Boeing can’t keep up with SpaceX. And, an expert on youth mental health (and former guest on “Make Me Smart”) was wrong about how teens curate their social media feeds.

Here’s everything else we talked about today: