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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

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

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.

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