Author: Mike Callicrate

Book Hour: The Meat Racket: The Secret Takeover of America’s Food Business

Mike Callicrate

Family farms and ranches are disappearing at rate of over 10,000 per year. Those who survive are being squeezed by the four powerful multi-national agri-business corporations that control 85% of the meat markets. Their control is eliminating fair markets for food, crushing rural economies, leading to record prices and profits, and creating ungodly conditions for animals with additives, steroids, antibiotics, and genetic engineering that distorts animal physiology. The power of the meat industry and their lobbyists neuter politicians, Read More …

No legislative riders to limit or restrict the Secretary’s rulemaking and enforcement authority under the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921

Mike Callicrate

Testimony Submitted by Bill Bullard CEO, R-CALF USA to the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee March 20, 2014 Contact Name and Email: Bill Bullard, billbullard@r-calfusa.com AGENCY: USDA-Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) Request: No legislative riders to limit or restrict the Secretary’s rulemaking and enforcement authority under the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 On behalf of the members of the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA), I am submitting this testimony to urge Read More …

The New Meat Monopoly: The Animal, The Farmer, and You in the New Age of Global Giants

Mike Callicrate

A generation ago, the business of raising animals for food in America looked much like it had at the Founding – family farms, open and competitive markets, high standards, and a self sustaining national economy. Today, vast corporations rule almost every corner of the animal agriculture landscape, and these giants are increasingly controlled from foreign capitals. Some economists argue in favor of this new order of things, mainly claiming it is more “efficient.” But there’s also growing evidence Read More …

The Least of Your Problems

Mike Callicrate

Farm & Food File | A syndicated column by Alan Guebert Early February was not a good time to be an American carnivore. First, on Saturday, Feb. 8, Rancho Feeding Co. of Petaluma, CA, announced it was recalling 8.7 million pounds of beef carcasses and cuts. That’s virtually every pound of the company’s 2013 throughput. The reason for the recall, explained the Feb. 11 Los Angeles Times, was that federal regulators “said (the) plant ‘processed diseased and unsound Read More …

Important anniversary coincides with compelling new book

Mike Callicrate

By Mike Callicrate | February 20, 2014 This week I’m taking a moment to observe the 10-year anniversary of the most important court case in the history of the U.S. cattle industry, while turning the last page on a powerful new book that tells in precise and riveting detail the sad story of why the lawsuit was so critically needed. Christopher Leonard’s new book, The Meat Racket – The Secret Takeover of America’s Food Business, which hits book Read More …

UNDER SIEGE: THE U.S. LIVE CATTLE INDUSTRY

Mike Callicrate

Under Siege: The U.S. Live Cattle Industry ACADEMIC JOURNAL ARTICLE By Bullard, Bill South Dakota Law Review, Vol. 58, No. 3 EXCERPT: Although the largest U.S. agricultural sector—the live cattle industry—is still comprised of hundreds of thousands of independent producers, it is currently on a trajectory to become a vertically integrated supply chain controlled by just a handful of dominant meatpackers. This is the fate already suffered by the nation’s hog and poultry industries within which once competitive Read More …

When the Debate is Over

Mike Callicrate

Remember that kid on the playground, not the bully, but his smaller, weaker spokesman; that big-mouth side-kick that did most of the talking? Well some of these little rascals grow up, but never shut up. Some get paid for their lip bumping; others just talk because they love to hear the sound of their voice. Either way, they talk and talk and talk because they’re afraid to walk the walk. Steve Dittmer is one of those talkers. He has Read More …