{"product_id":"the-chain-farm-factory-and-the-fate-of-our-food-isbn-9780062288752","title":"The Chain: Farm, Factory, and the Fate of Our Food","description":"\u003cp\u003eA powerful and important work of investigative journalism that explores the runaway growth of the American meatpacking industry and its dangerous consequences.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn the production line in American packinghouses, there is one cardinal rule: the chain never slows. Every year, the chain conveyors that set the pace of slaughter have continually accelerated to keep up with America’s growing appetite for processed meat. Acclaimed journalist Ted Genoways uses the story of Hormel Foods and soaring recession-era demand for its most famous product, Spam, to probe the state of the meatpacking industry, including the expansion of agribusiness and the effects of immigrant labor on Middle America.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGenoways interviewed scores of industry line workers, union leaders, hog farmers, and local politicians and activists. He reveals an industry pushed to its breaking point and exposes alarming new trends: sick or permanently disabled workers, abused animals, water and soil pollution, and mounting conflict between small towns and immigrant workers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe narrative moves across the heartland, from Minnesota, to witness the cut-and-kill operation; to Iowa, to observe breeding and farrowing in massive hog barns; to Nebraska, to see the tense town hall meetings and broken windows caused by the arrival of Hispanic workers; and back to Minnesota, where political refugees from Burma give the workforce the power it needs to fight back.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA work of brilliant reporting, \u003cem\u003eThe Chain\u003c\/em\u003e is a mesmerizing story and an urgent warning about the hidden cost of the food we eat.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eA harrowing investigation of the tortuous path our food products take—from slaughter to Spam\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn the production line in American packing-houses, there is one cardinal rule: the chain never slows. Under pressure to increase supply, the supervisors of meat-processing plants have routinely accelerated the pace of conveyors, leading to inhumane conditions, increased accidents, and food of questionable, often dangerous quality. In \u003cem\u003eThe Chain\u003c\/em\u003e, acclaimed journalist Ted Genoways uses the story of Hormel Foods and its most famous product, Spam—a recession-era staple—to probe the state of the meatpacking industry, including the expansion of agribusiness and the effects of immigrant labor on Middle America.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInterviewing scores of line workers, union leaders, hog farmers, and local politicians and activists, Genoways reveals an industry pushed to its breaking point. Along the way, he exposes alarming new trends: sick or permanently disabled workers, abused animals, water and soil pollution, and mounting conflict between small towns and immigrant labor.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe narrative moves across the heartland—from Minnesota, to witness the cut-and-kill operation; to Iowa, to observe breeding and farrowing in massive hog barns; to Nebraska, to see the tense town hall meetings and broken windows in reaction to the arrival of Hispanic workers; and back to Minnesota, where political refugees from Burma give the workforce the power it needs to fight back.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA searching exposé in the tradition of Upton Sinclair, Rachel Carson, and Eric Schlosser, \u003cem\u003eThe Chain\u003c\/em\u003e is a mesmerizing story and an urgent warning about the hidden costs of the food we eat.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“Formidably researched and vividly told... a literate, impassioned investigation of the state of agriculture in our country’s midsection.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTed Conover, author of The Routes of Man\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Formidably researched and vividly told, \u003cem\u003eThe Chain\u003c\/em\u003e is the definitive story of American pork. Ted Genoways intercuts intimate portraits of towns and factories with longer views of labor, business, and immigration history, making painfully clear the true cost of the ‘other white meat.’” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTed Conover, author of The Routes of Man\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A muckraker for our times, Ted Genoways goes behind the scenes in the meatpacking industry and shows us how the sausage is really made—and the Spam, too. But he doesn’t stop there, because \u003cem\u003eThe Chain\u003c\/em\u003e is also an insightful chronicle of a changing American heartland, and of lives trampled in the headlong rush to industrialize the food system. Upton Sinclair would surely approve.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDan Fagin, Pulitzer-prize winning author of Toms River\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Ted Genoways has crafted an unflinching, intimate portrait of America’s industrialized meat system, centered on pork but conveying lessons that go beyond it. \u003cem\u003eThe Chain\u003c\/em\u003e is a must-read for anyone concerned with our nation’s food system, and the phenomenal cost—animal, human, and environmental—of cheap meat.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTracie McMillan, author of The American Way of Eating\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Comparable to Sinclair’s classic expose, \u003cem\u003eThe Jungle\u003c\/em\u003e, Genoways’s blistering account of the meatpacking industry makes the case for tighter monitoring of this powerful sector of American agribusiness.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eThe Chain \u003c\/em\u003e[is an] important [book], well worth reading, full of compelling stories, genuine outrage and the careful exposure of corporate lies.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An exhaustive examination of this industry. . . . Readers curious about meatpacking and agriculture as well as the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the food industry will find Genoways’s nonfiction debut a valuable and stimulating read.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A searing indictment . . . [Genoways] writes with passion and a sense of mission . . . He should get people thinking about the trade-offs that the public makes in return for low-cost meat.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAssociated Press\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A disturbing exposé . . . Genoways makes a compelling case that the meatpacking industry’s relentless drive for higher output poses a threat to food safety.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMinneapolis Star Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A scathing report on the consequences of factory farming. . . . A sad, horrifying story, a severe indictment of both corporate greed and consumer complacency.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A worthy update to Upton Sinclair’s \u003cem\u003eThe Jungle\u003c\/em\u003e and a chilling indicator of how little has changed since that 1906 muckraking classic.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMother Jones\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889354961125,"sku":"NP9780062288752","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062288752.jpg?v=1730231072","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-chain-farm-factory-and-the-fate-of-our-food-isbn-9780062288752","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}