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November 2024 Vol. 62 No. 3

Frerick (fellow, Yale Univ.) exposes the regulatory conditions that allowed seven barons to amass power and financial fortunes through the US food industry. Using textual analysis, Frerick scaffolds sources to trace the corrupt paths of the seven barons’ food areas: hogs, grain, coffee, dairy, berries, slaughterhouses, and grocers. For instance, in chapter 3, Frerick details how the “coffee baron” JAB Holding Company creates the veneer that its purchased coffee companies are financially independent by maintaining the multitude of original brand names. From environmental destruction to flagrant political manipulation, these food industry barons have built their fortunes while using appealing, fictitious advertising that positions them as local, family-friendly philanthropists. Frerick calls for restoring, expanding, and enforcing antitrust and competition policies; connecting schools to sustainable, local producers; and guaranteeing fair salaries and safe conditions for workers. This book could be used in the disciplines of social justice studies, political science, food studies, sociology, and urban planning. Instructors might use Achbar and Abbott’s The Corporation (2003) or Kenner’s Food, Inc. (2008) for documentaries or Linklater’s Fast Food Nation (2006) for a movie with interwoven sub-narratives to illustrate corruption in the American food industry.

--C. L. Lalonde, SUNY Brockport

Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty; professionals.