Austin Frerick

"Happy Holidays" -- I just filmed a segment for ABC News at my in-laws' house and signed off by saying "Happy Holidays" lol (I wasn't sure what to say with it being Easter and Passover).

Surreal -- when I wrote Barons, I never thought I'd present it in London. What an honor to do so last week at the "Ultra-Processed Food Policy Forum" at Imperial College.

Check out the alert Big Ag just put out about me (I'm testifying to the Minnesota House Agriculture Committee, presenting aspects of my book Barons).

Here's Part 2 -- some nuggets from it:

"The Land Report just came out with a Top 100 ranking of who owns the most land in America. The Walmart family now owns more land in America than all the farmland owned by black farmers combined."

"To me the single best thing you can do to make food more affordable in America right now is do away with the ethanol mandate. It’s been more than 20 some years. Ethanol should [survive] on its own. It should not have a government mandate."

What if Big Ag Didn’t Control Our Food? Austin Frerick shares big ideas for how to transform food in the United States. For Frerick, radical change starts with radical imagination

Check out my new interview:
"Last week, the NYT ran a story saying farmers are going to let their crops rot because the prices are so bad. At the same time, we’re having a food affordability crisis. That juxtaposition captures how broken our food system is"

Big Ag Has Corrupted Our Food System. Here’s How We Can Rebuild. Austin Frerick explains how corporate monopolies captured farm bill policy, and how farmers and eaters can unite to fix our food system.

What a year of putting on the miles - gave my final talk this year a few days ago in Great Falls, Montana. Thanks again to MOA for inviting me. 🥩🌾

Check out this new Q&A I did:
"When we tell history, we tend to tell it from top-down, when really these changes come from the bottom-up. Everyone thinks Teddy Roosevelt is this big trust buster, when in reality that started decades earlier in Iowa. The first anti-monopoly laws in the world came from Iowa. Farmers got about grain elevators and railroads, so they organized. I just think we’re at the end of a laissez-faire era. I mean, these laissez faire eras always crash and burn. But for me, it’s what should be next?"

How the Trump Administration Is Deepening Food Monopolies: A Q&A with Anti-Trust Expert Austin Frerick “The land is producing the most that it has ever produced, but none of that wealth is staying there. So we shouldn’t be shocked that we’re seeing the politics of rage fill that void.”

“Trump shouldn’t underestimate the Yellowstone effect,” says Frerick.

I spoke to The Financial Times about how ranchers loom large in public consciousness and the danger of siding with foreign corporations like JBS against independent American ranchers.

The soaring price of a steak Beef costs have risen sharply in many countries, adding to the pressure on living standards and bringing Donald Trump into conflict with ranchers

Special thanks to the Harvard Law School for hosting me yesterday 🤓

Always game to talk Barons

“You’re a winner, baby!” 🥳😜 Honored to have won the best “Food Issues” book from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP).

Really cool to have it presented by another Iowan, too: Elle Gadient of Dyersville.

I went back on Bloomberg’s biggest podcast, Odd Lots, to discuss the Distribution Baron in my paperback: Sysco. I chatted with Tracy and Joe about how Sysco built its empire, what we’ve lost because of it, and, more importantly, what we can do about it.

Enjoy!

The Hidden Supply Chain Making Every Menu Feel Familiar Meet broadline distributor Sysco.

I spoke to the BBC about what's going on with America's beef markets. "These are consolidated markets gouging ranchers and gouging consumers at the store."

Today, just 4 firms control more than 80% of the beef slaughtering and packing market.

US beef prices are soaring. Will Trump's plans lower them? Trump is under fire from ranchers, who say his ideas to lower prices address "symptoms not the problems".