Brilliant…a book that at times burns slow and hot with outrage and at other times proceeds at the ecstatic pace of a thriller.
New York Times Book Review
A fascinating look at what has happened in the past decades to the meat business as huge companies essentially staged a takeover while no one, except struggling farmers, paid mind.
A minor miracle of reporting. Tyson isn’t the sort of company that likes to show reporters around its operations…Leonard managed to penetrate that secrecy, and has painted an intimate picture of the company and the people who made it.
Cruelty, greed, and monopoly power—that is what Christopher Leonard has found at the heart of America's meat packing industry. This book offers a devastating portrait of an industry's irresponsible behavior.
"Only a very good writer could turn a story about chickens, hogs and cattle into a thriller, and Leonard is that. He brings his characters to life. . . . The book is a scary portrait of capitalism run amok."
The Washington Post Bethany McLean
A meticulous exposé of the meat industry… Leonard, whether he means to or not, is also telling a broader story about American business, consumerism, and—most of all—greed… What makes The Meat Racket stand out is Leonard’s superb storytelling and his clear passion for the topic…He is a man on a mission—and that is clearly the best kind of reporter to write a book like this.
Bookforum - Jessica Valenti
One of the best books of investigative reporting that I’ve seen in quite a while…if you think muckraking is dead or even on its last legs, The Meat Racket is proof positive that it’s very much alive. The big question is whether or not there are any reformers and regulators left who have the will and the strength to pick up the ball and run with it.
Leonard’s book argues that a handful of companies, led by Tyson, control our meat industry in ways that raise concerns about the impact on animals and humans alike, while tearing at the fabric of rural America.
The New York Times Nicholas Kristof
I will admit when I picked up this book, it was more with the sense that it was something I should read than something that would be a page turner. And yet it immediately drew me in. Christopher Leonard's power is the ability to capture the human lives caught within the system, particularly the farmers but also the employees who helped build the corporations… this book is a compelling reminder that we all have a stake in how this business is conducted.
Radish Magazine - Sarah J. Gardner
This eye-opening investigation into the semi-shady practices governing one of the nation's fundamental industries will make readers question how these megacompanies were ever allowed to grow so large and powerful…. A compelling in-depth exposé of the concentration of wealth and power at the heart of the U.S. meat industry.
Shelf Awareness for Readers
"[A] scorcher of a book."
The Daily Beast (Top 10 Nonfiction Books of 2014)
Leonard’s primary concern is the grim and gripping story of how American meat went industrial. But he also spins a nuanced tale of how the family farm was America’s first small business—and what we’ve lost by letting it go. A fascinating read.
"Gripping...The Meat Racket is a riveting book, and the picture Mr. Leonard paints is a disturbing one."
In his eye-opener to the inner workings of the corporations that control and manipulate the nation’s meat supply, journalist Leonard reveals how these vertically integrated behemoths operate to the detriment of both farmers, who do the hard and risky work of raising animals, and consumers, who have actually fewer true choices when shopping in the grocery store or ordering at the local fast-food franchise.
A fascinating look at what has happened in the past decades to the meat business as huge companies essentially staged a takeover while no one, except struggling farmers, paid mind.
"Gripping...The Meat Racket is a riveting book, and the picture Mr. Leonard paints is a disturbing one."
…Christopher Leonard's brilliant, in-depth portrait of Tyson Foods…is primarily a book of reportage, the culmination of Leonard's decade as a national agribusiness reporter…What separates The Meat Racket from every other book about food in America is that it manages to tell the story not from the safe remove of an outsider but from inside the fortress walls of Big Food itself, from the meeting rooms to the mega-barns. The result is a book that at times burns slow and hot with outrage and at other times proceeds at the ecstatic pace of a thriller.
The New York Times Book Review - Nick Reding
03/31/2014
"Filled with interesting history of how the meat industry got to where it is and how government has attempted to reign it in, the sad story is laid out through excellent journalistic reporting. Narrator John Pruden's fittingly somber tone conveys the gravity of the situation. " ---Library Journal Audio Review
This detailed history and exposé of America’s factory farming system will make listeners think about what they eat in a new way. Narrator John Pruden delivers a clean narration of a complex subject loaded with passion. His professional detachment lends authority without adding bias, even when delivering the eulogizing of the hero/villain of the piece, Don Tyson, by his friend Bill Clinton. Further, Pruden’s authoritative voice imparts gravitas, and his pacing matches Leonard’s writing style. Those who listen to this riveting account will ask themselves whether the ways our food is acquired, paid for, and politicized may be out of whack. M.C. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
★ 2013-12-25
