Episode Details

Immigrant labor, industry consolidation, and safety concerns have become focal points in the national debate on meatpacking. The recent Boar's Head plant closure due to listeria underscores these issues.

In our polarized political landscape, worker protections and food safety are increasingly part of the red/blue divide. Federal legislation often stalls due to lobbying and partisanship, while state approaches vary widely. Even meat consumption patterns differ between rural and urban America.

This plays out amid a complex, vulnerable global food supply chain, as highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alice Driver's book, 'Life and Death of the American Worker,' exposes the challenges faced by workers in Tyson Foods plants, particularly in Arkansas and lays bare a picture that might turn all of us into vegetarians.