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“The money and political power of Wall Street has stolen America’s food system, bankrupted our farmers and ranchers, mined our soils, polluted our environment, wasted our precious water, and left us with expensive industrially produced food that makes us sick.” – Occupy Wall Street Food Day, December 2011 -
Industrial Agriculture and Urban Sprawl – A model of growth that’s made to fail. -
Ranching Reboot Episode 4, Mike Callicrate “It’s time for a third revolution against monopolies”
Above: Ranching Reboot – Episode 4 – Mike Callicrate, owner of Ranch Foods Direct, sat down with us to talk about all manner of things from cattle markets, to public food spaces, the Bander, his feedlot and the pathway he built to market.
He shares valuable lessons learned from fighting against the commodity production system and how he’s built his own pathway to the consumer.
We talk about small community slaughter plants and public meat spaces and what that could look like going in to the future. We discuss environmental challenges, the food police and what it means when a Dollar General comes to town.
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- This Cattleman's Got A Beef
Photo: Sean Cayton - 2003People producing good food from happy animals, while improving the environment, shouldn’t have to fear the government.
Photo above featured in a 2003 article: This cattleman's got a beef, Mike Callicrate and Ranch Foods Direct take on the big meat packersby Kathryn Eastburn
Author Archives: Mike Callicrate
Perspectives on Agriculture: Past and Future
Callicrate note: Several years ago, in a conversation with John, we discussed the use of a new term describing what I thought was a better kind of agriculture. Since “sustainable” had been stolen by big corporate ag, I suggested the … Continue reading
Harvesting Change: Making a Local Meat Market
How One Cattle Rancher Ditched the Industrial Meat Model and Forged a More Sustainable One Cami Koons ckoons@flatlandkc.org Mike Callicrate and his son Teegan are hardworking ranchers. But they aren’t typical. Almost 30 years ago, they bucked an industrial food … Continue reading
Return to carcass trade is essential for cattle industry and rural prosperity
After more than 50 years of concentration, consolidation, hyper-industrialization, and a pandemic, the producers, workers, animals, and consumers have all suffered from the loss of competition and demise of local/regional food infrastructure. Land-grant and business school economists teaching “Big is … Continue reading
“Cowboys and Cows Can Save the World”
Saturday, I spent the day with a group of Montana ranchers at the Beartooth Stock Association annual meeting. They ventured out in minus 20 degree weather, many just finishing cow chores. Cattlemen and women represent the literal heart and soul … Continue reading
What does the financial sector really cost?
The independent owner-operated gas station on Circle Drive in Colorado Springs is consistently 40 cents/gallon better priced than the chains. Maverick, Kum & Go and Good2Go are owned by FJ Management – another example of destructive Tape Worm Economics.
