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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
Testimony of Herman Schumacher, Herried, South Dakota, appearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee, June 10, 1998
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Honorable members of the Senate committee, and Mr. Secretary. Thank you for the opportunity to present testimony here today. My name is Herman Schumacher from Herried, South Dakota. I am a cattle producer, cattle feeder, and … Continue reading
WE HAVE THE MOST RICH AND THE MOST POOR
There is Overproduction and yet Some People Starve — Our Country is The Richest in Natural Resources in The World and Yet Destitution and Suffering Prevail –The Condition Should be Carefully Examined and Remedies Proposed The principles on which the … Continue reading
Unintended Consequences of Allowing Captive Cattle Supply
April 28, 2020 By Gilles Stockton The collapse of cattle prices following the outbreak of coronavirus has most certainly got our attention and has sparked an intense desire to do something about it. One idea that has gotten traction is … Continue reading
Corporate Colony or Strong Community?
Published on April 13, 2020 Kerry Hoffschneider Manager at Word & Deed Communications 22 articles Independent Journalism by Kerry Lea: Mike Callicrate shares his thoughts and experiences advocating for independence, fairness and transparency in the beef industry. He is not alone … Continue reading
Meat Market Slaughter – What happened to a fair, open, and competitive marketplace that once served both producers and consumers?
The Coronavirus has exposed the abject failures of a highly concentrated and centralized industrial food system. Following is some history of how we got to this place that we can no longer feed ourselves. Six years after the following 1990 … Continue reading
