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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
‘Harvested cattle, slaughtered markets’
Farm and Food File for the week beginning Sunday, May 15, 2022 Alan Guebert You don’t need to be a vegan to know that livestock and poultry aren’t “harvested,” the squeaky clean verb that’s become fashionable among farm and ranch … Continue reading
What does a better food system look like?
Begin by getting out of the box … Once we become sustainable with a living income, then we can work towards regenerative practices and cool things like soil health.
Critique of the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act
The Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act will not restore competition but rather lock in the four-packer domination by preserving the packer’s ability to use captive supplies to control the market. April 18, 2022 I wish that I could love … Continue reading
Industrial Agriculture and Urban Sprawl – A model of growth that’s made to fail.
The world is running out of fresh water. The new documentary, DAY ZERO, is raising the alarm. The day when the water runs out is coming soon, especially to places like Colorado and the High Plains. See trailer: DAY ZERO … Continue reading
Another Bad Idea from NCBA – The A-PLUS Act is not a solution
A-PLUS legislation allowing auction markets to invest in and/or own slaughter plants is a step backwards in local/regional food system development. April 11, 2022 It is not surprising that the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is promoting another bad idea, … Continue reading
