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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
Category Archives: Beef Checkoff
It’s Called Stealing – What Big Retailers and Meat Packers are Doing to Cattlemen
Fifteen years ago, in responding to the question of why producers were receiving so little for their livestock, Dr. John Helmuth (economist, meat industry expert, and longtime critic of meat industry consolidation) said, “There is an economic term to describe … Continue reading
“Cow Tax” receives squeaky clean bill of health from Inspector General – REALLY???
Did the Inspector General’s office really give the “Cow Tax” and its myriad of questionable expenditures a squeaky clean bill of health? Not privileged to read the official I.G. or U.S.D.A. public release, I only heard the N.C.B.A. and their … Continue reading
Tapeworm Economy Threatens Food Supply
Sucking the Life Blood from Family Farm Agriculture By Mike Callicrate | March 5, 2013 “Our ground beef comes from Stampede Meat Company in Chicago, it’s delivered by Sysco, and we need enough volume for 2,000 locations.” This was the … Continue reading
Local Catholic rancher sues USDA and takes heat from NCBA member
Local Catholic rancher sues USDA, others over alleged favoritism to large cattle producers By VERONICA AMBUUL 9/7/2012 COLORADO SPRINGS. Catholic rancher Mike Callicrate, a St. Mary Cathedral parishioner, is the plaintiff in a lawsuit in federal district court in Kansas … Continue reading
WHOOPEE!!! – Cow-tax lawsuit is the best news I’ve heard this long, hot, dry summer.
I never liked being taxed to fund “Government Speech,” so OCM’s lawsuit against U.S.D.A and it’s mismanagement of the cow-tax was the best news I’ve heard this long, hot, dry summer. And if Callicrate was sharp enough to con HSUS … Continue reading
