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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 -
How can an industrial livestock operation transition from feeding corporations to feeding people? -
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: General Advocacy
Imported Beef Trim Benefits Meatpackers, Retailers, and Food Service but Hurts Producers and Consumers
September 6, 2026 JBS, the biggest meat company in the world, has a problem with excess carcass trimmings, a really big and growing problem that threatens everyone’s food security. Without sufficient demand for ground beef, whole animal slaughter operations struggle. … Continue reading
How Trump Lost Cattle Producers
The business of raising and processing beef in America has been ground to dust in service of profit for publicly traded behemoths like Walmart. How Trump Lost Cattle Ranchers The business of raising and processing beef in America has been … Continue reading
Masters of Food Universe Threaten U.S. Food Security
They come, they extract, and they leave – Cattle and beef industries go down in flames. August 21, 2026 With the cooperation of the U.S. government, the beef industry has been industrialized, globalized, and financialized by a handful of unrestrained … Continue reading
A Very American Invention, Pushed to an Extreme
A Very American Invention, Pushed to an Extreme In Nebraska, Blackshirt Feeders LP is building the country’s largest feedlot for 200,000 beef cattle on a square-mile slab of concrete. By Georgina Gustin August 9, 2026 HAIGLER, Neb.—The far southwestern corner of … Continue reading
Big Food’s Weapon Against Local/Regional Meat Processors
The pandemic exposed the fragility of global supply chains, but killing food re-localization efforts is still strong. Small locally-owned and operated meat plants can help rebuild rural communities while providing safe and affordable food to consumers. The Weapon: A cheap … Continue reading
