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Unconfined — Science
Unconfined

US consumers enjoy access to a veritable cornucopia of meat. We consume an annual average of more than 220 pounds of chicken, pork, and beef per person—one of the highest rates of carnivory in history. What makes it possible is a factory-like model of meat production that took root in Midwestern stockyards in the late 19th century and boomed after World War II. For decades, the transnational meatpacking giants that dominate US production have been exporting this model to countries across the globe. But it’s not all about just widely available burgers, tacos, and nuggets. What are the model’s downsides—the impacts on communities, workers, ecosystems, and public health? And are there better ways to farm animals? In Unconfined Podcast, veteran meat industry observers and CLF staffers Tom Philpott and Christine Grillo dig into those questions, interviewing the researchers, community organizers, journalists, and farmers documenting or experiencing the ills of our dominant mode of meat agriculture—and those who are exploring alternatives.

Copyright: © 2023

Latest Episodes:

What Trump II Means for Our Food Jan 22, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of Unconfined, three experts help us sort through the new administration's agenda and try to figure out what it all might mean for food policy.

Claire Kelloway, program manager for fair food and farming systems at the Open Markets Institute; and primary writer of Food & Power, a newsletter covering corporate consolidation of agriculture markets.

Mike Lavender, policy director at National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, which also produces a newsletter, this one on Beltway policy developments.

Adam Sheingate, professor of political science at the Johns Hopkins Krieger School of Arts and Science, where he teaches courses on American politics and institutions, including a seminar on the politics of food. He's also a faculty affiliate at the Center for a Livable Future.

A People's Scientist Meets a Tiny Fish Dec 03, 2024

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In this episode of Unconfined, World Food Prize winner Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted explains how biodiversity, local resources, and saying "no" to pricy pesticides helped cut childhood hunger in Bangladesh

The Weird, Beautiful Oyster Nov 12, 2024

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In this episode of Unconfined, Dave Love explains oyster farming, why it's impossible to industrialize it, and how oysters offer benefits ranging from amino acids to storm surge buffers.

Abundant Salmon, Troubled Waters Oct 08, 2024

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In this episode of Unconfined, veteran journalists Douglas Frantz and Catharine Collins expose what lies beneath those rosy salmon filets that grace our supermarket seafood cases.

A Livable Future for Fisheries Oct 01, 2024

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In this episode of Unconfined, Philip Loring discusses practical ways for fishers, grocers, and consumers to contribute to the repair and restoration of global fisheries.

Fish Stories Sep 09, 2024

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In this episode of Unconfined, author and life-long fisherman Paul Greenberg makes the case for eating more wild-caught U.S. seafood—and much less factory-farmed shrimp and salmon from abroad.

Chicken Heaven Jul 10, 2024

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In this episode of Unconfined, Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin tells us about Tree Range Farms, a poultry ecosystem alternative to the industrial food animal production model that injures workers and degrades the environment. Find out how his farmers create chicken heaven.

Farm Like Our Health Depends On it Jun 11, 2024

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In this episode of Unconfined, the formidable husband-and-wife team of David Montgomery and Anne Biklé draw on their deep experience as environmental scientists, gardeners, and celebrated book authors to show that regenerative farming isn't some crunchy fad or marketing jargon to be seized by pesticide purveyors. Rather, it might hold the key to keeping our farms humming as the climate warms and curing our epidemic of diet-related health troubles.

It's Not Enough to Sustain: We Must Regenerate May 14, 2024

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In this episode of Unconfined, the Center for a Livable Future's food system correspondent Leo Horrigan walks us through the world of biological farming, the soil food web, the unpaid labor done by billions of microbes on the daily (they need a better agent!), and how we could all save a lot of money and agita if we just let nature do its thing. It's not enough to simply stop the loss of soil—we must regrow new soil, and we can do that using plants, fungi, and microbes in an ecological system that's been doing pretty well without our help for billions of years.

The Injured Workers Behind Your Chicken Habit Apr 09, 2024

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Debbie Berkowitz has been at the center of the vexed effort to ensure a safe workplace for poultry workers since her time as a union workplace-safety advocate in the early 1980s. In the Obama era, she served as a top official in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and has since emerged as a leading advocate and researcher on the topic. In this episode of Unconfined, she lays in stark detail all the ways the federal regulatory system has failed to live up to its obligation to ensure the safety of the people who produce America's favorite meat.

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