The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket
Product ID: 358777007
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"A deeply curious and evenhanded report on our national appetites." -- The New York Times In the tradition of Fast Food Nation and The Omnivore's Dilemma , an extraordinary investigation into the human lives at the heart of the American grocery store The miracle of the supermarket has never been more apparent. Like the doctors and nurses who care for the sick, suddenly the men and women who stock our shelves and operate our warehouses are understood as 'essential' workers, providing a quality of life we all too easily take for granted. But the sad truth is that the grocery industry has been failing these workers for decades. In this page-turning expose, author Benjamin Lorr pulls back the curtain on the highly secretive grocery industry. Combining deep sourcing, immersive reporting, and sharp, often laugh-out-loud prose, Lorr leads a wild investigation, asking what does it take to run a supermarket? How does our food get on the shelves? And who suffers for our increasing demands for convenience and efficiency? In this journey: We learn the secrets of Trader Joe's success from Trader Joe himself Drive with truckers caught in a job they call "sharecropping on wheels" Break into industrial farms with activists to learn what it takes for a product to earn certification labels like "fair trade" and "free range" Follow entrepreneurs as they fight for shelf space, learning essential tips, tricks, and traps for any new food business Journey with migrants to examine shocking forced labor practices through their eyes The product of five years of research and hundreds of interviews across every level of the business, The Secret Life of Groceries is essential reading for those who want to understand our food system--delivering powerful social commentary on the inherently American quest for more and compassionate insight into the lives that provide it. Review: You’ll never shop quite the same way again - From the history of 7-11 to desertcart buying Whole Foods, this book is an in-depth look at how grocery works and the issues surrounding what we eat. The author speaks with a trucker going broke, a woman trying to break into the condiment business, many people managing companies and stores, people involved in Thai slave fishing and many others, and gives us some idea of the real truth without talking down to the reader or his sources. Well worth your time. Review: El camino de nuestros alimentos desde el campo a la mesa - Si te interesa o algún vez te has preguntando sobre el mundo del retail actual este libro es muy interesante. Sobre todo lo que vivió el autor para escribirlo. Habla de todo el proceso de crear un alimento hasta el consumidor final.
| Best Sellers Rank | #263,407 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #219 in Commerce #1,410 in Industries #5,425 in Society & Culture (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,401 Reviews |
M**P
You’ll never shop quite the same way again
From the history of 7-11 to Amazon buying Whole Foods, this book is an in-depth look at how grocery works and the issues surrounding what we eat. The author speaks with a trucker going broke, a woman trying to break into the condiment business, many people managing companies and stores, people involved in Thai slave fishing and many others, and gives us some idea of the real truth without talking down to the reader or his sources. Well worth your time.
C**N
El camino de nuestros alimentos desde el campo a la mesa
Si te interesa o algún vez te has preguntando sobre el mundo del retail actual este libro es muy interesante. Sobre todo lo que vivió el autor para escribirlo. Habla de todo el proceso de crear un alimento hasta el consumidor final.
S**E
Fantastic Read
Learned a lot from this book. Also very well written and formatted perfectly.
A**U
Easy to read, very insightful.
I found this to be fascinating and insightful and also an entirely entertaining read. I wanted to learn more about "big food" and this was far more enjoyable than trawling through the industry blogs and so on. Theres some real characters in this book, brought to life beautifully by the author. Everybody should read this.
M**K
An eye-opener that will change how you view any supermarket you enter
This book begins with a short history of the development of the American supermarket and reveals some of the key 19th century innovations that sped the development along. Innovations include banal things like the cardboard box and carboard packaging for things like cereal and biscuits. The book then tells the story of Trader Joes and the innovations it brought to the supermarket. Whole Foods is also discussed extensively. In addition to discussing the supermarkets themselves, the author provides a discussion of the truck drivers who transport what ends up on the store shelves. It also talks about the abuse of workers in the Thai fishing industry. Particularly interesting was the story of how one woman worked to get a new food onto the shelves of supermarkets. The book is interesting but very selective in what it covers. It is also focused exclusively on the US market. It is, nevertheless, an eye-opener and will change how you view any supermarket you enter in the future.
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