The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket
- ISBN-10
- 0553459406
- ISBN-13
- 9780553459401
- Category
- Social Science
- Pages
- 352
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2020-09-08
- Publisher
- Penguin
- Author
- Benjamin Lorr
Description
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 What does it take to run the American supermarket? How do products get to shelves? Who sets the price? And who suffers the consequences of increased convenience end efficiency? In this alarming exposé, author Benjamin Lorr pulls back the curtain on this highly secretive industry. Combining deep sourcing, immersive reporting, and compulsively readable prose, Lorr leads a wild investigation in which we learn: • The secrets of Trader Joe’s success from Trader Joe himself • Why truckers call their job “sharecropping on wheels” • What it takes for a product to earn certification labels like “organic” and “fair trade” • The struggles entrepreneurs face as they fight for shelf space, including essential tips, tricks, and traps for any new food business • The truth behind the alarming slave trade in the shrimp industry The result is a page-turning portrait of an industry in flux, filled with the passion, ingenuity, and exploitation required to make this everyday miracle continue to function. The product of five years of research and hundreds of interviews across every level of the industry, The Secret Life of Groceries delivers powerful social commentary on the inherently American quest for more and the social costs therein.
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery
By Amanda CoxThis dual-time story from Amanda Cox deftly explores the complexity of the mother-daughter relationship, the way the secrets we keep shape our lives and the lives of others, and the healing power of telling the truth.
-
Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America
By Michael Ruhlman... be to figure out where you're going to get food, and life wouldn't be so much fun. Strangely, though, after his initial rhapsody on the great achievement of the supermarket, Hitt begins an extended criticism of the people who run ...
-
The Grocers: The Rise and Rise of the Supermarket Chains
By Geoffrey Randall, Andrew Seth... 102 see also Safeway Morrison , Ken xviii , 77 , 149 , 154-57 , 84 , 187 , 220 , 321 Morrison 40 , 42 , 111 , 116 ... Michael 119-21 see also Marks & Spencer Marks , Simon 119 , 120-23 see also Marks & Spencer Marks & Spencer xviii ...
-
Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga
By Benjamin LorrAuthor Benjamin Lorr wandered into a yoga studio—and fell down a rabbit hole Hell-Bent explores a fascinating, often surreal world at the extremes of American yoga.
-
Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys
By Joe CoulombeFifteen-minute late afternoon “kid” shows like the Lone Ranger/ Weber's Bread (where is my magic decoder ring?), Jack Armstrong/ Wheaties, Little Orphan Annie/Ovaltine, etc. 4. Special events like Gillette/World Series, ...
-
Grocery Story: The Promise of Food Co-ops in the Age of Grocery Giants
By Jon SteinmanHUNGRY FOR CHANGE? Put the power of food co-ops on your plate and grow your local food economy. If you eat, you should give this book a read.
-
Supermarket
By Bobby Hall#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The stunning debut novel from one of the most creative artists of our generation, Bobby Hall, a.k.a.
-
The Secret Life of Squirrels: A Love Story
By Nancy RoseLove is in the air with another irresistible photographic story of wild squirrels in homemade miniature settings, delighting readers and animal lovers of all ages.
-
Clarence Saunders & the Founding of Piggly Wiggly: The Rise & Fall of a Memphis Maverick
By Mike FreemanA variety of new ventures helped Saunders out of bankruptcy, but he never duplicated his prior success. Memphis historian Mike Freeman tracks the remarkable life of this retail visionary.
-
Supermarket Monsters: The Price of Coles and Woolworths' Dominance
By Malcolm KnoxThe effect of the milk wars was to increase the supermarkets' overall market share by 1.5 per cent, mainly at the expense of small convenience stores and service stations (nearly half of which are, of course, controlled by Coles and ...