After reading this New Yorker article, we are convinced that there has never been a more important time to support innovation in the meat industry. The author profiles Ronald Cameron, the secretive owner of Mountaire, one of America’s largest poultry companies, who is also one of the President’s top donors. It’s a case study in the de-humanizing effects of corporate greed, lax anti-trust laws, de-regulation, racial discrimination, worker retaliation, and exploitation of immigrants – all happening right now, in our backyard (Chatham County), undercover, while Covid-19 rages. An important read but not before bed. It’s the stuff of nightmares.

How is it possible that we have created a system of producing food – to nourish us – that results in such suffering? We know this isn’t new. It’s as old as our country. But it never ceases to enrage. And, ultimately, to inspire. We can and must do better. Producing meat that takes care of our bodies, the Earth, and all beings – human and animal – is entirely possible. That’s why we started Firsthand Foods. To prove it could be done. We’re not claiming to be perfect. But we are disrupting the conventional model and showing there is a better way.

What can you do? Read the article and stay in touch with what’s happening. Vote for politicians committed to addressing our broken food system. And figure out how to support, in whatever way you can (big or small), independent livestock producers and businesses like Firsthand Foods who are getting local farmers product to market with accountability and transparency.