Topic: Big Agriculture

The hosts discuss the likelihood of upcoming food shortages being blamed on the pandemic. They debate the level of "evil" in corporate structures, with one host arguing that Big Pharma is significantly more cynical than Big Agriculture. They touch on Cargill's history of child labor and the devastating impact of seed monopolies on Indian farmers, concluding that the industry is moving toward a "carbon food print" model.

The "War on Chicken" continues with a massive fire at a Weld County, Colorado poultry farm that killed 500,000 chickens. NPR reports on the rise of "Big Chicken" in Texas, using military terminology like "fallout" and "blowback" to describe the environmental and social impact of industrial chicken farming.

New regulations at Austin sustainable living markets have made it illegal for vendors to provide free samples of products like honey. Vendors claim they face arrest if they allow customers to taste products before purchase, though selling the same product remains legal. The hosts suggest these "health and safety" rules are pushed by large agricultural lobbyists to disadvantage small, independent producers.