Topic: Meat Packers

The US Department of Labor fined a Wisconsin-based sanitation company $1.5 million for employing over 100 children in hazardous meat processing plants across eight states. Some workers were as young as 13 years old. The hosts discuss the history of youth employment and the perceived hypocrisy of reporting on domestic labor violations while ignoring international supply chain issues.

The discussion explores the possibility that meatpackers are artificially restricting supply to jack up prices on pork. This is linked to the trade agreement requiring tens of billions of dollars in exports to China, which primarily consumes pork and duck.