Barons

"In this eye-opening debut study, Frerick, an agricultural policy fellow at Yale University, reveals the ill-gained stranglehold that a handful of companies have on America’s food economy…It’s a disquieting critique of private monopolization of public necessities."

Publishers Weekly, starred

"[Frerick] dissects not only the food barons’ business practices, but also the disastrous impacts of these practices… The author, who frequently sounds as though he is fighting to control his personal rage at the people he’s writing about, backs up his statements with facts and figures. This is an angry and accusatory book, but also a fair and well-documented one."

Booklist

"Rookie Austin Frerick has smacked a homerun in his first swing at authoring a book."

Milkweed

"For readers with a serious interest in public policy and food production."

Library Journal

"Time will tell whether Austin Frerick’s Barons joins that elite list [of classic books on the food system]. It certainly could given how well he’s structured the story, how seamlessly he grapples with complex policy, and how effortlessly he guides readers through the consequences to so much of American real estate, so many communities, and so many people."

Mode Shift

"Barons is an explosive and absolutely riveting tour through a hidden world of big-money powerhouses that control our food system. Frerick is a fantastic storyteller, with the rare combination of on-the-ground empathy for rural communities and sparklingly brilliant analysis. This book is essential to understand our new food system, and the dangers it poses to everyone who eats."

Christopher Leonard, author of The Meat Racket and Kochland

"Austin is one of the most important and exciting voices in the next generation, and he lays out a road map to bring about a delicious revolution that addresses climate, health, and taste."

Alice Waters, founder and owner of Chez Panisse

"Frerick traces the items in our grocery carts to uncover a radical consolidation of economic power that has put our communities and democracy in jeopardy. Most importantly, he shows how none of this is inevitable, but rather the outcome of decisions that are in our power to change."

Stacy Mitchell, Co-Executive Director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and author of Big-Box Swindle

"Austin Frerick shows just how much consolidation has devastated family farmers. But what makes Barons so good is how clearly he explains how those changes were caused by policies that benefit Wall Street and corporate America at the expense of everyone else."

Rob Larew, President of the National Farmers Union