The vast majority of America’s meat supply comes from four major companies, leaving little room in the market for smaller farms to compete. JBS Foods, National Beef Packing Co., Tyson Foods, and Cargill combined hold 85% of the market, leading to the closing of thousands of family farms.
“Any time something is consolidated … you’re going to deal with more issues, like cleanliness, with health issues for animals, because now you’re cramming them into smaller spaces. You’re just worrying about quantity over quality,” says Brooke Ence, co-founder of From The Farm.
Growing up in a family of farmers and ranchers, Ence says, she became troubled as she watched family-owned farms and ranches forced to close their doors, and Americans become sicker eating food that is mass produced.
In response to what Ence calls the centralization of America’s food…
