“Foodopoly" may be the most important book on the politics of food ever written in the United States.” -- Maude Barlow, co-author of “Blue Gold,” author of “Blue Covenant” 

This week's guest on REPORT FROM SANTA FE is Wenonah Hauter, author of "Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America.” Hauter is the Executive Director of Food and Water Watch, a DC-based watchdog organization focused on corporate and government accountability relating to food, water, and common resources. She has worked and written extensively on food, water, energy, and environmental issues at the national, state, and local levels. Hauter owns an organic family farm in Virginia that provides healthy vegetables to hundreds of families. Yet, as one of the nation's leading healthy-food advocates, Hauter believes that the local food movement is not enough to solve America's food crisis and the public health debacle it has created. In “Foodopoly,” she takes aim at what she sees as the real culprit: the control of food production by a handful of large corporations – backed by political clout - that prevents farmers from raising healthy crops and limits the choices that people can make in the grocery store. Blending history, reporting, and a deep understanding of American farming and food production, “Foodopoly” is the revealing account of the business behind the meat, vegetables, grains, and milk that most Americans eat every day. Hauter notes that farmers aren't to blame for the corruption of the food system, and instead takes a critical look at agribusiness and the corporations who benefit from a system that is making Americans sick and obese. She shows us why the concentration of corporate power over food matters – and what we can do about it. Quotes:

“A shocking and powerful reminder of the distance between our image of the family farmer and the corporate agribusiness reality.  Make sure you read it before dinner.” -- Bill McKibben, Founder, 350.org “If we don't confront and change the consolidation and corporate control of our food system, only a very small percentage of people will benefit from the good food movement. We can't shop our way out of this mess.” -- Wenonah Hauter