James Beard Award-winning writer Barry Estabrook is the author of two critically-acclaimed investigative books: Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit and Pig Tales: An Omnivore’s Quest for Sustainable Meat.
Earlier today, Estabrook tweeted his dismay at a Food52 piece titled “A Day On A Pig Farm”, which describes hog farms in a rather idyllic fashion. The article is part of a partnership with the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance, a public relations effort by a group of over 80 agricultural organizations (i.e.: The American Egg Board and the National Pork Board).
Estabrook tweeted, in response: “SHAME. See ‘Pig Tales’ for what a factory hog farm is really like.” See this Modern Farmer interview with Estabrook to understand why he takes issue with this campaign.
The article is part of an increasingly common industry tactic of “advertorials”: essentially, advertisement/marketing in the form of editorial content.
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