A review by whatcandicereads
The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket by Benjamin Lorr

5.0

Most of us never question the ways our favorite food items make it onto the shelves of our neighborhood grocery stores. From specialty grocers to the beloved Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Westside Market (if you’re a New Yorker), Lorr provides an in-depth evaluation of goods and services, processing, and the everything-in-between. In an ethnography of sorts, the author captures the many dimensions of food consumerism, highlighting the plight of women truck drivers, the domestic and international exploitation of workers, and the outright disturbing landscape of industrial agriculture and mass production. This is not the “supersize me” or “seaspiracy” that encourages one to stop eating fast food or think twice about their seafood intake, but instead, provides a unique viewpoint into an area otherwise hidden away from our day-to-day lives. He makes clear the cyclical nature of production to consumer. No matter or city, state, occupation or social class, we all contribute (and will continue to contribute) to the grocery store chain. Perhaps for better, perhaps for worse.