Austin Frerick

10/05/2026

I'm excited to present Barons next Wednesday at the University of Northern Iowa! It’s gonna be a whirlwind, and honestly, I can’t wait. The talk is at 6pm and open to the public, but come early because there’s going to be a food truck.

Really excited to also be presenting to these classes too: Health Policy and Advocacy, Environmental Literature, Political Science Seminar, and Leadership and Management in Public Service

10/02/2026

Check out this new interview I did on the popular podcast Freakonomics, where I'm the lone voice saying the meatpackers aren't so great.

"FRERICK: You shouldn’t be allowed to keep a dominant market position through bribery, yet they have."

Here’s Why Your Hamburger Just Got So Pricey - Freakonomics

09/29/2026

I got to interview one of my heroes 🍟🍔 - let me know what you think

A conversation with Eric Schlosser.

08/26/2026

Over 900k+ YouTube views in the first 24 hours!

Honored to work with More Perfect Union on another video. The filmmakers used the story from my book about Driscoll’s, aka my Berry Baron, to explain the offshoring of America’s produce system. Check out the video when you can and let me know what you think.

America’s biggest berry empire doesn’t actually grow berries.Dris...

07/20/2026

Honored to have helped with this massive investigation by one of the largest newspapers in France. This is the first time I’ve ever seen an analysis that looks at concentration figures for individual farmers.

Results: More than two-thirds of French cattle farms are now located in what is considered a “highly concentrated market."

"According to Frerick, our findings show that the mergers were 'devastating for French farmers'. He said they provided 'a textbook example of what happens when competition authorities fail to do their jobs'... [Frerick] said the French Competition Authority should re-evaluate the mergers it approved and implement policy changes to ensure such purchases are not allowed in the future."

Here's a link to the English version co-published with Lighthouse Reports.

How state authorities put France’s farmers at the mercy of an industrial giant

07/06/2026

Exciting news - The docuseries I’ve been helping with for the last few years, The Price of Milk, is now streaming. It’s about the untold story behind the ‘90s ‘Got Milk?’ campaign and leads a four-part investigative romp from the barnyard to the White House, diving into America’s love/hate relationship with milk — and the industrial dairy’s grip on pop culture, politics, and the food on our plate. The third episode pays particular attention to my Dairy Baron. Check it out and let me know what you think!

The untold story behind the ‘90s ‘Got Milk’ campaign leads a 4-part investigative romp from the dairy farm to the White House, diving into Americans’ love/hate relationship with milk and the dairy industry’s impact on pop culture.

04/05/2026

"Happy Holidays" -- I just filmed a segment for ABC News at my in-laws' house and signed off by saying "Happy Holidays" lol (I wasn't sure what to say with it being Easter and Passover).

04/01/2026

Surreal -- when I wrote Barons, I never thought I'd present it in London. What an honor to do so last week at the "Ultra-Processed Food Policy Forum" at Imperial College.

03/04/2026

Check out the alert Big Ag just put out about me (I'm testifying to the Minnesota House Agriculture Committee, presenting aspects of my book Barons).

02/09/2026

Here's Part 2 -- some nuggets from it:

"The Land Report just came out with a Top 100 ranking of who owns the most land in America. The Walmart family now owns more land in America than all the farmland owned by black farmers combined."

"To me the single best thing you can do to make food more affordable in America right now is do away with the ethanol mandate. It’s been more than 20 some years. Ethanol should [survive] on its own. It should not have a government mandate."

Austin Frerick shares big ideas for how to transform food in the United States. For Frerick, radical change starts with radical imagination