Food. Justice. Work.
The Checkout centers the voices and efforts of essential workers on the frontlines of our food system. Now more than ever, our food system is in a constant state of flux, radical change and crisis. From political economy and supply chain analysis to public policy, labor organizing and community struggles, The Checkout will expand the horizon of what is necessary to create a just, equitable and progressive food system.
The Checkout is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network.
Episode 184: Nasser Abufarha and Canaan Fair Trade
The Checkout speaks with award-winning olive oil producer and fair trader Nasser Abufarha about war, regenerative organic agriculture and the deep foodways of Palestine.
Episode 183: Peter Gialantzis of Pod Foods
The Checkout catches up with grocery wholesale wiz Peter Gialantzis about the way that Pod Foods is disrupting this sector.
Episode 182: The Regenerative Organic Certification
The Checkout speaks with Elizabeth Whitlow, Executive Director of the Regenerative Organic Alliance.
Episode 181: “Shoptalk #2”: Understanding Wholesalers
The Checkout presents “Shoptalk”, a new series co-hosted by grocery expert Eve Cohen. This week we do a deep dive into the wholesale sector, and how the “middle” of the food supply chain really works.
Episode 180: “Shoptalk”, with Co-Host Eve Cohen
The Checkout presents “Shoptalk”, a new series co-hosted by grocery expert Eve Cohen. This week we take a broad look at the grocery industry and the inner workings of food retail.
Episode 179: George Milton On The UNFI SSA Controversy
The Checkout speaks with CEO and Co-founder of Yellowbird Hot Sauce about a controversial new supplier policy being rolled out by the grocery industry’s largest natural and organic product wholesaler.
Episode 178: Robinson-Patman Act 101 with Daniel Hanley
The Checkout does a deep dive on the Robinson-Patman Act with antitrust scholar Daniel Hanley of the Open Markets Institute.
Episode 177: Part Two: Mexico Takes on GMO Dogma
The Checkout presents part two of an interview with Timothy Wise on the Mexican resistance to U.S.-grown GMO corn. Mexico’s case rests on science and is a huge challenge to GMO dogma.
Episode 176: Part One: The U.S.-Mexico GMO Corn Standoff
The Checkout presents part one of a two part interview with trade policy scholar Timothy Wise on the Mexican resistance to U.S.-grown GMO corn.
Episode 175: HEAL Food Alliance Takes On The Farm Bill
The Checkout dives into the Farm Bill with Navina Khanna of HEAL Food Alliance and what food workers want to see in this massive legislation.
Episode 174: Phil Howard On Food Industry Consolidation
The Checkout presents this unpublished interview with Phil Howard on how corporate concentration threatens our food supply.
Episode 173: Who Wants To Kill The NLRB? With Professor John Logan
The Checkout presents a revealing conversation with labor historian John Logan about how “progressive” companies like Starbucks, Trader Joe’s and Amazon want to gut labor law and make it impossible to form unions.
Episode 172: Grocery Update: Reinventing Retail and Food Processing
The Checkout host Errol Schweizer returns with a deep dive grocery update on retail consolidation, scaling cooperatives and reinventing food processing.
Episode 171: Austin Frerick Takes On The Grocery Barons
The Checkout speaks with antitrust expert and author Austin Frerick on power, corruption and the need for radical change in the food industry.
Episode 170: Magaly Licolli On Stopping Child Labor
The Checkout returns to Arkansas to talk to Magaly Licolli of Venceremos about how workers and faith activists are taking on Big Chicken.
Episode 169: Why Your Groceries Are So Damn Expensive
Another inflation update from Errol Schweizer. You are not going crazy. Grocery prices are 30% higher than a few years ago. Some categories are up over 50%. And food companies have leveraged global crises to raise prices and rake in huge profits while selling less actually products. What an amazing hustle, if you are an executive or a shareholder! As for the rest of us, we now pay more for less food.
Episode 168: Matriark Foods Is Reinventing Food Processing
The Checkout speaks with Anna Hammond of Matriark Foods about food processing, food waste and why packaged food brands need to invest in sustainable, regionalized supply chains.
Episode 167: Common Ground
The Checkout speaks with Rebecca and Josh Tickell about their groundbreaking new film, Common Ground.
Episode 166: Why A Worker Cooperative “Works For All”
The Checkout speaks with Melissa Young and Mark Dworkin, activist filmmakers who have documented the growth of the Cooperative Movement in Cincinnati in their new film, “Works For All”.
