Fresh Take: Inside Boar’s Head’s ‘Bullying’ Tactics

Might I suggest you take a break and dig into my latest feature on Boar’s Head? Since publishing my first two stories, the floodgates have opened: I’ve spoken with many former employees and industry insiders, and all of them have something to say about America’s largest deli meat brand.

This story is about how Boar’s Head’s retail strategy really works, according to several former employees. As one former worker described, the way the company’s network of hundreds of independent authorized distributors act with their retailers is “an aggressive bullying tactic” that typically trickled down. Says the former Boar’s Head employee: “The company would intimidate the distributor. The distributors would intimidate people. They liked that as a reputation.”

Boar’s Head denies the allegations, along with others detailed in the feature. I hope you’ll give it a read!

I also hope you’ll support the release of the paperback edition of my book Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed and the Fight for the Future of Meat. There’s a new afterword included and it covers some really important topics: JBS and its imperiled IPO, Tyson and its antibiotic-free rollback, the implosion of the better-breed chicken brand Cooks Venture, the bankruptcy of mushroom grower Smallhold, plant-based meat’s reckoning, lab-grown meat’s false start and much more. The book makes a great holiday or hostess gift for anyone who’s food- or sustainability-minded.

— Chloe Sorvino, Staff Writer

Order my book, Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed and the Fight for the Future of Meat, out now from Simon & Schuster’s Atria Books.

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The Feed

Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Boar?

Boar’s Head became one of America’s most powerful food companies thanks to a strategy of “bullying” and “intimidation,” according to former employees and industry insiders.

How To Make America Healthy Again

A coalition of wellness influencers has endorsed Donald Trump, hoping he can dismantle the corporate stranglehold of the food supply. But not everyone is convinced.

Imagine If We Elected Policymakers Who Are Citizen Eaters Like Us

Why we need a presidential administration and a Congress that support regenerative, resilient food and agriculture systems.

Why Food Security Was Not Discussed During The U.S. Election

Leading up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, there’s one major issue that was completely overlooked in the debates, rallies and campaign ads: hunger.

Fuel To Fork: Fossil Fuels And The Food Supply

Fossil fuels are the lifeblood of the food industry. Fuel to Fork is a brand new podcast series that delves deep into this hidden ingredient in our food systems.

Food Contamination, Regulation, Investigation And Lessons Learned

McDonald’s faced an E. coli outbreak last month. Recent food safety issues have led to investigations by FSIS and other agencies to ensure food safety.

Field Notes

I celebrated my paperback release this week at one of my all-time-favorite New York City establishments, Gage & Tollner. The historic oyster and chop house from 1879 is a magical place where, if I stare into the old mirrors long enough, I can almost see centuries-old city ghosts. These oysters rockefeller, shrimp cocktail and parker house rolls kicked off our glorious meal. Important nourishment during a stressful week.

Thanks for reading the 124th edition of Forbes Fresh Take! Let me know what you think. Subscribe to Forbes Fresh Take here.

Chloe Sorvino leads coverage of food and agriculture as a staff writer on the enterprise team at Forbes. Her book, Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed and the Fight for the Future of Meat, published on December 6, 2022, with Simon & Schuster’s Atria Books. Her nearly nine years of reporting at Forbes has brought her to In-N-Out Burger’s secret test kitchen, drought-ridden farms in California’s Central Valley, burnt-out national forests logged by a timber billionaire, a century-old slaughterhouse in Omaha and even a chocolate croissant factory designed like a medieval castle in northern France.