Doomer Optimism

• DO 294 - The Million-Dollar Meat Grinder

  One Farmer's Battle Against USDA BureaucracyNate sits down with Jason Mauck, a 44-year-old Indiana farmer who dove headfirst into local meat processing during COVID and lived to tell the tale. Jason shares the raw, unfiltered story of purchasing Muncie Meats, a historic meat-processing facility, with the dream of connecting local farmers directly to consumers.What started as a $250,000 investment quickly spiraled into a $1.25 million odyssey through regulatory red tape. Despite explosive sales growth, from $12,000 to $250,000 per week, Jason spent two and a half years unable to grind hamburger while watching thousands of pounds of premium trim go to waste. His butchers could safely process meat blocks away at state-inspected facilities, but USDA certification remained frustratingly out of reach.Jason pulls back the curtain on the real challenges facing anyone trying to build local food infrastructure: the impossibility of competing with vertically integrated corporations, the Catch-22 of needing capital before you can prove your concept, the monopolistic equipment suppliers, and a regulatory system that seems designed for industrial-scale operations only.This conversation explores why we desperately need more local processing capacity, yet why jumping into the arena might leave you roadkill. Jason offers hard-won advice for aspiring meat processors, discusses whether the PRIME Act would actually help mid-scale operators, and explains why the answer might be starting small and staying “under the radar.”A must-listen for anyone interested in food sovereignty, agricultural entrepreneurship, and understanding why rebuilding local food systems is so much harder than it should be.Jason Mauck farms in Gaston, Indiana, with his family. Jason is passionately curious when it comes to everything Ag. His company, Constant Canopy, is looking at agriculture through a different lens with the next generation in mind. He believes that the sharing economy will transform every industry, including agriculture, in the next few years. He wants to create more regenerative solutions to produce and share food, energy, and nutrientshttps://www.notill.org/jason-mauck

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• DO 293 - Antitrust Law, Beef Politics, and Actually Using Government Power

  Antitrust attorney Basel Musharbash discusses recent political whiplash in beef markets and the broader question of how actually to enforce anti-monopoly law. The conversation covers why ranchers erupted over being blamed for high beef prices, the history of promises versus lackluster execution going back to early 1900s meatpacking cases, and how the Packers and Stockyards Act was supposed to regulate these companies but never really worked except briefly in the 1940s, Reagan's 1982 announcement ending merger enforcement and the five year transformation that followed, the difference between free markets and accessible competitive markets, why monopolies arise even without government help through predatory pricing and exclusive contracts, the paradox of needing to use power to break up concentrated power, Robert Jackson's 1937 speech on economic democracy without bureaucracy or regimentation, concrete immediate actions like debarment from government contracts versus multi-year DOJ investigations, why Congress could pass a breakup bill instead of waiting on agencies, the political opportunity for either party to outflank the other on this issue, Dan Osborne's economic dictatorship framing, and why economists should maybe just be ignored entirely when they dismiss rancher testimony with modeling exercises.Basel is Managing Attorney at the Antimonopoly Counsel, specializing in antitrust and trade regulation with a focus on agriculture, rural economies, and consumer protection. He has represented farmers against meat processors, defended workers from illegal noncompete agreements, and advocated before the FTC, DOJ, and USDA. Basel authored the landmark 2024 report “Kings Over the Necessaries of Life” on monopolization in American agriculture. His work has been featured in Reuters, AP, Time Magazine, CNBC, and other major outlets.

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• DO 292 - Breaking the Beef Cartel: Mike Callicrate on Monopoly Power, Maker-Owned Markets, and the Fight for Rural America

  Welcome to Beef Week! 🐄Nate sits down with rancher, entrepreneur, and farm advocate Mike Callicrate for a deep dive into the crisis facing America's cattle industry—and the path forward.Mike traces the devastating consolidation of the beef industry from the 1980s to today, explaining how we went from 20 competitive cattle buyers to just four dominant packers controlling 85% of the market. He shares his firsthand experience of being blackballed by the industry after speaking out, forced to watch his 12,000-head feedlot sit empty despite having 14,000 cattle ready to sell.But this isn't just a story of corporate capture—it's a blueprint for resistance. Mike details how he built Ranch Foods Direct, creating a model that bypasses the exploitative middlemen by connecting producers directly to consumers. He reveals the shocking inefficiencies of industrial meat processing (700 gallons of water per animal vs. 30-50 gallons in small plants) and explains why the "efficiency" narrative is a myth designed to justify consolidation.The conversation covers critical topics, including:How boxed beef became a weapon to eliminate small regional packersWhy USDA inspection protects big players while crushing small operationsThe real reason beef is safer when carcasses hang for 6-7 days (and why big packers won't do it)Mike's vision for "maker-owned markets"—community food hubs where producers own the real estate and control their destinyWhy breaking up retail giants like Walmart is as important as addressing packer monopoliesMike offers a third way between predatory capitalism and socialism: distributed ownership. His maker-owned market concept shows how communities can rebuild local food systems that create wealth, foster connection, and produce genuinely better food.Whether you're a producer fighting for survival, a consumer wanting better food, or someone concerned about rural America's collapse, this conversation provides both the context to understand how we got here and the vision to imagine something better.

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• DO 291 - Building an Edible Perennial Nursery with Nick Wrenn of Living Soil Tree Farm

  Building an Edible Perennial Nursery with Nick Wren Nick Wren of Living Soil Tree Farms joins Jason to talk about the practical realities of starting and running an edible perennial nursery. Nick shares his journey from civil engineering to tree farming, explaining why he became passionate about native nut trees, fruit trees, and woody perennials.They cover the nuts and bolts of nursery operations, including seasonal rhythms throughout the year, the use of air-pruning beds for propagating seedlings, and the advantages of growing trees from seed versus grafted cultivars. Nick discusses the challenges of meeting market demand, balancing online shipping with local sales, and the economics of different scale operations.Key topics include strategies for protecting seeds from rodents, managing deer pressure, the role of composting and soil biology in tree health, and why greenhouse infrastructure is less critical for native tree production than many people assume. Nick makes a strong case for black walnuts, hazelnuts, and other underutilized native trees that could play a larger role in regional food systems.The episode also explores the broader philosophy behind small-scale tree nurseries, including the importance of preserving genetic diversity through seed saving, the potential for silvopasture systems, and how this work connects to building more resilient local food economies. Nick shares practical advice for anyone interested in starting their own nursery operation, from building air pruning boxes to grading and pricing trees. For those interested in edible landscaping, permaculture, or small-scale agriculture, this conversation offers both inspiration and actionable knowledge about working with native and edible perennial plants.Connect with Nick:Website: livingsoiltreefarm.comYouTube: Living Soil Tree Farm

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• DO 290 - Distributism, Local Commons, and Agrarian Futures with Chris Smaje

  Jason and Ashley welcome back Chris Smaje to discuss his new book, “Finding Lights in a Dark Age,” now available for purchase. Chris is a returning guest who first appeared on the podcast to discuss his influential book “Small Farm Future,” which helped shape many of the show’s conversations about agricultural futures and sustainability. He returned previously to discuss “Say No to a Farm-Free Future,” his critique of George Monbiot and proponents of lab-grown food alternatives. In this episode, Chris discusses his third book, which assumes a transition to a lower energy future and explores practical approaches to living well despite new challenges.The conversation covers his solar system model of political organization, distributism and Catholic social teaching, the complexities of managing commons and collective resources, lessons learned from running his own farm, and the potential for relocalization of food systems and community structures.Chris draws on his experiences managing a small farm with a community of people, including challenges with woodland commons, cooperative work arrangements, and the practical realities of collective decision-making. The discussion explores demographic challenges, migration patterns, the role of family and household economies, and the distinction between romanticized visions of agrarian life and the nuanced, practical arrangements required to make local systems function effectively.The book argues for a more distributed, locally-oriented approach to politics and economics, moving away from centralized state power toward bottom-up community organization. Chris explores how people might navigate the breakdown of high-energy modernity by developing local autonomy, access to land, and new forms of community organization that balance individual agency with collective needs. The conversation ends with reflections on what flourishing might look like in a post-abundance future and why the so-called Dark Ages may not have been dark for everyone.

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