The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket Hardcover – September 8, 2020

Ever wonder why the food we buy is so much cheaper than its true cost of growing or making or butchering?This book explores that question, first how the industry works (with a fascinating history of Trader Joe’s) and then looks into on whose backs we eat for cheap. Who’s cutting corners and, more importantly, who’s getting exploited? The truckers? The Thai shrimp farmers? The independent food entrepreneurs? The low wage grocery store workers?This book is incredibly researched and amazingly written. The writing is clear, succinct, funny, insightful. And the content completely illuminating. Not all horrifying (although some certainly is), all fascinating.2024 update: I still think and talk about this book ALL THE TIME.

I write from the perspecitive of a forty year experience in the consumer / grocery industry from sweeping floors in supermarkets to CEO of brand manufacturers. This book is an honest, unbiased and well reported primer on the agri business industry. If you are looking for a "hit job" it's not here, just well constructed opinions and facts. Nothing new to me in this work yet I found the book to be a very interesting read.I enjoyed the personal character vignetes. They add character, substance and verification. They are overdrawn at times but are a fine substitution from the typical, dry, academic tropes on this subject.One important missing part, the real story, is financial structure and motivation. This global industry is highly and redundantly over levereged. This is not a domestic industry in any way. This is not a "food" business. This is and has been for decades a cash & financial yield mangement machine. Actually management of the Whole Foods seafood case is an apt metaphor; well merchandised and entertaining in the morning, by the end of the day it requires a thorough cleaning out.All said Lorr does a great job. The chapter on aqua culture in SE Asia is overdrawn relative to the subject of the book. He obviously worked hard and long to give this topic exposure. I'd like to see him leverage the knowledge he has gained and take on the $$$ side. Well done!

Terrific book that is well written and well researched. Should be required reading for anyone interested in pursuing a career in retail.

Benjamin Lorr has written an outstanding book. The food industry is dangerous, dark, and filled with an endless quest for profit that can be soul-crushing. Yet, true gems like Trader Joe shine through. The writer has provided a riveting look at an industry that has provided so much abundance - one that involves massive supply chains and inputs, but mostly remains invisible or taken for granted. This is an excellent book. I couldn't put it down.

If one can get past the extended and unnecessary history of Trader Joe's, the tense shifts, the fragments (which start with which; which are irritating), the numerous absolute structures, and the crying need for an editor, this is not a bad book; but finished it is not. Even though Lorr gives a passing nod to Fast Food Nation, this work is not comparable at all. Long and self-indulgent at times. Interesting, yes; finished, not.

Lorr is an entertaining writer and a fine muckraking journalist who must have spent a ton of time investigating many important but hidden aspects of our grocery supply chain. You may never want to eat again after you read some parts of this book and it truly is an eye opener. From my own business experience, I found some parts to be more accurate than others but you can judge for yourself.

This book manages to cover a lot of ground and, although sometimes teetering on the edge of getting lost in side stories, always finds its way back. This was a really entertaining read. Personally, I often chafe against the apparent tendency of (investigative) journalism to only look for the bad things and Lorr‘s book also feels like it’s going in that direction at times. I have to admit, though, that the author does a better job at shining a light on different perspectives than most writers in this area do.Anyway, liked it, was entertained, learned some things, didn’t agree with the author on everything, would have wished to see some more information and perspectives at times, but overall not too many complaints.

Very much deserving of five stars!! I really enjoyed Benjamin Lorr's first book, Hell-Bent, so I was excited to pick this up. He brings the same warm, funny, insightful voice to the world of groceries. But for me, this book hit home even more, because, like most people, I buy most of the food I eat at a grocery story... And like most people, I never stopped to think how the "miracle" of endless shelves stacked with food comes to be. I found this to be an incredibly eye-opening read. Lorr finds amazing human stories from literally all over the world to tell the grocery store story. This is a great piece of research AND a great piece of writing.

Si te interesa o algún vez te has preguntando sobre el mundo del retail actual este libro es muy interesante. Sobre todo lo que vivió el autor para escribirlo. Habla de todo el proceso de crear un alimento hasta el consumidor final.

From the history of 7-11 to Amazon buying Whole Foods, this book is an in-depth look at how grocery works and the issues surrounding what we eat. The author speaks with a trucker going broke, a woman trying to break into the condiment business, many people managing companies and stores, people involved in Thai slave fishing and many others, and gives us some idea of the real truth without talking down to the reader or his sources. Well worth your time.

An exceptional little book.Written with dedication, rigour and deep caring for humanity.It is such a great pleasure to read something, written by someone with intense curiosity and intelligence, who then manages to weave the results of those traits into a cohesive narrative.Bravo.

Learned a lot from this book. Also very well written and formatted perfectly.

Not what I expected after hearing an interesting interview with the author. More about big brands that aren't of much relevance here in Canada than about the inside story of how the grocery business works.