Longread #28 -- Dogfish Head and Craft Beer -- 3/13/12

Today's longread in the "startup stories" theme is about a topic near-and-dear to many of us -- craft brewing! This story focuses on the founding of Dogfish Head Brewing, which is one of the most popular and highly-regarded breweries in the U.S. Founder Sam Calagione built the brewery up from little more than a backroom operation to a national brand known for pushing the boundaries with "extreme beers" that have won a host of international awards. A great story probably best enjoyed with a great beer...cheers!

"A Better Brew" by Burkhard Bilger
Published in the New Yorker, November 24, 2008
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/11/24/081124fa_fact_bilger?printable=true&currentPage=all

Check back tomorrow for more startup stories!

Eric

Longread #27 -- 5-Hour Energy -- 3/12/12

The theme of this week's longreads is "Startup Stories" -- each longread will have something to do with startup businesses. The first installment gives the story of the founder of 5-Hour Energy, which has rapidly ascended to dominate its market with hundreds of millions of dollars in annual profits. I think 5-Hour Energy is such an interesting story because these types of products have gone from fringe usage to widespread acceptance in such a short time, and it's amazing that so much of that growth has been driven by one brand.

"The Mystery Monk Making Billions With 5-Hour Energy" by Clare O'Connor
Published in Forbes, February 8, 2012
http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2012/02/08/manoj-bhargava-the-mystery-monk-making-billions-with-5-hour-energy/print/

Check back all week for more startup stories!

Eric

Longread #26 -- Slavery on the High Seas -- 3/9/12

This article documents the brutal working conditions that exist in significant parts of the global fishing industry. Unfortunately, efforts to monitor the supply chain of global fish retailers often does not extend out to specific boats, creating opportunities for worker exploitation and abuse. We tend to focus on the environmental costs of fishing, but this article is a reminder that there can be tremendous human costs as well.

"Fishing as Slaves on the High Seas" by E. Benjamin Skinner
Published in Business Week, February 20, 2012
http://www.businessweek.com/printer/global/fishing-as-slaves-on-the-high-seas-02202012.html

Eric

Longread #25 -- Tomatoland -- 3/8/12

Today's longread is actually in two parts. The first article was published in 2009 and documented the atrocious working conditions for people picking tomatoes in Florida. The second article is a post from the author's blog in 2011. As you can read, this is an example of how mobilization and effort by labor groups and greater visibility of their struggle enabled positive changes to be enacted. The CIW (Coalition of Immokalee Workers) continues to fight to secure the rights of these workers and recently (in February 2012) got Trader Joe's to sign its Fair Food Agreement, making it the first major grocery chain to do so.

Labor unions can and do affect change. Consumers can play a role in that process, too, by exerting pressure with their dollars. I am the first to acknowledge that it's hard to sacrifice convenience, pay more, or take on the other barriers to being a more responsible consumer, and these barriers often keep me from changing my own behavior. These articles are a reminder that improvements can happen, but wishing won't ever make it so.

"Politics of the Plate: The Price of Tomatoes" by Barry Estabrook
Published in Gourmet, March 2009
http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2009/03/politics-of-the-plate-the-price-of-tomatoes?printable=true

"Estabrook Goes to Tomato School and Learns about the New Rights Farmworkers Have Won under the CIW Fair Food Agreement" by Barry Estabrook
Published on the Politics of the Plate blog, April 21, 2011
http://politicsoftheplate.com/?p=849

To read the news update about Trader Joe's, visit here: http://politicsoftheplate.com/?p=1228

Eric

Longread #24 -- Human Costs of the iPad in China -- 3/7/12

This article features more great reporting from the NYT about what goes into building Apple products (the iPad specifically) and bringing visibility to the production and supply chain conditions that we typically ignore. This article and its companion piece (posted previously on this blog) raises important questions about what consumers would be willing to pay for socially-responsible electronics. Based on current buying patterns (my own included), probably not much.


"In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad" by Charles Duhigg and David Barboza
Published in the New York Times, January 25, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/business/ieconomy-apples-ipad-and-the-human-costs-for-workers-in-china.html?_r=1&src=rechp

Eric

Longread #23 -- America's Warehouse Labor -- 3/6/12

This article sends a reporter undercover as a temporary worker in one of the massive order-fulfillment warehouses that are driving e-commerce in America. While it doesn't explicitly say what this is an Amazon warehouse (and the author does note that Amazon is clearly not the only company with facilities like this), it is certainly implied. As someone who is a devoted user of Amazon Prime, this article was shocking. It's not just workers abroad who bear the brunt of our relentless pursuit of lower prices (and fast, free shipping). I'm still not sure exactly how to process what I read here and figure out if/how it will change my behavior as a consumer. I hope it does push me to make changes, though, because there's clearly something wrong here.


“I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave” by Mac McClelland 
Published in Mother Jones, March/April 2012
http://motherjones.com/print/161491

Thanks for reading!

Eric

Longread #22 -- Making It In America -- 3/5/12

I came down with a nasty bug last week that kept me from posting, but we're getting back on track this week.


This week will focus on labor issues from various perspectives. First up is this quality article that is both a profile of people trying to get by in a transitioning US economy and a broader analysis of those economic transitions. It goes beyond simplistic explanations of job losses in manufacturing (such as the presumption of simple outsourcing) and helps understand the magnitude of the problems that are faced by so many in the American workforce.


“Making It In America” by Adam Davidson
Published in the The Atlantic, January/February 2012
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/01/making-it-in-america/8844/?single_page=true


Eric