Very interesting book in regard to the power that Smithfield Foods holds in Eastern North Carolina. This is an important story the needed to be told. It describes the ruthless behavior of the company and its upper level managers. It appears that they view their employees as serfs rather than partners. There is little else but the pork industry going on in that region so Smithfield continues to hold great power.

Well-researched story of the fight for union representation in Smithfield’s North Carolina hog slaughterhouse.

All the players in the union vs. Smithfield fight are examined in Hog Wild. The book also describes how modern vertical integration moved from chicken to hog slaughtering. It includes cringeworthy details of what the hogs endure during the birth to bacon process. Hog Wild has much to say about the use of right-to-work rural states and non-white and/or illegal workforce to lower costs. Smithfield is shown using violence, threats, intimidation and ultimately lawsuits to avoid unionization.

Union membership dropped by more than two thirds since the 1950s. Hog Wild postulates that the drop is correlated with stagnant wages and a similar drop in the size of America’s middle class. The book is clearly on the union’s side and anti-Republican. However, that is not my biggest issue with the book. The author is constantly caught up in seemingly extraneous details. Worse, there are large swaths of Hog Wild that were just boring. It reads like a Master’s thesis trying to reach a particular length. Indeed in the preface, the author states that was the genesis of the book.

Clearly, Hog Wild includes a tale that needs to be told. But it is a hard slog through so many facts. Consequently, the book receives only 2 stars from me.

Thanks to the publisher, University of Iowa, and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Fascinating expose" on the pork industry. The employees are penalized, threatened and fired for made up reasons just so management can keep a union out! Also, the treatment of the animals is appalling as well! This was a very informative, fascinating read.

More than once during “Hog Wild,” I questioned that the events I was reading about could happen a mere 20-25 years ago. The mixture of race and labor violations at one facility appeared mind-boggling. The disregard for the environment and welfare of a state’s inhabitants (North Carolina), at first glance, also was difficult to believe. Fortunately, the book is backed up with a ton of facts and references.

Author Lynn Waltz waded through thousands of pages of documents to present the story of Smithfield Foods and the efforts to unionize and protect their workers (one NLRB document, detailing hundreds of charges against Smithfield Packing in the late 1990s, was almost 8,000 pages long). Other court documents were also used to provide background for the book, and numerous people were interviewed. Many newspaper articles are also listed, as well as numerous books about food and the meatpacking industry. In short, Ms. Waltz has more than done her homework.

In 1993, Smithfield Foods opened a massive meatpacking operation in North Carolina. The book documents the violations of workers’ rights and the efforts of management to cover up the illegal aspects of how they were doing business. The efforts to unionize the plant (as well as Smithfield’s subsequent reactions) are humanized, as we are allowed access into the lives of those who were affected. The book moves with the pace of a well-written novel, and the people involved are defined with all their humanistic qualities.

If I had anything negative to say, it would involve the author’s attempt to unnecessarily inject opinions on racism. For instance, stating that one of the most difficult jobs was handled by “…the largest, strongest me, almost always black…” might indicate racism except for the lead sentence of the chapter which tells us that the majority of the workers were black. There are plenty of potential racist episodes between Smithfield management and employees without these asides. Thankfully, they are not littered throughout the book, but one can only wish that the Reverend Jesse Jackson’s words would have been consistently heeded: “This is not an issue about black and white. It is about right and wrong.”

Despite these small hiccups, Ms. Waltz has put together an incredible story, one that everyone should be interested in reading. The mass of research required to put together a book of this importance cannot be denied. Giving voice to those folks who stood up for what they thought was right is a bravery of its own. Five stars.