What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? Spoiler alert: Nothing. This bible verse has endured over the centuries as a reminder that we can't put our price tag on what matters most. Yet, time and again, businesses have put profits above all -- leading our world to the brink of a climate catastrophe, an inequality crisis, and the greatest extinction of other creatures since the dinosaurs (except this time, the meteor is us). Can we align growing returns with the greater good? Former investment banker turned business ethicist Dr. Dawn Carpenter believes we can -- and that figuring out how just might save the world. In What Does It Profit, Dawn talks with the world's leading thinkers and researchers, entrepreneurs and executives, exploring the most innovative ways we can reconcile capitalism's demand for profit with the long term well-being of people and the planet. From socially responsible investing to conscious consumerism to business ethics in this age of extremes, Dawn is your guide to the cutting-edge ideas and experiments driving the purpose-driven business revolution. What Does It Profit?
http://www.whatdoesitprofitpodcast.com
episode 3: Dangerous Business: The Human Cost of the Meat We Eat
In this episode, we head to Crete, Nebraska, America's heartland, in our quest to gain insight into the human cost of the meat we eat. We tell the extraordinary story of the "Children of Smithfield," the adult children of meatpacking workers at Smithfield Foods who stood up to Big Meat, the governor, and others in positions of power and authority to proclaim that their parents were not "expendable." These brave children stood up to meat producers whose callus and irresponsible response to COVID-19 was unacceptable. We then introduce you to the exploitive use of child labor in these same plants.
This is a story that at first is sad, but then it is a source of frustration and anger. The meat industry in the US and around the world is extremely powerful and stands to continue to profit from the labor of some of the most vulnerable. Meatpacking is one of the most dangerous jobs in our economy, and the true cost of meat is not the price printed on the label.
What Does It Profit is powered by the Solidarity Economy Workshop at Georgetown University.