John Seabrook on the True History of Seabrook Farms | #128

Have you ever wondered about the dark side of the American dream? In this episode, we delve into the complete Seabrook Farms history, a story of ambition, innovation, and betrayal that built—and ultimately destroyed—one of America's largest agricultural empires. Author John Seabrook, grandson of the company's visionary founder, joins us to discuss his book, The Spinach King, and unearth the secrets buried beneath a dynasty built on frozen vegetables. We explore the complex question of how a family can create a national brand from nothing, only to have it torn apart by the very man who built it.

From its humble beginnings as a small truck farm in southern New Jersey, Seabrook Farms grew into a powerhouse that froze one-third of the nation's vegetables. John Seabrook recounts the story of his great-grandfather, a skilled farmer, and his grandfather, C.F. Seabrook, a Fordist industrialist who brought mass production to agriculture. C.F. Seabrook partnered with the legendary Clarence Birdseye to pioneer the flash-freezing process for vegetables, introducing staples like the lima bean to the East Coast. But this success came at a cost. We uncover the shocking story of CF Seabrook erasing his father from history, fabricating a more "illustrious" ancestry to bolster the family brand while cheating his own father out of the company he helped build.

The episode examines the complex labor practices that defined the company. We discuss the controversial story of the Seabrook Farms Japanese-American workers, who were recruited from internment camps during World War II under Executive Order 9066, as well as Estonian workers from displaced persons camps after the war. While the company created a unique, multicultural community in Seabrook, New Jersey, this benevolent image is contrasted with a much darker chapter: the violent 1934 Seabrook Farms labor strike. John Seabrook reveals how this event, involving armed vigilantes and the KKK, was systematically erased from the official company narrative. The full Seabrook Farms history is a complex tale of both progress and oppression, culminating in a family war that led to the company's collapse in 1959. This interview, inspired by the book John Seabrook The Spinach King, exposes the human drama behind the iconic brand, from a cameo in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey to the family's strange friendship with a gangster bodyguard and the fairytale meeting of John's parents at Grace Kelly's royal wedding.

About Our Guest:
John Seabrook is the author of The Spinach King: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty and a long-time staff writer at The New Yorker. As the son and grandson of the men at the center of the Seabrook Farms empire, he provides a deeply personal and unflinchingly honest account of his family's incredible rise and devastating fall, piecing together a story of innovation, family conflict, and the hidden costs of success.

Timestamps:
(0:00) The Dark Secrets of an American Food Dynasty
(2:05) The Rise of a Frozen Vegetable Empire and the History of Seabrook Farms
(8:40) Erasing a Patriarch: How C.F. Seabrook Rewrote His Family's History
(13:51) A Controversial Workforce: Japanese-American Labor During WWII
(23:55) The 1934 Strike: Labor, Race, and the KKK in South Jersey
(29:54) From the Farm to Outer Space: Seabrook’s Cameo in 2001: A Space Odyssey
(33:07) An Unlikely Friendship: John Seabrook's Father and Red Saunders the Gangster
(37:23) A Royal Wedding: How Grace Kelly United John Seabrook's Parents
(46:24) The Art of Four-in-Hand Coaching: A Father's Peculiar Passion
(52:13) The Fall of a Dynasty: Who Owns Seabrook Farms Today?

Learn More From Our Guest / Episode Resources:
Read the book we discussed, The Spinach King
Learn more about John Seabrook