The Hands That Feed Us: Challenges and Opportunities for Workers Along the Food Chain
June 6, 2012
Read the report by Food Chain Workers Alliance.
Executive summary in Spanish.
Research support provided by the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United and the Data Center. Writing support provided by Saru Jayaraman, Director of the Food Labor Research Center, University of California, Berkeley
Righting Food
Righting Food examines the intersection between food and the law, with a particular focus on human rights and workers’ right. Laws structure and shape the global food system, facilitating or obstructing people’s access to nutritious food. They influence how we grow, distribute, and purchase our food. The effects of these laws — ranging from international rules to local regulations — are varied. Laws can promote justice; they can just as easily hinder it.
Food Justice Label: A promising model for domestic fair trade
By Anisha Hingorani
Consumers are becoming more concerned with where their food comes from, what’s in their food, and who’s behind it. From the recent public outrage over ‘pink slime’ to the success of the Coalition for Immokalee Workers’ “Fair Food” campaigns, consumers are demanding more transparency in the food system.
Common Ground on the Kill Floor: Organizing Smithfield
Go to labor notes to view all of David Bacon's wonderful photos of Smithfield workers.
by David Bacon | Fri, 04/20/2012 - 11:16am
Keith Ludlum and Terry Slaughter are two slaughterhouse workers who helped organize the union at the Smithfield Foods plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina.
Why Fair Trade is Not Enough
by Anisha Hingorani
Fair trade products have been touted as one of the ways consumers can redistribute power within the food system by sidestepping corporate vendors and buying directly from small farmers. Through selectively purchasing food products labeled ‘Fair Trade,' consumers are able to ‘vote with their forks' for an ecologically and socially sustainable food system by supporting farm cooperatives in food producing countries.
Cultivating Strong Leaders in Food Service
by Agnes Bridge Walton
There is clearly a need for more and better information about the problems faced by food system workers. Few are organized and many are unwilling to speak out about working conditions, afraid of losing their jobs or having their illegal work status uncovered. In order to speak out against exploitative conditions, these workers need more education about their rights and strong leaders to help them organize.
Trader Joe’s agrees to improve wages for tomato pickers
By Michelle Rostampour
Congratulations to Coalition of Immokalee Workers for obtaining a penny more per pound agreement with Trader Joe's
February 9, 2012
Trader Joe’s and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) announced today that they have signed an agreement that formalizes the ways in which Trader Joe’s will work with the CIW and Florida tomato growers to support the CIW’s Fair Food Program.
