USDA blog: “The second part of the seder connected the Israelites’ experience with slavery to modern struggles of farm workers and others in the food industry.”
United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack hosted the USDA’s second “Food and Justice Passover Seder” this past Wednesday — at the Secretary’s Executive Dining Room, no less — with this year’s event, “centered on the themes of hunger, access to healthy food, sustainable food production, and fair treatment for farm workers.”
The Secretary (show here above, standing, immediately following his speech at Wednesday night’s dinner) invited the CIW and Student/Farmworker Alliance to attend, and, in keeping with this week’s call by the Rabbis for Human Rights — North America, added a tomato to the Seder plate!
The USDA blog has a great write up from the event. Here’s an excerpt:
 “Just ahead of the official start of Passover this Friday at sunset, the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted its second Food and Justice Passover Seder. The traditional Jewish seder commemorates the Passover holiday and the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. USDA’s symbolic seder, held in partnership with Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice, highlighted the intersection of food and justice issues in the modern world. This year’s event centered on the themes of hunger, access to healthy food, sustainable food production, and fair treatment for farm workers.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack provided opening thoughts about the evening mentioning the ‘Golden Rule’ which has its roots in the book of Leviticus. “Seder means ‘order.’ To take one meaning of the word – to command – I think we can look at the ‘Golden Rule’ as an order. If I were hungry, there is nothing that would be more important to me than to have others work to make sure I could eat. We try to put that into practice through our work here at USDA.” “This is another example of how the Obama Administration is engaging various partners on a wide range of issues. The issues of food and justice are a priority – from the First Lady’s Let’s Move! campaign for kids to the President’s strong support for providing families in need a bridge to opportunity through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” stated Jon Carson, Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.” read more (in photo, from left to right, Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director of RHR-NA , Santiago Reyes of the CIW, and Joe Parker of the Student/Farmworker Alliance outside the USDA’s Food and Justice Passover Seder) |
There is no better way to celebrate these holiest of days than to connect the message of liberation at the heart of the Passover story to the ongoing fight for human rights in the fields today. The CIW congratulates Sec. Vilsack and the Administration for their vision and courage in making this powerful statement of support for fundamental human rights in our food system.