Open letter to Chipotle CEO: CIW’s Fair Food Program “a golden opportunity to… address historic inconsistency in your approach to social accountability.”
Two days ago, we brought you the news that in the lead up to Chipotle’s “Cultivate” festival in Denver — and to the Campaign for Fair Food’s counter festival to protest Chipotle’s exclusion of farmworkers from its vision of a sustainable food system — an open letter is circulating among leaders of the country’s food justice movement that levels a devastating critique at the fast-food industry leader for its indefensible blind spot when it comes to human rights.
Well, that letter is gathering new signatures faster than you can say “Food with Integrity,” and as of this morning it is at 75 signers and climbing! Rather than citing just a handful of the signatories, we have decided to simply list them all here, below, along with a brief excerpt from the letter. Meanwhile, you can read the letter in full here. And if you are interested in adding your name to the letter, you can contact us at workers@ciw-online.org. See you in Denver!
Open Community Letter to Chipotle on Behalf of the Sustainable Food Movement As chefs, small and family farmers, food writers, urban gardeners, sustainable food advocates, and food sovereignty groups, we write united in the expression of our deep concern with Chipotle Mexican Grill’s current stance towards Florida farmworkers and their innovative Fair Food Program (FFP). We urge your company to enter, without further delay, into an authentic, verifiable partnership with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) by making a binding commitment to the Fair Food Program – the first large-scale program for verifiable, durable social accountability in the domestic produce industry… … As members of the sustainable food community, we remind you that respecting human rights is a core principle in building a sustainable food system in our country. A commitment to serving “Food with Integrity” cannot be just another marketing slogan that cashes in on a trend. It must be a holistic vision that respects the rights of farmworkers in our country… read more *******
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