Food movement voices weigh in on Fair Food on eve of harvest holiday…

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(The CIW’s “Tale of Two Thanksgivings” is quickly becoming a holiday classic in its own right)

With Thanksgiving now just two days out, our minds begin the inevitable turn away from the workday life and toward the 4 F’s of our great American harvest celebration — family, friends, football, and food.  

Of course, we here at the CIW think about food pretty much year round, specifically about how to change the lives of those who work so hard — in often brutal conditions, and for far too little pay — to put food on our tables every day.  And in our efforts to bring about that change, we have come across some remarkable allies who also think about food every day, but from generally a different perspective.  Historically, the food movement — made up of people that run the gamut from conscious consumers to chefs and food industry leaders — hasn’t spent too much time thinking about the labor abuses that plague our food system. But in the past few years, that has begun to change.  And when they do speak on food justice, their words add a sweet new voice to the growing chorus for Fair Food.

Two recent articles by food movement leaders on the Campaign for Fair Food — lost in the tide of Wendy’s Founder’s Week of Action coverage — deserve special attention this Thanksgiving week.  First up is a truly moving personal reflection in the pages of the Huffington Post by Maisie Greenawalt, Vice President of Strategy for Bon Appetit Management Company, a CIW partner in the Fair Food Program.  Entitled “Walking the Walk on Farmworker Rights,” the piece begins:

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It’s Thanksgiving time once again, and our tables will be filled with delectable dishes, many of them made with ingredients grown on American farms.

As someone whose job it is to know as much as possible about where and by whom food is farmed or raised, I cannot celebrate this season without thinking about the farmworkers who made it possible. In that spirit, I’d like to share my professional and personal experiences in the battle for farmworker rights…

After discussing how Bon Appetit came to partner with the CIW in the Fair Food Program — and, in the process, become the first foodservice company to make that decision — she goes on to reflect on an experience that only a very few food industry leaders have ever had: marching side by side with farmworkers for fairer farm labor wages and working conditions:

But, as proud as I was and am of our contributions to the cause, I’ve long wanted to pledge my support in a more personal way. So when my colleague Cheryl [Cheryl Queen, Vice President Corporate Communication at Compass Group, pictured below on right with Maisie] said she was joining the CIW’s March for Rights, Respect and Fair Food, I immediately said “I’ll go with you!” with great enthusiasm… and not much thought…

2013-11-20-maisiecheryl_opt… When Cheryl and I hooked up with the group, they were in the middle of a ceremony marking International Women’s Day, sitting in a circle under trees draped with Spanish moss and listening to a haunting guitar melody. One by one, people walked to the center, deposited earth into a ceramic pot, and spoke the name of a woman who had inspired them. After each name, the group responded “Presente,” acknowledging that the spirit of that mother, grandmother, daughter, or friend was present. Tears streamed down people’s faces, and I felt myself choke up when it was my turn to let go of the cool soil.

I was ready to march…

…  As my feet started to literally pound the pavement, I was glad that I had chosen a small flag to carry rather than a large banner. The strong breeze provided a welcome cool, but it also made the large signs bob and wave. I marveled at the strength of four women carrying a life-sized statue of farmworker holding a bucket and announcing a “Nuevo Dia, New Day” for “Derechos, Rights.” Mile after mile, they hoisted the emblem of justice. As Gerardo Reyes-Chavez, one of CIW’s leaders, explained to me, “At first you feel the weight but soon, you forget the burden.” I thought to myself, “That’s why you can do this work. You forget the burden of the journey and focus on the goal.”

Gerardo also remarked that mine and Cheryl’s joining the march was “historic.” Never before had anyone from a purchasing company walked alongside the workers demanding change. I have to say, it didn’t feel like our contribution was the historic part of the day. What felt most meaningful to me was the expression of our collective constitutional rights. Never before had I so dramatically seized my right to assemble and exercised my right to free speech in service of others’ pursuit of life, liberty and happiness.

She ends the piece with a holiday season call to action:

So, as we sit down this Thanksgiving and again at the holidays and enjoy the fruits of American farmworkers’ labor, I ask that you consider getting involved in this cause. By visiting the CIW’s website via the link below, you can find out ways to take action directly and join me in truly walking the walk on farmworker rights — which after all, are really just human rights.

It is truly a great read, and worth every minute to read the whole thing.

 The second piece comes from Asheville, NC, chef Kevin Archer, who brought his own perspective to the growing discussion on Fair Food in another beautifully worded story entitled, “A Chef Speaks Out on Farm Labor,” in the pages of the food blog Civil Eats.  He begins:

Recently, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) received the prestigious Four Freedoms Medal from the Roosevelt Institute. The CIW, a worker-based human rights organization recognized worldwide for its ground-breaking work to end modern-day slavery and other agriculture-based labor abuses, joins a truly remarkable list of laureates, including Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, and Presidents Truman, Kennedy, Carter, and Clinton. 

Rising from the tomato fields near the Florida Everglades—identified by one U.S. Justice Department official as “ground zero for modern slavery”—CIW has relentlessly waged David-and-Goliath battles against monolithic food corporations. And they are winning these battles.

As a professional chef, their fight is of central importance to me. Aesthetic factors of taste and quality are the most obvious reasons: Most people will agree that workers who are fairly paid will deliver a better product. But more important to me are ethical principles behind the food I prepare: Why should anyone feast at the sacrifice of another person’s dignity?

And not just dignity, but wellness, sustenance, and personal security are being sacrificed in the fields. We reap a multitude of benefits from their labor, yet their labor brings them poverty-level wages, physical and sexual harassment, dilapidated shelter, exposure to hazardous chemicals, and exemption from many federal labor regulations, including overtime pay…

He goes on to discuss the Fair Food Program, concluding, “All together, it speaks of respect, dignity, and equality, allowing field workers more access to the basic rights we all enjoy.”  But he doesn’t stop there.  He takes a hard look at one particular food industry giant that is resisting the long-overdue changes being forged in the fields by the Fair Food Program today and makes special note of their recent expansion to North Carolina:

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However, as national retail chains come to Asheville, North Carolina, we are reminded that there are more battles to fight. Publix Supermarkets, Inc. has announced plans to open a store in Asheville in 2015. For four years, they have refused to participate in the Fair Food Program…

… North Carolina is one of our country’s leading agricultural states. It is easy to see that the experience of tomato growers in Florida is the experience of tobacco workers in North Carolina. And just as civil rights have always been important in North Carolina, farmworker rights should be important—for they are civil rights.

For me professionally, ethics along the food supply chain have become increasingly important. As I become more aware of injustice in the system, I also learn about companies and organizations who are trying to set things aright. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers and those that have joined its Campaign for Fair Food are making major strides towards fairness for all.

Congratulations to CIW for this latest honor bestowed upon them by the Roosevelt Institute. They have been commended and awarded by the White House, the State Department, numerous international human rights organizations, and agricultural organizations, and we should award them by purchasing food where their program has been embraced.

We can award them further by sending a strong message to Publix Supermarkets that Asheville citizens will not patron their store until they join the other national retailers in the Fair Food Program. You will not miss the penny you spend elsewhere, but it will constitute a fortunate bonus for the workers in the field.

Every Thanksgiving, we all have much to be thankful for.  Our tables overflow with food in celebration of the harvest, and our hearts overflow with the yearly reminder of the circle of love that surrounds and protects us.  And this year, we have one more thing to be thankful for — wonderful allies who bring such eloquent, powerful voices to this growing movement for Fair Food.