You know that old saying, “the proof is in the pudding?” Actually, the full saying is “the proof of the pudding is in the eating.” Arcane, maybe, but it makes the same simple point that we have been making here in the Fair Food Program for a decade: When it comes to human rights, the proof is in the protections, and, most importantly, in the enforcement of those protections.
In other words, a human rights program is only real if it’s actually delivering results, measurable changes that improve people’s lives. If not, it’s just another flashy website, another gauzy video, another sleek report for a boardroom — public relations by other means, not real human rights standards rigorously enforced to stop abuse.
The results of the Fair Food Program have been indisputably and meticulously documented for more than a decade now. And best of all, over the course of the past ten years, the impact of the FFP hasn’t stopped at the farm gate. Through the development of the broader Worker-driven Social Responsibility (WSR) model, our recipe for real change has expanded to industries from apparel to construction, reaching workers across the country, from Vermont to Minnesota, and even around the globe.
Your support ensures we can provide hands-on support for Worker-driven Social Responsibility efforts worldwide. Can you back us for just $10 a month?
What happened in Immokalee didn’t stay in Immokalee. When we invite worker and human rights organizations to visit our small, farming community to learn from farmworker leadership about the challenges and triumphs of our movement, they leave with new energy and inspiration. Here’s how one dairy worker and organizer from Vermont’s Migrant Justice put it while marching alongside farmworkers in Palm Beach this past April:
“We came to Immokalee and saw the impact there. We were inspired and we launched #MilkWithDignity. Now we can clearly see the difference between farms that have the Program and those that don’t… The biggest changes you can see are the living conditions of workers. It’s… having to decide between eating and resting, for example.
Now with the Milk With Dignity Program, it’s different. The power of the Program is real. It’s not just something in a book. You can ask the people in the community and you can see it.”
That’s the promise, and proof, of WSR. As a monthly sustainer, you will not only support our ongoing work on American farms but help us build the capacity to make this kind of transformation possible with other worker-led movements across the U.S. and beyond.