Today's longread is actually in two parts. The first article was published in 2009 and documented the atrocious working conditions for people picking tomatoes in Florida. The second article is a post from the author's blog in 2011. As you can read, this is an example of how mobilization and effort by labor groups and greater visibility of their struggle enabled positive changes to be enacted. The CIW (Coalition of Immokalee Workers) continues to fight to secure the rights of these workers and recently (in February 2012) got Trader Joe's to sign its Fair Food Agreement, making it the first major grocery chain to do so.
Labor unions can and do affect change. Consumers can play a role in that process, too, by exerting pressure with their dollars. I am the first to acknowledge that it's hard to sacrifice convenience, pay more, or take on the other barriers to being a more responsible consumer, and these barriers often keep me from changing my own behavior. These articles are a reminder that improvements can happen, but wishing won't ever make it so.
"Politics of the Plate: The Price of Tomatoes" by Barry Estabrook
Published in Gourmet, March 2009
http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2009/03/politics-of-the-plate-the-price-of-tomatoes?printable=true
"Estabrook Goes to Tomato School and Learns about the New Rights Farmworkers Have Won under the CIW Fair Food Agreement" by Barry Estabrook
Published on the Politics of the Plate blog, April 21, 2011
http://politicsoftheplate.com/?p=849
To read the news update about Trader Joe's, visit here: http://politicsoftheplate.com/?p=1228
Eric
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