A message from the Student Farm Worker Alliance:
Trader Joe’s presents itself as a hip, progressive place to shop, full of vegetarian options and free from the plethora of hot orange processed snacks found elsewhere. But Trader Joe’s refuses to take one very critical progressive step and join the Coalition of Immokalee Workers‘ (CIW) Campaign for Fair Food. And because of their refusal, you might just be buying slave-picked produce from those friendly, Hawaiian shirt-wearing joes.
Modern-day slavery is a reality for many farm workers right here in the U.S. In Florida, over 1,000 people have been identified as trafficked in fields and on farms, picking the food we eat every day. Farm workers have also been trapped in slavery or seriously abusive conditions in California, Washington, North Carolina, Maryland, and several other states with large agricultural industries. Because the laws governing agriculture are different than those regulating other industries in the U.S., many of these workers don’t have the same legal protections the rest of us do.
This is where you come in. As a consumer, you have the power to ensure the workers who grow and harvest your food are getting fair pay for their work and are being treated with dignity. The CIW’s Campaign for Fair Food harnesses the purchasing power of the food industry for the betterment of farm worker wages and working conditions. Please, ask Trader Joe’s to join the campaign.