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Slow Food USA President Checks out Immokalee
Posted on Fri, March 06, 2009 by Jerusha Klemperer
2 Comments | Categories: Farms and Farming, Food Justice, News, Current Events,
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“We need to understand every time you eat something you are eating the story behind that food.” - Josh Viertel
On Wednesday, SFUSA President Josh Viertel went in search of that story. He joined a group of leaders from national food organizations on a tour of Immokalee, Florida, the epicenter of this country’s industrial tomato industry. As reported on several Florida TV stations and news outlets up and down the Eastern seaboard, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) led their visitors on an up-close tour of the dismal working and living conditions of the people who pick nearly 90 percent of the tomatoes eaten in the US.
Josh was quoted in the Naples Daily News saying: “This movement has been missing something fundamentally important. Today we are making that connection…Historically this movement has focused on the environment, health and preserving small farms. But we’ve completely missed the boat when it comes to work. Farmworkers need to be part of this movement.”
CIW and their Campaign for Fair Food has had many victories in the past year (which you can read about here on our blog, over at Gourmet in Barry Estabrook’s excellent piece, as well as Tom Philpott’s coverage over at Grist; their most recent efforts are aimed at the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, who are blocking the penny per pound increase, as well as at Florida Governor Crist, who has refused to pursue federal slavery prosecutions, or even acknowledge the conditions in Immokalee as “slavery.”
To sign CIW’s petition to Governor Crist, click here.
To read coverage in the Fort Meyers news-press, in which Slow Food Southwest Florida chapter leader Rose O’Dell King is quoted, click here.
To read author Raj Patel’s take on the visit, click here.
For an article called “Why the Slow Food Movement Needs to Help Stop America’s Slave Labor,” click here.
Member Comments
From Bear Braumoeller on Sat, March 07, 2009
Bravo.
From Kelly on Tue, April 21, 2009
SFBU also met with BU’s new Coordinator of Sustainability for Aramark, Kelly Dunn, who previously worked as a recycling program manager for Cambridge. She hopes to make everything transparent at BU by increasing the accessibility to and awareness of what dining services is doing to be more sustainable. Kelly is also interested in expanding BU’s green roof, bringing local vendors to the BU’s farmers market, expanding green-cleaning products in all of the dining halls, and more. A new dining facility may also open up around east-campus in the future! If you have any questions, concerns, or comments about this place, e-mail us and we can pass the information along to her!
We anticipate working more with Kelly in order to increase the availability and consciousness of environmentally friendly, sustainable, and fair food options on campus. If you would like any more information regarding Slow Food BU and dining services or if you would like to become more involved, e-mail us!
In addition, see how other schools are integrating sustainability at their campuses!:
- <noindex>Addie’s Loft</noindex> at BC is a vegetarian, sustainable caf?. BC also has a campus garden.
- <noindex>Real Slow Food</noindex> at UConn and UConn’s <noindex>Local Routes</noindex> program, which brings sustainable foods to the Whitney Dining Unit. The UConn <noindex>EcoGarden</noindex> Club also has a student-run garden with their produce featured on Whitney’s menu!
- <noindex>Read</noindex> about the pilot farmers market at University of California, Davis and their <noindex>Student Farm</noindex>.
- When the <noindex>Fine Arts Caf?</noindex> (run by Aramark) at the University of Virginia School of Architecture was renovated, it opened with a sustainable menu with the help of the student Serena Weaver.
- The experiment of incorporating sustainable foods at <noindex>Yakeley Hall cafeteria</noindex> in Michigan State University.
- The <noindex>Harvard Farmers Markets</noindex> on the Harvard Campus and at Allston.
- The <noindex>Yale Sustainable Food Project</noindex>
