New Food Activism by Alkon Alison

Author:Alkon, Alison
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780520292130
Publisher: University of California Press

The consumers have one of the most powerful roles in getting corporations to come on board to sign an agreement with the workers. Many corporations like to paint a pretty picture for the consumers and what we want consumers to know is that corporations do not always say the truth or show the reality. . . . For this reason we begin the campaign with the consumers, students or people of faith. So that they see what us workers are doing, and that is how we are able to form a union.

In addition to consumer boycotts, the CIW has enacted letter-writing campaigns, petitions, protests, and days of action at various national agrifood companies’ corporate headquarters. The Fair Food Campaign identifies points of power in the food chain and applies pressure, demanding improved labor standards and practices. Large-scale buyers of produce are able to apply downward pressure on growers to produce food cheaply. The campaign is working to harness this power and reverse this trend. Despite threats from the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange after their first successful agreements with Taco Bell and McDonald’s, the campaign has continued to grow, including more restaurants and grocers on a national scale.

All CIW campaign missions are decided on by farmworkers themselves. As the primary leaders of the CIW, farmworkers ensure that consumer and activist energies are utilized to directly support their daily struggles. Gerardo Reyes, an organizer with the CIW, clarifies their organizational structure:

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