FILM: FOOD CHAINS

from Nancy Stiefel

What:  Social Justice Film Series presents:  Food Chains

When: Sunday, Feb. 15, 7:00 PM

Where:  Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Vero Beach – at the corner of 27^th Avenue and 16^th Street

There is much interest in food these days, yet little interest in the hands that pick that food. In the US, farm labor has always been one of the most difficult and poorly paid jobs and has relied on some of the nation's most vulnerable people.  These days, their exploitation is perpetuated by the corporations at the top of the food chain: supermarkets whose buying power has kept the wages of farmworkers pitifully low.

 

An intrepid group of Florida farmworkers, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), are battling the global supermarket industry with their ingenious Fair Food Program. This agreement partners with growers and retailers to improve working conditions for farm laborers in the US by raising the price of tomatoes by just one penny per pound.

 

To date, thirteen major retailers have signed on to the Fair Food agreement including Fresh Market, Walmart, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Chipotle, Burger King, Aramark, Compass Group, Bon Appetit, Sodexo, and Subway.  Publix, Kroger, Safeway, and Wendy’s have resisted signing this landmark agreement.

 

Please join the Social Justice Committee to view this 2014 film produced by Eva Longoria, well-known actress from Desperate Housewives, and Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation.  There is no charge, but donations to offset the cost to rent the film will be gratefully accepted.

 

The Fair Trade Corner will be open for one-half hour prior to the 80 minute film. We are hoping to have a representative of the Alliance for Fair Food on hand to facilitate the discussion following the film.