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Food Justice from the Frontlines. A Conversation with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers

February 11, 2019

Food Justice from the Frontlines. A Conversation with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers

Food Justice from the Frontlines. A Conversation with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers round table discussion in autumn of 2018

Food Justice from the Frontlines. A Conversation with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers

The Roundtable featured Nely Rodriguez (Coalition of Immokalee Workers), Ximena Pedroza (Student Farmworker Alliance), and Professors Paloma Martinez-Cruz and Inés Valdez to reflect on the question of fair food and labor conditions on the fields. In a brief introduction by Martinez Cruz and Valdez highlighting how the activism of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) successfully sidesteps the very narrow confines of the immigration debate, and the importance of labor activism in the movement for fair food. The roundtable then turned to Rodríguez, who--through the consecutive interpretation of Pedroza--discussed the Coalition's history and its campaign against sexual harassment in the fields. In particular, Rodríguez focused on the role of community education in the campaign and illuminated the work of community organizing that underpins the public face of the CIW work. Rodriguez also discussed Wendy's campaign, which demands that the company commits to buy tomatoes only from growers who are signatories of the Fair Food Program. The discussion was followed by a Q&A.