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The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), the Florida-based farmworker organization with which IATP Food and Society Fellow, Sean Sellers works closely, has signed its first-ever agreement with a tomato producer. CIW's agreement with Pacific Tomato Growers, one of the country's oldest and largest tomato producers, represents a seismic shift in Florida's tomato industry, made possible by the decade-long Campaign for Fair Food.

From Business Wire
:

"Not only is it the first formal agreement between CIW and a major tomato grower, but the new accord establishes several practical systems designed to implement cooperatively the key principles of the Code of Conduct at the heart of the Campaign for Fair Food. Those principles include a joint -- and, when need be, external -- complaint resolution system, a participatory health and safety program, and a worker-to-worker education process aimed at insuring that farmworkers themselves are active participants in the social responsibility efforts."

This historic agreement is getting positive press all over the country, from the...

When the Baltimore Sun wanted to run a story on the Federal Trade Commission's skepticism regarding the claims of Pom Wonderful Pomegranate Juice, they knew which juice expert to quote: Alissa Hamilton.

Is it unusual for a company to make unsubstantiated claims about it's juice product, such as Pom's claim that it's pomegranate juice can help heart disease and erectile dysfunction? Alissa can point to several other dubious assertions  common in juice. "Not from concentrate", for example, may make one assume that they have a fresher product, when it actually likely spent a long time in storage and owes its flavor more to added oils and essences rather than freshness. And while you may have the assumption that your orange juice originates from Florida oranges, the oranges are more likely to be from Brazil.

Unfortunately, we shoppers need to have a lot of skepticism about the claims on juice cartons and many other food packages. And without legislation requiring greater transparency, consumers will continue to be left in the dark.

IATP Food and Society Fellows Shalini Kantayya and Sean Sellers have collaborated on the latest campaign video for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). Watch the CIW's supermarket campaign video and take action for fair food here.

Take action here.

By leveraging its high-volume purchasing power, the U.S. supermarket industry plays an active role in farmworker exploitation. Publix, Ahold, Kroger and Trader Joe's all pack a very heavy punch when it comes to their market power in the produce industry. And with great power comes great responsibility – both for the poverty and brutal working conditions from which they have profited for so many years, and for the work of reforming farm labor conditions in their supply chains that lies ahead.

With the four largest fast-food companies (McDonald's, Yum Brands, Burger King, and Subway) and three largest foodservice providers (Compass Group, Aramark, and Sodexo) having signed Fair Food agreements with the CIW, the focus now falls squarely on the $550 billion supermarket industry. And with the exception of Whole Foods, the natural food leader that signed an agreement with the CIW nearly two years ago, it's time now for the major grocery chains to step up and bring their considerable purchasing power to the plate. And for that to happen, the Campaign for Fair Food needs you to take action.

•    Send an email today to the CEO's of Publix,...

Originally published by GOOD.

Taking inspiration from the dozens of faux Q&As sent to me throughout the year by the PR departments of the corporate food world, I thought I would produce my own Q&A about corporate food's most recent contribution—the AquaBounty AquAdvantage™ salmon.

 
Q: AquaBounty calls the AquAdvantage™ an "advanced hybrid" fish and the company's president Ronald Stotish said recently on CNN that there is not "any material difference between the AquaBounty salmon and an Atlantic salmon." Is this fish an Atlantic salmon? And is it a hybrid or a genetically modified animal?

A: The AquAdvantage™ salmon is an Atlantic salmon with a Chinook salmon growth gene inserted into its DNA. In addition, a regulator protein from a fish called an ocean pout has been added to the Chinook growth gene turning the gene permanently in the "on" position.  It is a genetically modified animal.

Q: Does it grow very fast?

A: Yes, very fast. Twice as fast as an unmodified salmon.

Q: Isn't that a little uncomfortable for the fish?

A: Probably. In fact, experiments with artificially accelerating growth in terrestrial animals have been known to cause crippling skeletal deformations. Fish, however, float, and...