Mapping and Understanding Labor Exploitation in the Food Industry

March 5, 2020

10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Presentation Hall, School of Communication and Media

Synopsis

“Out of the Fields,” an all day MIGHT event, focused on preventing the abuse, exploitation, and trafficking associated with food production. It brought together advocates and experts to discuss human rights abuses, including forced labor and sexual harassment, in the U.S. agricultural industry. Invitees shared their success story in bringing about transformative changes that are in effect now. Activities, included presentations, roundtables and discussions, provide a variety of human rights advocacy groups and food advocates an opportunity to raise awareness about these important issues. Participants included the Alliance for Fair Food (AFF) and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), as well as Montclair State scholars.

“Out of the Fields” built on an earlier awareness raising campaign called “Out of the Shadows,” which focused on human trafficking, including stories of labor exploitation victims. We have collected and archived these narratives and have made them available online, such as Daniel‘s story here in the US, Manuel‘s trajectory from Mexico to the US, as well as the fate of Fateh, Hasson and Emir in India.

The relentless groundwork of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has been recognized by Secretary of State John Kerry who awarded the CIW and the Fair Food Program the 2015 Presidential Medal for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking.

 

The work of the Alliance for Fair Food has been called one of the “most important social-impact success stories of the past century” by The Harvard Business Review. Their Fair Food Code of Conduct is a collaboration between food workers, consumers, and a certification process to ensure that human rights are central to food production.

Scholars from Montclair State University engaged with the MIGHT group will lead discussions with leaders who have shaped policy and transformed lives. For example, the work of the Fair Food Program transformed the Florida tomato industry from “ground zero for modern-day slavery” to “the best workplace environment in U.S. agriculture.”

Objective

With this event Montclair State University would like to further heighten public awareness surrounding these issues. Here is why it is so important for all of us: a visit to a supermarket or a restaurant is routine for everyone. That routine, however, could be supporting the exploitation of trafficked people forced to work to bring food from farm to table. Victims of labor trafficking have been found among the nation’s migrant and seasonal farmworkers, including men, women, families, or children as young as 5 or 6 years old who harvest crops and raise animals in fields, packing plants, orchards, and nurseries. Organizing this event, MIGHT members aim at exploring these issues with experts and advocates in the field, thus fueling a larger debate on our campus and beyond. As MIGHT addresses the complex problems of trafficking, this event is an important opportunity for the university and the community to learn more.

Program Agenda

Disclaimer and photo credit: The feature image was taken by Bob Jagendorf, depicting migrant workers picking cabbage in Ohio. The other photographs are courtesy of AFF and CIW. The above program agenda is subject to change.