Food First

The corporate food regime won't give up its power without a fight. "Unions for farmworkers, therefore, are the first, most basic step to power. Democratizing the food system, without the organized power of the workers within it, will remain just a dream." Check out newest piece by David Bacon.

I agree with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s view that the best anti-poverty program is a union, Glover said." Solidarity with Amazon workers building power and pushing for a union.

Terrific report here by David Bacon and The Oakland Institute on the abuse of the H-2a farmworker visa system and what it means for all farmworkers. Will the Biden administration take action to address these unjust conditions?

"Coming from a Black family who has had and lost land, I understand the insecurity of land tenure. Racial justice and agricultural parity equity, access, fairness go hand in hand."

Under Obama, Tom Vilsack presided over corporate ag consolidation, partial privatization of meat inspections, failures to address civil rights violations, and more. Biden is signaling "nothing will fundamentally change" in the USDA by putting Vilsack back as USDA secretary.

WED DEC 9, 8-9am PST / 11am-12pm EST: Join us to honor the inspiring #foodsovereignty work of the 2020 #foodsovereignty Prize Winners, Somali Bantu Community Association of Maine and the All Nepal Peasants’ Federation! Register at https://bit.ly/FSP12th

This is a major threat to the power of farmworker unions. Growers failed to overturn this in the 1970s, but they may succeed over 40 years later with an extremely conservative Supreme Court.

Unchecked corporate power and unjust policies that only represent the interests of the wealthiest have destroyed livelihoods and the environment, further concentrating unprecedented amounts of the world's wealth in the hands of the few. They also do this with the help of the most powerful and well-financed right-wing think tanks in the world. As long these trends continue, hunger and poverty will worsen. But we are fighting back. In order to build the flourishing, equitable, ...and sustainable world we desire, we need to change what we doand how we think. That's where we come in. For a successful food and farm movement, there will be a need for strategy that is rooted in independent, rigorous research, analysis, publications, and political education that reveal the true causes of hunger: unequal power and injustice driven by our political and economic system. If we get our analysis wrong, then we get our movement strategy wrong. Those with power have their think tanks; our movements need their own, and that's why Food First has existed for over 45 years. We’re a small and scrappy think tank, and your support ensures that you and our movement friends have access to the best analysis and tools we can offer. We hope that we can count on you this #GivingTuesday.

A lot is at stake for precarious workers at the ballot box in California. Tech companies are using their political and economic weight to exclude their "gig" workers from basic labor laws. Voters have a chance to say otherwise, which could have significant effects for gig workers across the country in the coming years.

"We won’t be able to change the food system without transforming our economic system. This means that to change the food system, we have to change everything. That’s a big order. But if we build strategic alliances, we’ll have plenty of help." Check out our newest Backgrounder: https://foodfirst.org//capitalism-crisis-and-the-politica/

We all deserve safe and dignified working conditions, regardless of our occupation, immigration status, or gender. But Andrew Clarke, the Global President of @MarsWrigley, the largest and most profitable candy-maker in the world, is denying the people who work at the Mars warehouse in Joliet, IL basic safety protections socially distanced work stations, screening and adequate warehouse sanitation AND refusing to give them the hazard pay they deserve. If that’s not all, Ma...rs Wrigley also fired employees who came together to advocate for basic safety protections and hazard pay. No one should face retaliation for speaking out about workplace abuses! Today, we are asking you to take a minute to call Andrew Clarke at 312-794-6200 to demand hazard pay, adequate PPE, paid sick leave, clean workplaces + no more point system for Mars Warehouse employees! Let’s join together with the working people at Mars Wrigley so they can be fairly compensated, and safe from harm while doing their jobs. #NothingMovesWithoutUs

Check out what will be a solid webinar this evening!

Congrats to MAS, its rural base, and the powerful social movements of Bolivia for taking back power from the coup government. Despite the best efforts of the right wing, the mainstream press, and the US government, workers and peasants won anyway.

Congratulations to the 2020 Food Sovereignty Prize winners!

Corporations receive cheap, public money in times of crisis under neoliberal capitalist thanks to the Federal Reserve. The public on the other hand, are told that they must endure extreme austerity during these same economic crises. Cities and states must cut their budgets to the bone and place the economic burden on the workers, the poor, the unemployed, and the most vulnerable populations. We need to democratize finance and bail out people.

"The result will be massive wage cuts to U.S. farmworkers and foreign guestworkers at H-2A program employers in 2021. The H-2A program, which has been expanding rapidly, approved over 250,000 jobs in fiscal year 2019 and likely more in 2020."

Time to put Malthusian arguments to rest for good. "Overpopulation" is not the cause of hunger, nor is it the driver of climate and environmental degradation. The problem is overproduction and overconsumption, which are essential ingredients to our capitalist economic system. The problem is the richest in the world, not the poorest! The problem is political and structural.

"Unlike many other labor forces, farmworkers are not protected by overtime pay that disincentivizes employers from asking laborers for more than 40 hours of work per week. Farmworkers are exempt from federal overtime pay laws, she said." To counter the injustices of the bosses, farmworkers need the right to a union, as a start...

We discuss in an interview how Filipino banana farmworkers became small farmers and successfully formed cooperatives to push back against the power of multinational corporations. We also highlight the cooperatives' pivot to sustainable farming and the challenges they face.

"The hunger industrial complex needs to be diminished in favor of a stronger government response one that strengthens the social safety net while guaranteeing living wages and better working conditions for all."