Huffington Post: The People -- and the Shame -- Behind Our Food

[Omaha Steve]

My Nixon avatar ties into this story.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gavin-newsom/the-people----and-the-sha_b_549979.html

Gavin Newsom

Mayor of San Francisco
Posted: April 23, 2010 03:31 PM


Our current culture has an unprecedented awareness of food and its source. Organic, locavore, sustainable, free-range, farm-raised: these have all become household terms. We pay more attention than ever before to what goes into our shopping carts and into our stomachs. Food has even become a major source of entertainment: we watch chefs compete on TV for the best culinary creation and those struggling with obesity to lose the most weight.

We may carefully inspect the food we buy for certain ingredients or where it comes from, but we're still not getting the full story.

Mainstream America was awakened to the plight of millions of farm workers when legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow broadcast his documentary, "The Harvest of Shame" in 1960. Cesar Chavez called on Americans to "Boycott Grapes" in the 1960s and won the first union
contract protections for farm workers in America's history.

Now, it is our turn.

Let's ask ourselves why we are so aware of what we eat, yet so unaware of the abuse that California's 500,000 farm workers endure. They live in squalor among us, suffering from sexual harassment, inadequate drinking water and housing, lack of shade, and sky-high disease rates. More farm workers have died from heat in the last few years than at
any time in decades. That these conditions persist into the 21st century is appalling, and we ought to be ashamed.

When farm workers organize, they are threatened with deportation. When they complain to the government, they are so often ignored. When they try to defend themselves, they are fired.

Today's leaders of the United Farm Workers are a remarkable group of young men and women. I've marched with them and seen first hand their struggle for fairness and equality.

FULL story at link.

[katandmoon]

1. K&R