Fair Food Austin: Community Meeting + Whole Foods Action

February 19, 2008

Community Meeting + Whole Foods Action

Thanks to everyone who supported the CIW's recent visit to Austin. By all accounts, the weekend was a great success as members of CIW and SFA took the Campaign to Fair Food to thousands of consumers throughout the Texas capital. The Austin Chronicle, among others, is taking notice: "Fighting for Fair Food" (2/08/08).

From educational events to a high-energy Burger King protest to a visit to Whole Foods headquarters, the tour foreshadowed great things to come in the weeks and months ahead, including:

1. Community Meeting & Strategy Discussion
Join us for a community meeting regarding Whole Foods and upcoming actions in the Fair Food Austin campaign.
Sunday, March 2nd, 6 p.m.
Friends Meeting of Austin
3707 E. Martin Luther King Jr. St., 78721

2. Whole Foods Shareholder Meeting - Save the Date!
Join CIW and allies for education and action outside Whole Foods' annual shareholder meeting.
Monday, March 10th, 8am
Hilton Austin
500 East 4th Street, 78701

Who We Are

Since 2001, Fair Food Austin has organized with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) for fair wages and dignified working conditions in the U.S. agricultural industry. The CIW is a farmworker organization headquartered in Immokalee, Florida with over 4,000 members. The CIW has aided in the prosecution by the Department of Justice of six slavery operations and the liberation of well over 1,000 workers.

We use creative methods to educate consumers about the human rights crisis farmworkers face and to promote the Campaign for Fair Food. The campaign requires large food corporations -- from Taco Bell to Whole Foods -- to demand more humane labor standards from their Florida tomato suppliers, to pay a premium price for more fairly produced tomatoes, and to buy only from growers who meet those higher standards.

Brutal conditions in Florida's fields may seem distant to consumers deep in the heart of Texas, but many of the restaurant and supermarket chains that have helped create this crisis are present in our community and buy Florida tomatoes at some point during the year. Human rights are universal, and by working together, farmworkers and consumers can create a better world.