Fair Food Austin: Fair Food Austin Retreat + Fair Trade Forum

October 12, 2008

Fair Food Austin Retreat + Fair Trade Forum

Please join us for two upcoming events on Oct. 18-19:

1. Fair Food Austin Retreat
Help chart the future of the Campaign for Fair Food in ATX -- Everyone's welcome!
Sunday, Oct. 19th, 11am-4pm
1202 Kenwood Avenue, 78704

2. Fighting for a Fair Trade Future: A Community Forum
Check out a panel, keynote speaker, and workshops on the relation of trade to the environment, farmworkers' rights, immigration, and other critical issues.
Saturday, October 18, 2008 1-5PM
Conley-Guerro Activity Center 808 Niles St., Austin, Texas
Free registration at oxfamut.org

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.