Coalition of Immokalee Workers: Building Successful Movements + Boycotts

#194: Greg Asbed and Gerardo Reyes Chavez of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers tell the story of their movement's origins, including the injustices faced by farmworkers in Florida's tomato fields that led to slavery lawsuits. As they continue to apply pressure through corporate boycotts and public campaigns, they reflect on what has worked, what has changed, and all that still needs fixing since their early win enrolling Taco Bell into the Fair Food Program

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is a human and worker rights organization founded in 1993 by farmers experiencing injustice in Florida's tomato fields. In 2011, CIW launched the Fair Food Program, negotiating one penny more per pound of tomatoes sold to Taco Bell to pay for the implementation of improved conditions for farmworkers. CIW was also able to convince Taco Bell, Walmart and other large scale food system players to source from farms complying with a code of conduct. To date, their program has spread throughout the US and beyond, and they still work tirelessly to encourage more entities to stop sourcing from bad actors.

https://ciw-online.org/

To watch a video version of this podcast please visit:

https://www.realorganicproject.org/coalition-immokalee-workers-successful-boycotts-episode-one-hundred-ninety-four

The Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.

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