Just Food: It's Not Just, Food

I was pleased to be able to read more about the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) in the Gottlieb & Joshi article this week, because my introduction to my undergraduate's association with this the CIW was similarly an introduction the issues migrant farmworkers face. My first-year book at New College was, of all things, Omnivore's Dilemma. Thus I entered with a bunch of students eager to learn more about food justice, and joined a community that was active within this movement. One of my first community meetings at New College was to hear a CIW-affiliated farmworker speak about the organization's efforts in the region. He spoke specifically of the organization's victories with fast food giants like Taco Bell, and about their current efforts to get Publix to "pay a penny more" for each pound of tomatoes a farmworker picks. While he was at New College to garner support for the CIW and for a march that was coming up, what struck me most about his presentation was the organization's focus on building autonomy among the farmworkers themselves. What a lot of people don't know about organizations like the CIW is that they are not lead by an advocate, someone that perhaps is more able to bridge the gap with the "outside world" but has never lived the life of those they are advocating for. The CIW is, as its name strictly tells you, an organization for farmworkers and by farmworkers. They appreciate and, in some cases, rely on allies to their cause but are by no means driven by them.

This could, and should, cause us to reflect on our roles in the food justice movement. Many of us are never  going to know the extreme hardships that farmworkers face: racial discrimination; low wages and poor living conditions; and even, in some horrifying instances, enslavement. I found myself wondering in these early days of being aware of migrant farmworkers issues, what should I do then? Do I boycott Publix? Do I throw myself into organizing, even though this is a cause that I can't personally relate to? Would that be disingenuous? To be honest, I still have not answered these questions. I guiltily buy tomatoes at Publix and think about all of the members of the CIW I encountered. I am aware of these issues and yet, I do nothing. Something I found lacking in the rather dense discussion of different philosophical approaches to "justice" is how to engage oneself meaningfully and genuinely into the food justice movement. While the communitarian approach resonated with me, what should I do when the "community" that seeks justice is not my own? How do we juggle not wanting to encroach upon the safe spaces the disadvantaged have built for themselves, through hard work and incredible passion, with wanting to advocate for their cause, in their name?

I like to think I believe in food justice. I believe food should be grown with integrity, by respected, well-paid, and well-treated workers in a system that does not try to purposefully oppress them, in such a manner that nourishes both the environment and human beings, body and soul. I believe healthy food access is a fundamental right. But...where do I, as a privileged person, play a role in creating this reality, without stepping on the toes of those I want to help?