Is Trader Joe's Selling Slave-Picked Produce?
-Amanda Kloer
Trader Joe's presents itself as a hip, progressive place to shop, full of vegetarian options and free from the plethora of hot orange processed snacks found elsewhere. But Trader Joe's refuses to take one very critical progressive step and join the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' (CIW) Campaign for Fair Food. And because of their refusal, you might just be buying slave-picked produce from those friendly, Hawaiian shirt-wearing joes.
Modern-day slavery is a reality for many farm workers right here in the U.S. In Florida, over 1,000 people have been identified as trafficked in fields and on farms, picking the food we eat every day. Farm workers have also been trapped in slavery or seriously abusive conditions in California, Washington, North Carolina, Maryland, and several other states with large agricultural industries. Because the laws governing agriculture are different than those regulating other industries in the U.S., many of these workers don't have the same legal protections the rest of us do.
Trader Joe's is no stranger to dealing with labor and transparency concerns. Two years ago, a 17-year-old girl suffered a fatal heat stroke while picking grapes for Charles Shaw wine, the "Two Buck Chuck" Trader Joe's is famous for. And folks over Change.org's Sustainable Food property are asking the company for better transparency in their organic food sourcing. TJ's has also gotten flack for selling un-sustainable seafood and fish from places like Thailand and Bangladesh, where slavery in the fishing industry is common. That's a pretty poor track record for a company with a progressive, conscious customer base.
My family shops at trader joes they drive about an hour to get there. They talk about how great they feel after consuming the produts. I bet they wont feel good when I tell them that the produce is picked by slaves. Im going to stop shopping here.
ReplyDeleteMost people who study issues of corporate responsibility for slave labor agree that boycott is not the best way to fight the issue. Unfortunately, employers who pay fair wages for labor are the first and hardest hit by boycotts. Much more effective is vocal demand for local, organic, slave-free, fair-trade, or sustainably harvested goods.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe that such a place like Trader Joes supports slavery in our country today. You would think that since they are so organic and trying to make a good name for themselves they would not feed into the problem of slavery. I guess you have to really look into it before you shop at a certain store. Good thing my mom only shops there once in a while!
ReplyDeleteI really like fruits and vegetables, but I do not think I would like to buy them from someone who is basically using slaves to pick their produce so they can make a quick and bigger profit. It bothers me that Trader Joe’s refuses to join the Coalition of Immokalee Workers'. I was shocked to that the fruits and vegetables we eat everyday has a part in modern day slavery. Over 1000 workers in Florida alone were identified to be trafficked in farms and fields. I was appalled by the legal system defending the workers not only in Florida but in a lot of the states in the United States. Just because the laws governing agriculture are different many of the workers do not have the legal protections the rest of us do. How could there be different laws about how people can work and how to protect them from slavery. Also I was shocked to find out that Trader Joe’s had problems with slavery like concerns before. To hear about the 17 year old and her heat stroke was shameful, she was still a child. I think it is oxymoronic for Trader Joe’s to have a conscious customer base, if they do not even care about the well being of there workers, how is one suppose to care about their customers if they do not care about their staff.
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