Activists Protest Stop & Shop, Demand Slave-Free Tomatoes

by Amanda Kloer · 2011-01-27 07:00:00 UTC
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In one month, Ahold USA -- the parent company of supermarkets Giant and Stop & Shop -- will have to face their refusal to stop slavery and exploitation in the tomato industry. That's because fair food activists are organizing a protest at Stop & Shop in Boston, asking that the company do their part to improve working conditions and end exploitation for farmworkers. Will you support them by joining these march in Boston or signing the petition?

The event, which is organized by farmworkers' rights powerhouses the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Student Farmworker Alliance, is being held Sunday, February 27 in Boston, Massachusetts.  It will begin with a peaceful rally at Titus Sparrow Park in Boston's South End, then travel approximately two miles – accompanied by live music and colorful art – to Stop & Shop's Brigham Circle store. There, protesters from around the country will call on Ahold USA to sign onto the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' Campaign for Fair Food. So far, Ahold USA has refused to work with CIW, and continues to sell tomatoes that may have been harvested by slaves.

The CIW's Campaign for Fair food is revolutionizing the tomato industry and the lives of thousands of farmworkers. Here's how it works: by leveraging their high-volume purchasing power, corporations like Ahold USA can either prevent or perpetuate farmworker exploitation and modern-day slavery in the U.S. Right now, Ahold USA is keeping wages low and conditions poor for the men and women who harvest the tomatoes they use. But by signing onto the Campaign for Fair Food, Ahold USA would help raise farmworker wages by a penny a pound and prevent serious rights violations, including human trafficking, in the workplace. Sounds like an easy choice, right?

Yet Ahold USA won't life a finger to stop farmworker slavery. So activists are sending them a message: If you don't stop selling slave-picked tomatoes, we won't shop at your store. I bet they'll understand that message.

Anyone interested in marching in Boston is welcome, either for the entire march or just the culminating action at Stop & Shop. You can find more information about this event here. And if you can't make it to Boston, you can support the campaign by signing the petition on Change.org.

Photo credit: walknboston

Amanda Kloer is a Change.org Editor and has been a full-time abolitionist in several capacities for seven years. Follow her on Twitter @endhumantraffic

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