PULSE / Featured Cause
dard already agreed to by nine leading food corporations and much of the Florida tomato industry to deal with these abuses.
Let’s discuss the unique concept of the traveling Florida Modern Day Slavery Mu- seum. Is it still actively touring and where can interested readers see the exhibit? The Museum consists of a cargo truck out- fitted as a replica of the trucks involved in a recent slavery operation (U.S. vs. Navarrete, 2008), accompanied by displays on the history and evolution of slavery in Florida. The Mu- seum’s central focus is on the phenomenon of modern-day slavery – its roots, the reasons it persists, and its solutions. The exhibits were developed in consultation with workers who have escaped from forced labor operations, as well as leading academic authorities on slav- ery and labor history in Florida. It’s been one of our most powerful educational tools, using multimedia, historic (and not-so-historic) arti- facts, and the visceral presence of this old pro- duce truck – very similar to the truck several workers were locked inside in a recent slavery case – that really shocks people. The Museum has extensively toured SWFL and the rest of the state, including a stop at a Fort Myers Art Walk. It’s not currently on tour, but folks can learn more at
http://ciw-online.org/mu- seum.
What can local residents and concerned citizens nationwide do to help make slav- ery an institution of the past? Get involved in the Campaign for Fair
Food. Send letters and postcards to the CEOs of Publix and Trader Joe’s asking them to do the right thing. Visit the CIW site and down- load a manager letter to deliver the next time you go shopping. Check out our sister orga- nizations such as the Student/Farmworker Alliance
www.sfalliance.org and Interfaith Action of SW Florida
www.interfaithact.org. Soon some of our local allies will be holding
“A Promenade for Just Desserts” in Naples in late January 2012. Fair Food supporters will gather outside the brand-new Trader Joe’s in North Naples pledging to buy – on the spot – a tasty treat from the new grocer in town famed for its progressive reputation, but only if TJ’s commits to: 1) Paying a premium for its toma- toes in order to raise the wages of farm work- ers and 2) Only buying from farms that com- ply with the CIW’s Fair Food Code of Conduct. If TJ’s refuses, the Fair Food supporters will stroll to the GreenWise Publix on 41 to offer the same collective deal. If Publix refuses – as they have for the last few years – the mobile ice-cream-party-waiting-to-happen will amble over to Whole Foods, which in 2009 signed the Fair Food Accord to improve both the pov- erty pay of tomato pickers and their work con- ditions. Expect live music, celebratory dance and merriment! A Promenade for Just Desserts seeks to
36 | Pulse Magazine SWFL
reward grocers that join top fast-food and food-service industry leaders in committing their con- siderable purchasing power toward bettering the lives of the women and men who harvest their tomatoes; it celebrates the spirit of the “carrot mob” model, or the buy-cott. The exact time and date as well as more logistical details for A Promenade for Just Desserts will soon be available at
www.InterfaithAct.org/promenade or by calling/texting Jordan at 239-986-9101.
In your opinion, what are the best resources readers can utilize to educate themselves on modern day slavery in Southwest Florida? Both John Bowe, author of Nobodies, and Barry Estabrook, author of Tomatoland, have written great books that deal extensively with this topic. Another key one that delves into the CIW and slavery in Florida is The Slave Next Door by Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter. Also, the CIW website is a virtual treasure trove of information. In addition, the US State Department’s 10th Annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report for the first time in its history included the United States in its rankings, and talks about the problem of forced labor specifically in Florida.
www.ciw-online.org /
www.sfalliance.org
Angry Tomatoes App
Student/Farmworker Alliance, in their campaign for farm worker dignity here in Southwest Florida? Looking for new and unique ways to express your frustration and put pressure on the companies that have yet to sign on with the CIW’s Pledge for Fair Food? The Angry Tomato iPhone app is the first of its kind to merge activism and smartphone tech-
Want to support the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and its sister organization, the
nology. Conveniently using the iPhone camera, users of the world’s first anti-human trafficking app simply take pictures of storefronts belonging to one of the grocery chains currently refusing to pay the Immokalee-based tomato suppliers a penny more per pound of tomatoes. (Additional revenue generated from this price increase is passed on to farm workers; non-compliant corporations are ac- cused of profiting from farmworker exploitation). The app then allows users to splatter virtual tomatoes on the storefronts, creating one-of-a-kind
images which can then be shared through sites such as Facebook or Twitter to raise awareness. As one of the many strategies currently in effect by farmworker coalition, this one offers a unique twist to consumer advocacy. Angry Tomatoes plays off the worldwide popularity of the Angry Birds app which topped a record 500 million downloads on November 2, 2011, according to Reuters. Download Angry Tomatoes at
www.apple.com.
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