Sustainable Tarpon Springs - Know Your Farmer

I have been interested in the origins of our food for many years now.  Although we consider the most delicious and rewarding food to come right out of our garden, a series of earlier life events caused me to become mindful of farming methods, as well as knowing about our farmers.  When we buy food, we support these methods and people - for good or for bad.

Part of my awareness comes from the years my in-laws owned an apple orchard in Omak, Washington.  My brother-in-law suffered from overexposure to a toxic insecticide, Phosphamidon, which caused him to be highly sensitive to any inorganic food, long before ‘choosing organics’ became a popular thing to do.  I started buying local organic food whenever I could because I directly knew how damaging chemicals could be to people.

Becoming aware of the deeper costs of inorganic farming methods, I also considered the plight of the immigrant workers because we met them on our regular visits to Omak.  My father-in-law, a retired doctor, had a heart for his workers, providing them with care and comfortable accommodations.  Not all were so fortunate in other places.

Although my father-in-law never intended to hire undocumented workers when he bought the orchard, he simply couldn’t find Americans who were willing to do the work.  My brother-in-law worked side by side with the immigrants and appreciated their stamina, integrity, and happy attitude.  They sang all day as they worked. On occasion, the best workers would get deported.  There was also a horrible time when one of the workers was beaten and murdered by local youths. 

In 2001, Eric Schlosser published the book, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All American Meal, giving much more exposure to the plight of the immigrant workers and the hideous ways they become exploited and enslaved in bringing corporate food to us.   

This past week, my sister was visiting from Redding, California, and we decided to make a jaunt into Tampa for the day.  As we were parking in Ybor City about to get out of the car, we noticed a worker’s march coming around the corner.  

This March for Rights, Respect, and Fair Food is part of a 200 mile trek from Fort Meyers to Lakeland, sponsored by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to expose unethical practices by a large, grocery store chain in our area that refuses to support equitable pay and treatment for those who are harvesting their produce.  All I could do was raise my hand and declare my ‘Solidarity!’ for their cause.

If we aren’t at the point of raising all of our own food yet, we should consider sustainability of the food being grown and harvested for us. The ‘low hanging fruit of social change’ is knowing how these workers are treated because farm workers are truly the backbone of America.  Their work is back breaking, and most of them live very insecure lives.

Let us all take the real food challenge - C + C = C (Consciousness and Commitment to create Change!)  Look for certification to indicate that workers have been fairly paid and treated with respect.  Farmworker Alliance, Agricultural Justice Project, Food Alliance, Domestic Fair Trade Association are among a few of the human rights organizations for our farm workers. 

If you don’t personally know your farmer, please consider knowing how your food is raised.  It is key to sustainability - even in Tarpon Springs!