Food Chains is a feature-length documentary exposing the exploitation of farmworkers in the United States. Directed by Sanjay Rawal and produced by Smriti Keshari, the film included Eva Longoria and Eric Schlosser on its team. The film was released in late 2014 and features the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a small but highly-lauded group of tomato pickers from southern Florida. The film focuses on the campaign of the CIW against large purchasers of Florida tomatoes. The impact campaign of the film focused on three things: increasing awareness of the plight of farmworkers as well as the CIW’s proven solution (the Fair Food Program); furthering the CIW’s campaign in the world of large corporate purchasers of tomatoes; and changing procurement policy at the corporate and governmental levels. We tried to achieve these goals through a deep and on-going partnership with the CIW, through elevating conversation amongst various constituents and stakeholders, and through direct action in support or in protest of select corporate entities.
Farm labor abuse has been a reality in the fields of America since pre-revolutionary times. Farmworkers were once, for the most part, held in chattel slavery - African-Americans in the South and Native Americans in Spanish California. After the Civil War, most African-American farmworkers became indentured sharecroppers. Mexicans were granted temporary permits to work the fields of California. When President Roosevelt established the New Deal wage and abuse protections for workers like the Federal Labor Standards Act, farmworkers were excluded. Farmworker unions rose to power in California in the 1960s and 1970s, but by the 1990s, most of their gains had been clawed back.
Legislation has never been a tool farmworkers upon which farmworkers could rely. The CIW’s Fair Food Program looks beyond legislation and to the power of the supply chain. It demands that the large purchasers of Florida tomatoes (supermarkets, food service and fast food) do two things: pay an extra penny per pound for purchases and refuse to buy from farms with labor violations. This program is monitored by a third party which has the power to enforce regulations. There are now market consequences for non-compliant farms - they’re excluded from selling to 13 of the largest tomato buyers in the world. This revolutionary program, combining wage increases plus swift resolution of worker complaints has transformed the fields of Florida.
For more information, please visit: fairfoodprogram.org
Click on a below milestone to engage with further information.
The impact of social justice documentaries can depend heavily on the relationship between the filmmakers and those who have dedicated their lives to the cause. Early on, the team behind Food Chains chose to focus its narrative on the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. While the CIW had already received significant acclaim for its unique solution to further the rights of farmworkers in the Florida tomato industry (The Fair Food Program), Food Chains captured the CIW at a tipping point. The symbiosis between both Food Chains and the CIW influenced both the impact of the CIW’s work and the impact of the film. While the film doesn’t claim causal credit for the CIW's achievements, this section will show the associative connection between the film’s impact goals and some of the recent successes of the CIW.
Click on a below image to engage with further information.
Food Chains has been able to start or elevate conversation in three distinct realms. We targetted the world of food influencers (chefs, organizations and media). We worked to influence government through awareness raising activites at the local, state and national levels. And we focused on raising awareness at the level of the consumer.
Food Chains was featured in actions in support of large corporate buyers of Florida tomatoes which had joined the Fair Food Program and in protests and marches against buyers that hadn't. Some actions were driven by Fair Food Program signatories themselves to highlight their own participation. Protestors against non-participants included low-wage workers, theater goers, students, tomato pickers, members of the CIW and noted food influences. In some cases, non-signatories reacted in direct response to protestors in relation to Food Chains-driven actions. In other cases, the reaction of corporations was associative rather than causal; incremental and cumulative rather than obvious.
Select a Corporation to Learn More
Click on a below image to engage with further information.