FarmSTAND

Big Ag, despite all its wealth, has not lifted a finger to stop anti-immigrant politics from growing in power. There's a reason: it relies upon having a workforce it can exploit easily.

NEW: Guatemalans coming to the US for ag internships were promised cultural exchange and expert training. Instead, they were trapped in an industrial ag facility’s scheme to exploit them for cheap labor under hazardous conditions.? FarmSTAND, alongside Legal Aid of Nebraska and Radford Scott LLP, is suing industrial swine facility Livingston Enterprises and other defendants for violating federal trafficking, racketeering, and civil rights laws when it deceptively recruited and exploited interns on J-1 visas. This visa is meant for educational and cultural purposes—it’s used by au pairs, camp counselors, and students for specialized training. But companies like Livingston abuse it as another way to control and coerce workers. When Big Ag employers depend on no one enforcing the laws they break, we stand up to stop them. More: https://lnkd.in/etNz-ZJu

At FarmSTAND, we know child labor is an essential piece of the Big Ag business model: https://lnkd.in/e8NWfA9z https://lnkd.in/eGSNNAAS

"As a movement, folks organizing for food and farm justice have long imagined and cultivated systems that exist beyond and outside of a political system that was never designed for life to thrive." No matter how many post-election takes you've read, you probably haven't heard these. Hear from the labor leaders, journalists, and activists Civil Eats spoke to about what comes next for food and ag, including FarmSTAND board member Navina Khanna of HEAL Food Alliance. https://lnkd.in/efcGaBDU

Every day, we work with communities who don’t wait for permission to create a fairer, stronger food system — one that includes everyone, from consumers to farmers to food chain workers. They believe, as we do, that people everywhere want to replace the corporate food system, even if so many mistakenly believe that a president devoted to wealth inequality, white supremacy, and environmental destruction can ever deliver that to them. With FarmSTAND’s unique power as a collective of lawyers, organizers, and communicators, we’re ready to fight for our communities and take on what’s ahead. Our post-election statement on how a fair food system can't wait: https://lnkd.in/er5uwNga

A better food system in possible. In fact, it's already being built every day. Bit by bit. Make sure you're signed up for email updates from FarmSTAND to be the first to know about legal action to stop illegal industrial ag greenwashing, protect immigrant workers, help independent producers of food compete, and so much more: FarmSTAND.org/signup

Agricultural workers of all kinds —including seasonal workers on H-2A visas — deserve basic workplace protections. Today, we've filed an amicus brief on behalf of local and national worker advocacy organizations including United Farm Workers Of America, UFW Foundation, Farmworker Justice, and Sur Legal Collaborative on why a new federal rule must be allowed to take effect. We write that "shredding these vital provisions...will accomplish nothing except to harm U.S. workers and workers on H-2A visas alike." More on our ongoing defense of critical safety and health protections for H-2A workers: https://lnkd.in/edEmEdXS

Recently unsealed court documents have sparked a federal investigation into whether Tyson Foods forced children as young as 11 to work overnight shifts (https://lnkd.in/eap5N_7R). This is part of a broader pattern across Big Ag, and shows how important unsealing court documents are to telling the true story of this industry. As we detailed in our June blog, Big Ag often uses child labor to cut costs, taking advantage of vulnerable communities and putting profit over people. It’s clear that the current enforcement and penalties aren’t enough to deter this behavior. We need stronger protections, better funding for enforcement, and an end to agricultural exceptionalism that leaves children unprotected. FarmSTAND is ready to fight for a food system that doesn't exploit children for corporate profit. Read more about why we’re fighting for worker justice and a safer food system in our June blog post: https://lnkd.in/eB6-eJX2

NEW: Industrial meat production drives climate change—and climate change drives stronger hurricanes and other weather disasters. Communities living near factory farms pay the price.? For too many communities in the southeast recovering from devastating hurricanes, the floodwaters hide another dirty, deadly threat: tons of manure and other waste from nearby factory farms.? Factory farm waste contaminates waterways, wells, and soil with contaminants like e.coli, insecticides, and pharmaceuticals. Rural residents who rely on wells for water must pay to test and treat their wells if they want to have safe, clean water. FarmSTAND fights to protect communities from the health, environmental, and climate harms of industrial animal agriculture and to hold big meat companies accountable for their emissions and pollution.? More on our blog: https://lnkd.in/eRuAUfrB