Forgotten on the Frontlines of the Food Supply Chain
The working and living conditions of farmworkers make practicing social distancing, self-isolation, or quarantine impossible. In the food supply, farmworkers are the first responders who keep the supply chains going. FEMA, the CDC, and state governments should include farmworkers and agricultural communities in their emergency response plans.
Apr 3, 2020 The RAND Blog
Saving Farmworkers from Slavery-Like Conditions, Field by Field
Those at the bottom of the European agricultural supply chain are vulnerable to abuse. The same was true in the tomato fields of Florida until recently. The solution developed there may offer a roadmap for doing right by workers in Europe.
Sep 5, 2019 United Press International
Pardee RAND Reimagines the Future of Public Policy Problem Solving
The Pardee RAND Graduate School is taking a new approach to public policy education. Three new streams of study and action will better align with today's policy needs. Faculty and students will shift the focus from coming up with solutions to actually implementing them.
Jan 7, 2019
From Florida's Farm Fields, Lessons for #MeToo and Other Movements
Organizers who want to bring about social change would do well to look to Florida farmworkers. They took on the low wages, physical abuse, and vulnerability that have long characterized agricultural labor in the United States—and won, changing the culture for the better.
Jun 15, 2018 United Press International
Justice for Florida Farmworkers: Q&A with Susan Marquis
In her new book, Susan Marquis takes readers inside the fight in Florida tomato fields. She traces the history and victories of a grassroots group of farmworkers and community leaders who wrested better wages and working conditions from major tomato growers and their corporate buyers.
Dec 15, 2017
Campaign for Fair Food Makes a Real Difference
The Fair Food Program protects farmworkers while providing corporations with transparency in their supply chains and tremendous brand protection. It has been widely recognized for improving agricultural working conditions and for changing the culture of America's farm fields.
Aug 25, 2017 Tampa Bay Times
On 'Hidden Figures' and Being the Only Woman in the Room
RAND's Susan Marquis discusses the three brilliant African-American women depicted in the film Hidden Figures, the critical role of women in RAND's history, and more.
Mar 12, 2017 Scientific American
Good (Fast) Food as a Vehicle for Social Change
Neighborhood by neighborhood, a few dozen jobs at a time, two celebrity chefs are tackling complex, persistent public policy problems. They could succeed in their own way in communities where generations of government programs and charity have had limited impact.
Jun 1, 2016 Shockingly Delicious
'Product of Mexico': Why Have Corporate/Social Responsibility Programs Failed?
The Fair Food Program has been a leader in using cooperation, visibility, and accountability to meet the needs of workers, growers, and buyers. Can it be a model for addressing these critical issues in Mexico as well?
Dec 12, 2014 Newsweek
Wal-Mart Chooses Fairness, Giving Farmworkers a Boost
The recent commitment by Wal-Mart Stores to the Fair Food Program is a transformational moment in the decades-long struggle for fair treatment of agricultural workers in America but the decision is hardly the last human-rights battle to be won on behalf of this long-oppressed work force.
Feb 7, 2014 Orlando Sentinel
