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Whole Foods: Can You Hear Me Now? Organic & Natural Mean Workers Rights and Fair Trade!

Despite the mass mobilization of organic consumers and union members in 33 states, Whole Foods is refusing to stand up for workers rights! Beef Northwest, the feedlot finishing company that services Country Natural Beef’s herds, refuses to negotiate with the United Farm Workers in good faith.

Even Presidential Candidate Senator Barack Obama supports Beef Northwest workers desire to have a union.

Support workers today and send a message to the world: organic & natural means workers rights and fair trade.

Step 1 - Select a Recipient

Here you will find a prewritten letter that you may submit to your local paper, using our online submission tool, or you may modify the letter or write your own. It's easy to spread the word!

The "Letters" section of your local newspaper is the most widely read section of the paper! Writing letters to the editor is an effective and easy way to communicate your perspective to both the community in general and journalists that organic and natural foods cannot be produced using sweatshop conditions.

Take action and make your voice heard! Punch in your zip code and get started.

Step 2 - Write your message

Subject:

Your Letter:

Whole Foods Market, the country's largest retail chain of natural and organic food, prides itself as the industry leader in social responsibility. However, Whole Foods has decided to wash its hands of the ongoing labor crisis at Beef Northwest, a feedlot that services Country Natural Beef, a major supplier to Whole Foods. Workers at Beef Northwest have struggled for two years to be represented by the United Farm Workers, only to have Whole Foods turn a blind eye to the plight of farm workers.

US labor law excludes and/or exempts agriculture labor (farm workers) from many of the key protections that other industries enjoy, like minimum wage, overtime pay, and the minimum age for farm worker children (currently 12 years old). Even the United State's own General Accounting Office found that " farm workers are not adequately protected by federal laws, regulations, and programs; therefore, their health and well-being are at risk."

I believe that organic and natural food means that workers are respected as well as the planet. Whole Foods needs to assure that assure that the products the distribute are produced ethically and do not exploit workers.

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