Food + Politics
Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) listens to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar at a hearing before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis in the Rayburn Building on October 2, 2020 in Washington, DC. The hearing will examine the impacts of COVID-19 in America just one day after President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 . February 2021
Clyburn: Why have OSHA, meatpackers failed to protect workers from Covid-19?
Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) listens to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar at a hearing before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis in the Rayburn Building on October 2, 2020 in Washington, DC. The hearing will examine the impacts of COVID-19 in America just one day after President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 . February 2021
02.01.2021
by Joe Fassler
KING CITY, CA - April 28, 2020: H-2A migrant farm laborers queue to receive temperature checks and are quizzed on their health before boarding buses to begin their shift. This is particulary in response to Covid-19. Steve Caroni, the owner of Fresh Harvest, one of the largest farm labor supply companies in the USA, is seen recording this process to place on Facebook. This is the chief tool he uses to communicate with his workers, with over 50,000 followers. They are seen in the self-contained Fresh Harvest farm labor accommodations in King City. This procedure is conducted before every shift but because there are many laborers it is not very time efficient and valuable man hours are lost to this time-consuming but unavoidable process. Accommodation for farm labor is vital but difficult and controversial at this time of Covid-19. Fresh Harvest houses over 300 laborers in their self-contained King City facility. The laborers are given masks and gloves, they are given temperature checks before every shift and they practise social distancing at all times in the accommodation. If anyone has any health irregularities, they are immediatelty isolated in different housing and monitored at least twice a day. They are immediately introduced to County medical care if any further symptoms develop. Accommodation is expensive and difficult to procure for farm labor. Many growers and packers use motels, houses that they purchase and warehouse style accommodation. The demise of most of the food service industry at this time has added significant financial pressure to this equation as worker safety remains paramount. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images) January 2021
After 10 months of minimal oversight, Biden orders OSHA to get to work
KING CITY, CA - April 28, 2020: H-2A migrant farm laborers queue to receive temperature checks and are quizzed on their health before boarding buses to begin their shift. This is particulary in response to Covid-19. Steve Caroni, the owner of Fresh Harvest, one of the largest farm labor supply companies in the USA, is seen recording this process to place on Facebook. This is the chief tool he uses to communicate with his workers, with over 50,000 followers. They are seen in the self-contained Fresh Harvest farm labor accommodations in King City. This procedure is conducted before every shift but because there are many laborers it is not very time efficient and valuable man hours are lost to this time-consuming but unavoidable process. Accommodation for farm labor is vital but difficult and controversial at this time of Covid-19. Fresh Harvest houses over 300 laborers in their self-contained King City facility. The laborers are given masks and gloves, they are given temperature checks before every shift and they practise social distancing at all times in the accommodation. If anyone has any health irregularities, they are immediatelty isolated in different housing and monitored at least twice a day. They are immediately introduced to County medical care if any further symptoms develop. Accommodation is expensive and difficult to procure for farm labor. Many growers and packers use motels, houses that they purchase and warehouse style accommodation. The demise of most of the food service industry at this time has added significant financial pressure to this equation as worker safety remains paramount. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images) January 2021
01.26.2021
by Sam Bloch
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 21: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as Vice President Kamala Harris looks on during an event in the State Dining Room of the White House January 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden delivered remarks on his administration’s COVID-19 response, and signed executive orders and other presidential actions. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Biden issues an executive order to boost SNAP benefits
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 21: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as Vice President Kamala Harris looks on during an event in the State Dining Room of the White House January 21, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden delivered remarks on his administration’s COVID-19 response, and signed executive orders and other presidential actions. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
01.22.2021
by H. Claire Brown
An aerial view of a herd of dairy cows in Puerto Rico. January 2021
New Oregon legislation would put a moratorium on building mega-dairies. What happens next?
An aerial view of a herd of dairy cows in Puerto Rico. January 2021
01.21.2021
by H. Claire Brown
Food is distributed to hundreds outside of a Brooklyn mosque and cultural center on December 11, 2020 in New York City.
The stimulus bill is helpful. But it doesn’t go far enough to help the hungry.
Food is distributed to hundreds outside of a Brooklyn mosque and cultural center on December 11, 2020 in New York City.
01.14.2021
by Simran Sethi
Gloved hands inside a laboratory inspect a piece of meat in a petri dish. January 2021
Federal agencies clash over who regulates genetically engineered meat
Gloved hands inside a laboratory inspect a piece of meat in a petri dish. January 2021
01.14.2021
by Jessica Fu
Farm laborers from Fresh Harvest working with an H-2A visa harvest romaine lettuce on a machine with heavy plastic dividers that separate workers from each other on April 27, 2020 in Greenfield, California.
Farm workers still don’t get paid for overtime in most places: “This is the very definition of structural racism”
Farm laborers from Fresh Harvest working with an H-2A visa harvest romaine lettuce on a machine with heavy plastic dividers that separate workers from each other on April 27, 2020 in Greenfield, California.
01.14.2021
by H. Claire Brown
Kraft grated parmesan with strong bold flavor on a shelf. Jan. 2021
There is wood pulp in your “100 percent grated cheese.” Is that a problem?
Kraft grated parmesan with strong bold flavor on a shelf. Jan. 2021
01.08.2021
by Sam Bloch
Two gig economy Instacart workers face their backs to the camera inside a grocery store. January 2021
After the success of Prop 22 in California, UberEats, Grubhub, and Instacart score a federal victory
Two gig economy Instacart workers face their backs to the camera inside a grocery store. January 2021
01.07.2021
by Sam Bloch