‘Food Chains’ Doc Sheds Light on America’s Farmworkers

A new documentary about the farmworkers who pick America’s harvest was released Friday in selected markets.

“Food Chains,” produced by actress Eva Longoria and Fast Food Nation author Eric Schlosser, primarily tells the story of a labor dispute between tomato pickers in Immokalle, Florida, and the Publix supermarket chain. That dispute is the origin of the Fair Food Program, a voluntary initiative to raise wages and working conditions for farmworkers.

“What we bring with the Fair Food Program is not another model of corporate social responsibility, because the goal is not to make any corporation legit,” says farmworker and organizer Gerardo Chavez in the film. “The goal is to address human rights and labor rights that exist in the fields. The creation of the program comes directly from the participation of the workers in the program and the ideas of our community. That’s what we call worker-led social responsibility.”