A system that allows wholesalers of agricultural products to buy from companies that guarantee civil rights and decent wages for workers, all controlled and certified by involving themselves; this is the Fair Food Program , the US association for the rights of farm workers in the United States of America. The founder is Laura Safer Espinoza, a former Judge of the Supreme Court of New York. Espinoza participated  in The other half of the planet , the Women's Week of Expo Milano 2015, and gave an interview to Exponet, official magazine of the Universal Exposition .

 

Dignity for those who produce our food

In her speech at the Universal Exhibition on Monday, June 29 , Laura Safer Espinoza described a very tough situation: "In the United States I have met men and women who harvest the food we eat, but are not able to sustain themselves nor their family, even if they are surrounded by food all day." Most of them are immigrants from Latin America, many are women. Because of their weak condition due to poverty and low education, they are victims of abuse of all kinds, including forced labor and sexual abuse. To protect them, the Fair Food Program operates on several fronts, from the demand for higher wages to legal assistance and education for adults.

 

The value of the commitment to human rights

Before she put on her rubber boots and started walking the farm fields of Florida to talk to the South American laborers, Laura Safer Espinoza was a judge for the Supreme Court of New York. However, during Women's Week, she shared how her commitment to the Fair Food Program has given her a deeper sense of gratification: "I tell young women to not stop at titles and labels, but to follow their own minds and their passions. For me it was never a problem to enter the farm fields to see firsthand the conditions of those who worked there, including the fatigue and discomfort, because thanks to my association, I could help them recover their dignity. One of the nicest things I remember was when I met the children of the people who we had been helping ... I can say this, invest in what you believe in."