FOX 4 WFTX - Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples News, WeatherModern day slavery in Southwest Florida
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Under the blistering Southwest Florida sun, farmworkers feverishly pick fruit from the fields. Their hard labor goes unnoticed, unappreciated and they go underpaid.
A group from various national food organizations walked through the dusty streets of Immokalee to see first hand how workers survive. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers leads the way.
"A lot of people think of animal welfare or the environment or safety of food and never think what happens to the farmworker," says Lucas Benitz of CIW.
The average worker spends from dawn til dusk hauling heavy produce for way less than $50 a day. After an exhausting day of work, they come home to trailers that shock the group. As many as eight people can live in cramped spaces. Beds with no sheets sit on the floor, the kitchen is covered in crust and bugs and they all share a dirty, small bathroom.
"Conditions like these are disgusting. With each of our food dollars we make a vote. We can vote for this or we can vote for social change," says Food and Society Policy Fellows Program representative Melinda Hemmelgran.
The average rent for one of these trailers is $2,000 a month. That is comparable to a luxury condo in Naples.
"This is part of the reason our whole economy is collapsing. People are not treated fairly. With such a concentration of wealth and power that we are living in does not work for any of us," says food advocate and author Frances Moore Lappe.
Some consider Immokalee ground zero for modern day slavery. On a vacant lot, the group toured, farmworkers were held against their will in shackles and they even had to pay to use the bathroom. Authorities have prosecuted those responsible, but it is still a reminder of the food injustice.
"We need to understand every time you eat something you are eating the story behind that food," says Josh Viertel Presiden of Slow Food USA.
This group hopes awareness and activism will make changes. They want you to think about the hands that feed you before your next meal. Their goal is to shine a light on the urgent need for reform in Florida's agriculture industry.
JUSTINE WALDMAN
jwaldman@fox4now.com
