Every week, I will share with you some links to important actions being organized by various groups that are working towards a more a sustainable food system. I encourage you to learn more and join in on the action!

Encourage Trader Joe’s to Take a Stand Against Antibiotics

Earlier this month, medical researchers at the University of Montreal linked a difficult-to-treat bladder infection that affects millions of women a year, with a form of antibiotic resistant E. coli commonly found in chicken. This is one of a number of stories about the rise of antibiotic resistant super-bugs making humans sick, which are being connected with the rampant overuse of antibiotics in meat production.

CREDO is joining Consumer Union and other groups to call on Trader Joe’s to sell ONLY antibiotic-free meat, because the company has shown a commitment to safe food in the past – including sourcing only non-GMO ingredients, and meat, free of pink slime. Antibiotics are a crucial tool to cure illness for all of us. Find out more and sign the petition!

Speaker Quinn: It’s time for NYC paid sick days!

What do NYC moms want? Paid sick days! When do we want them? NOW! Make sure to tell Speaker Christine Quinn that we think it’s unacceptable that nearly 1.5 million New Yorkers can’t earn even a single paid sick day. In NYC, almost 90% of workers handling food, and 43% of workers in close contact with children and the elderly, do not have paid sick time. Across industries, nearly 1.5 million New Yorkers lack access to even a single paid sick day which means when they are sick, or their child are sick, they are forced to make an impossible choice: go to work sick, or send their child to school sick, or risk losing a day’s pay and possibly even their job.

That is a bad deal for all New Yorkers, even those who have paid sick days, because when people are forced to go to work sick, or risk losing their jobs, it’s bad for our health and economy.  With 37 sponsors on the bill, we have enough city council votes for paid sick days to be a reality in NYC. All we need is for Speaker Quinn to bring it to the floor. Sign on to a letter to Speaker Quin here.

Walmart Selling Genetically Engineered Sweet Corn

It’s official, The Chicago Tribune confirmed our worst fears, that unlabeled, untested and potentially unsafe sweet corn is hitting Walmart shelves in the near future. By selling GE sweet corn, Walmart has made a clear statement that is refuses to put consumer safely over profits.

Tell Walmart you won’t buy its lies or its sweet corn! Learn more and help spread the word here.

Recipe for Change: Campaign for Slave-Free Tomatoes

Slavery is not just happening overseas. Over the past 15 years, over 1,000 people have been freed from slavery in the U.S. tomato fields. Chief assistant U.S. attorney, Douglas Mollow, once called Florida tomato fields “ground zero” for modern-day slavery in the United States.

We can help eradicate slavery from the tomato supply chain in our country, if we can get supermarkets to sign on. The Fair Food Program, developed by tomato pickers themselves through the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, establishes a zero tolerance policy for slavery, child labor, and serious sexual harassment on Florida’s tomato farms. Send a message asking major Supermarket chains to join the Fair Food Program here.