Opinion: Remember When? Simply Grow It And Sell It
May 1, 2010 Life used to be much simpler in agriculture. Simply put: Grow a quality crop, take care of your customers and employees, and at the end of the day — if you’re lucky — you will do well. If it were only that easy!
Our growers today are dealing with agricultural issues that extend way beyond buying and selling quality produce. Those who are still farming are faced with increasingly complex issues and decisions about things like incorporating important food safety practices into their operations and the complexities of being “socially accountable.”
Nothing is more important to Florida’s tomato growers than the confidence of their customers in our product’s quality and wholesomeness. Although Florida’s growers have always been committed to responsible growing practices to ensure safe food supply, we’ve taken it to the next level in the last few years through development of mandatory food safety guidelines. In fact, ours is the first state in the country to adopt a comprehensive food safety program with mandatory government inspection and audit for handling, production, and packing. These guidelines were in the works long before the infamous “smoking pepper” salmonella outbreak of the summer of 2008. The good agricultural practices and best management practices were adopted as state regulations, effective July 1, 2008.
Florida’s tomato growers place great value on their relationship with their employees. Were it not for these important members of our industry, we would not have tomatoes in the market. Fortunately for our industry, many of our workers return to the same farms year after year. We believe that fair wages, safe working conditions, education, and improved housing are meaningful, long-term ways to help improve the lives of farmworkers and their families. It’s also why Florida Tomato Growers Exchange members have donated millions of dollars to non-profit organizations that provide education and childcare services to families as well as college scholarships to the children of farmworkers. In fact, last spring, Florida growers announced the formation of the Farmworker Community Support Foundation Inc. (FCSF) based in Maitland. The FCSF is a charitable organization dedicated to positively impacting the lives of Florida farmworkers and their families. In its first year of existence, the FCSF raised more than $200,000 from Florida’s tomato growers. The organization has donated $160,000 to fund child care, health care, and educational projects for Immokalee-based non-profits Collier Health Services Inc. and Redlands Christian Migrant Association, along with Homestead-based Women United in Justice, Education and Reform Inc.
Further, as a result of negotiations with our customers, members of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange have offered a new social responsibility program that includes pass-through of supplemental wages for workers. The program is open to all retail and foodservice customers of participating exchange growers, who represent approximately 75% of all fresh-market tomatoes grown in Florida.
The participating growers agree to pass through to their employees funds earmarked by their customers as supplemental wages. The program also includes a new grower code of conduct designed for third-party audits to dovetail with their customers’ own social responsibility programs.