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Human Rights from Field to Fork action resources

Human Rights from Field to Fork is an effort to raise awareness and to mobilize UUSC members and supporters in support of the rights of workers in the food sector.

Justice for workers who harvest, process, serve, and sell food

In the United States alone, 20 million people work in the food system, which is built on the cheap or slave labor of mostly people of color and immigrants, who are among the lowest-income and most exploited workers. UUSC is collaborating with the Food Chain Workers Alliance (FCWA) to advance the rights of workers in the food system so they can work in dignity for a living wage and organize in defense of their labor rights. We hope you will join us this season of giving by learning about this effort and taking action to make a difference for economic justice.

Food is interconnected with fundamental economic, political, social, and cultural aspects of our society. Food is woven into our communities through gatherings of family and friends and is central to our spiritual celebrations and rituals. The way we eat reflects personal habits and choices, as well as collective societal ones.

With each bite we consume, we are connected to people near and far on whom we depend daily to plant, harvest, process, pack, transport, prepare, serve, and sell our food. Yet five out of eight of the worst-paying jobs in the United States are in the food system, and food workers face some of the most difficult and dangerous working conditions.

UUSC's Economic Justice Program promotes the rights of food workers in a number of ways, including working to improve the conditions of poultry-processing workers, raise the wages of restaurant workers, strengthen a pecan-processing cooperative run by African-American women in Georgia, and engage UU congregations in fair trade.

If we explore in greater depth where our food comes from, we begin not only to uncover realities of the working conditions in which it is produced, but also to make connections to other issues such as food sovereignty, sustainable agriculture, climate change, and more. In 2008, delegates at the 2008 Unitarian Universalist General Assembly selected ethical eating as the 2008-2012 Congregational Study/Action Issue (CSAI) of the UUA.

Choose compassionate consumption this Thanksgiving


This Thanksgiving, as you reflect on your blessings, you can learn and educate others about the rights of workers in the food system. These projects below provide simple action steps to get involved in their fight for justice.

Below, you can download resources from the Food Chain Workers Alliance (FCWA) to participate in the Human Rights from Field to Fork project.

  • "Who's Behind Your Food?" postcard [PDF]
    If you would like printed copies of this FCWA informational postcard, produced at a unionized print shop, please e-mail info@foodchainworkers.org with your name, address, e-mail, the number of cards you would like, and the date by which you need to receive the cards.
  • Insert for your congregational bulletin
    • Editable Word version [DOC]
      This sample bulletin insert is provided as a Word document so you can customize it for your needs. If you are holding a workshop on justice for food workers, type in the date, place, and time to announce the event.
    • PDF version [PDF]
      Print and cut these double-sided 5½" x 8½" bulletin inserts

UUSC has also created sample lesson plans for youth groups and religious-education classes that educators can use to engage people in understanding their connection to compassionate consumption through the Human Rights from Field to Fork project.


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