Turkey Day is almost upon us, and perhaps it's time to think of those who grow most of our food. No, not the small farmer. The America where most food was grown by small farmers is long past. Rather the farmworker. Sometimes when I say my table grace I include thanking God for the labor of those who grow our food. Without the farmworkers effort we would suffer in this country, and yet most often we forget them.
In the 1960's and early 70's the farmworkers were a popular cause, and the organization that represented more of them that any other, the United Farmworkers Association, then headed by Caesar Chavez, was especially popular. They used direct field organizing and community organizing to reach farmworkers and boycotts or informational picket lines to involve the general public in winning contracts and improved conditions. For a while the future for farmworkers looked bright.
But now it seems we have forgotten them again, which seems to me a sign of ingratitude towards God, who provided the farmworkers to us as a means of our obtaining our daily bread. The Epistle of St. James specifically mentions the suffering of field workers and warns the wealthy they will be held accountable for it.
I receive email from time to from the United Farmworkers Association and I usually find ways to support them, which these days, since I am unemployed, does not include money. Perhaps you are in better shape and would like to help them. If you are, click here to donate.
https://secure.ufw.org/page/contribute/coachella
To find out more about the UFW click here:
http://www.ufw.org/
And remember to include the farmworkers in your grace this Thanksgiving.
In the 1960's and early 70's the farmworkers were a popular cause, and the organization that represented more of them that any other, the United Farmworkers Association, then headed by Caesar Chavez, was especially popular. They used direct field organizing and community organizing to reach farmworkers and boycotts or informational picket lines to involve the general public in winning contracts and improved conditions. For a while the future for farmworkers looked bright.
But now it seems we have forgotten them again, which seems to me a sign of ingratitude towards God, who provided the farmworkers to us as a means of our obtaining our daily bread. The Epistle of St. James specifically mentions the suffering of field workers and warns the wealthy they will be held accountable for it.
I receive email from time to from the United Farmworkers Association and I usually find ways to support them, which these days, since I am unemployed, does not include money. Perhaps you are in better shape and would like to help them. If you are, click here to donate.
https://secure.ufw.org/page/contribute/coachella
To find out more about the UFW click here:
http://www.ufw.org/
And remember to include the farmworkers in your grace this Thanksgiving.
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