Exploring the moral issues surrounding labor justice in the American agricultural system, the “Food Justice: Growing a Movement” talk Tuesday aimed to shed light on the poor working conditions within the food industry.

Held by the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor in the ICC auditorium, the presentation featured speakers Barry Estabrook, author of “Tomatoland,” and Greg Asbed and Gerardo Reyes, both members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. The coalition works to promote fair labor practices for the workers in the production capital of the tomato industry, specifically for the Immokalee community in southern Florida.

Estabrook shared the discoveries he made about the tomato growing industry while conducting research for his book, describing working conditions that he said resemble a modern form of slavery. He detailed an environment where workers are exposed to pesticides nearly every day, earn far less than the minimum wage and do not receive worker benefits.

According to Estabrook, the migrant workers have earned essentially the same wage for the last 30 years. Paid by the amount of produce they pick, they earn 50 to 60 cents for every 32-pound bucket of tomatoes. Asbed explained that such labor conditions are the result of increasing consumer demand for vegetables.

“There is a steady downward pressure from corporations who relentlessly want to cut prices,” he said. With ever-tightening budgets and the rising cost of farming equipment, the growers’ only option is to tighten their budgets by cutting wages.

CIW has made strides in improving labor treatment for the workers at Immokalee, particularly through their “Penny More Per Pound” initiative. For every additional cent food purchasers pay per pound of tomatoes, worker’s earnings can increase by 32 cents per bucket. Added up, the new wages nearly equal minimum wage.

Through this campaign, CIW has established a system where the buying power of companies keeps the farmers’ treatment of the workers in check. Participating companies choose to buy from those farms that employ just practices. The coalition is currently planning to target supermarkets to join their initiative. CIW has already succeeded in gaining the support of fast food chains, such as Taco Bell, McDonald’s and Burger King, as well as Aramark, Georgetown’s food service provider.

“This is the first time the community is seeing the changes they’re pursuing,” Reyes said. “Abuses will continue, but a system is now in place to punish and identify the abusers and extract them from the system.”

Thomas Scharff (COL ’12), co-leader of this year’s Alternative Spring Break trip for Imokalee Migrant Worker Justice, also spoke passionately about fair labor practices.

“There is no one answer to this issue, and it’s important to hear the different sides and see the potential for change,” he told The Hoya. “Students need to understand that the consumer holds a lot of power. We need to be engaged with the issue and realize we can change the markets.”

Reyes and Asbed ultimately hope that raising awareness of the conditions of agricultural labor in Immokalee can eventually change the relationship between the laborers and their bosses.

“We have always had the same dream — imagining life where we are treated with dignity and are not invisible to society”, Reyes said. “This dream gives meaning to our existence and our humanity. Change is unavoidable.”