The Fair Food Program is applied in the salmon fishery.

Since it began a few years ago, the Fair Food Program has entered a phase of expansion and the benefits and protections of the program are reaching not only more states in the U.S. but also other countries and is also being implemented in other industries such as salmon.

My colleague Gerardo Guzman prepared a report on what they are pushing for more and more entrepreneurs, governments and workers to incorporate farming practices, but taking care of the ecosystem and environment, in addition to improving working conditions in the fishing industry.

The innovative program to improve agricultural conditions for farm workers known as Fair Food is now being extended to the fishing industry. Leaders of groups representing Florida farmworkers are advising fisheries as far away as Scotland, Ireland and Chile, where the salmon industry is second only to mining. Lucas Benítez, coordinator and co-founder of the coalition of Immokalee workers, talks about it.

In Chile, in particular, the concept of the program is to share experiences and advice to promote fair labor practices in the salmon fishing and packing industry. Benítez describes how they managed to convince business, government and union leaders in the South American country.

However, there are barriers that hinder the progress of this plan, especially the possibility of communicating and persuading fishermen about the benefits of this labor justice initiative:

And the fact is that, as Lucas Benítez points out, the places from which salmon are fished are very remote spaces, and sometimes difficult to access:

The pontoon is a type of boat or hull, made of steel, plastic materials or wood, used as a floating platform. There, fishermen spend 12-day days fishing for salmon.

Fortunately, the Immokalee coalition team has found an opening in one of the producers to implement the program.

One aspect they have emphasized most to achieve legitimacy and openness is to build alliances with local unions.

With the enthusiasm and support of the Chilean government, the success of Comida Justa in the Salmon industry is being strengthened.

FOR THE NOTICIERO LATINO DISPATCH REPORTED BY GERARDO GUZMAN

Remember that this dispatch is part of the Cuando se Seca el ArroyoSeries, funded in part by The Walton Family Foundation.