Food Justice Certified

            Food Justice Certified is a new label launched nationwide by the Agricultural Justice Project to bring fairness to the food system.  NOFA is one of four partners in the Agricultural Justice Project.  What makes it different from the “Fair Trade” label already out there?  Many labels were developed to address the issue of farmers in the southern hemisphere selling to buyers in the northern hemisphere. Food Justice Certified is based on the Agricultural Justice Project, meaning it was developed specifically for North American food system operations.

It began in 1999 with disappointment that the National Organic Standards said nothing about the people involved in organic agriculture.  Elizabeth Henderson of Peacework Organic Farm in New York, NOFA's policy chair, author of Sharing the Harvest and co-author of the NOFA Whole Farm Planning Handbook joined with The Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI-USA), The Farmworker Support Committee (CATA) and Florida Organic Growers (FOG) in the decade long process of creating the Agricultural Justice Project and the standards for the Food Justice certification.

The Agricultural Justice Project’s Social Justice Standards cover Farmers' and all food system workers' rights to freedom of association; Fair wages and benefits for workers; Fair and equitable contracts for farmers and buyers; Fair pricing for farmers; Clear conflict resolution policies for farmers, workers and buyers; The rights of indigenous peoples; Workplace health and safety, and decent farmworker housing; High-quality training for farm interns and apprentices; The rights and protection of children on farms; and Elimination of the use of toxic materials.  For the full version of the Standards, please visit http://www.agriculturaljusticeproject.org/AJPStandardsJuly2010Final.pdf

According to the Agricultural Justice project, (http://www.agriculturaljusticeproject.org/home.html), "currently, Quality Certification Services and Midwest Organic Services Association offer Food Justice Certification. The farm worker organizations participating include CATA/Farmworker Support Committee, Centro Campesino, the Agriculture Workers Alliance in Canada and the Farmworkers Association of Florida. The Farmer Direct Coop, a marketing cooperative of 70 grain farms in Saskatchewan, was the first to receive the label. Hoch Orchards, Featherstone Farm, the Bluff Country Coop, and the Midwest Organic Services Association in the Upper Midwest have also met the high bar for AJP certification as part of its three-year pilot project. The Food Justice label is available for farms and other food businesses from seed to table and can be used along with certified organic or as a stand-alone label for advanced integrated pest management farms. In New York State, farms will be piloting a pledge version for small scale, direct-market farms with limited hired labor."

We thank Elizabeth Henderson for her visionary work for justice in the food system.

The core guarantees of the new Food Justice Certified label are fair prices to farmers that cover production costs, protection of children from hazardous farm work, and living wages plus respectful treatment for all food system workers. After a dozen years in development, the Agricultural Justice Project is launching this program across North America. The seal certifies that the highest standards of equity and fairness have been met on farms, in food manufacturing and in stores. The standards cover:

·         Farmers and all food system workers' rights to freedom of association;

·         Fair wages and benefits for workers;

·         Fair and equitable contracts for farmers and buyers;

·         Fair pricing for farmers;

·         Clear conflict resolution policies for farmers, workers and buyers;

·         The rights of indigenous peoples;

·         Workplace health and safety, and decent farmworker housing;

·         High-quality training for farm interns and apprentices;

·         The rights and protection of children on farms;

·         Elimination of the use of toxic materials.

Currently, Quality Certification Services and Midwest Organic Services Association offer Food Justice Certification. The farm worker organizations participating include CATA/Farmworker Support Committee, Centro Campesino, the Agriculture Workers Alliance in Canada and the Farmworkers Association of Florida. The Farmer Direct Coop, a marketing cooperative of 70 grain farms in Saskatchewan, was the first to receive the label. Hoch Orchards, Featherstone Farm, the Bluff Country Coop, and the Midwest Organic Services Association in the Upper Midwest have also met the high bar for AJP certification as part of its three-year pilot project. The Food Justice label is available for farms and other food businesses from seed to table and can be used along with certified organic or as a stand-alone label for advanced integrated pest management farms. In New York State, farms will be piloting a pledge version for small scale,

direct-market farms with limited hired labor.

Thank you to ­­­Bill Duesing for writing this article.