Food Empowerment Project

In many cases, this includes what the International Labour Organization (ILO) calls “the worst forms of child labor.” These are defined as practices “likely to harm the health, safety, or morals of children.” Approximately 2.1 million children in the Ivory Coast and Ghana work on cocoa farms, most of whom are likely exposed to the worst forms of child labor. 🍫 Read more about child labor in the chocolate industry here: https://buff.ly/2H65LKm [ID: Two young girls from Western Africa holding a machete with scratches on their feet with text that reads, “Most cocoa farmers earn less than $1 per day, an income below the extreme poverty line. As a result, they often resort to the use of child labor to keep their prices competitive.”]

We stand with The Gala Pride & Diversity Center in their fight for equality in San Luis Obispo County. Join us in supporting their Pride in Action fundraiser to help keep the doors open and their mission alive! 🏳️🌈 ➡️ https://buff.ly/3TgkZjJ As an org that runs on community support year-round and appreciates and relies on your support, we acknowledge that sometimes emergencies occur where we want to encourage to support those in desperate need. #SupportGala #PrideInActionSLO #SLOCountyPride

While images of polar bears precariously perched on melting ice floes have become emblematic of how the climate crisis has affected animals, most species depend on a livable climate. One of the biggest drivers of the climate crisis is animal agriculture. Just how big is a topic of ongoing research. Efforts to quantify the climate impact of specific industries are always evolving, just as the emissions themselves are always in flux. Read more about how animals are impacted by the ongoing climate crisis here: https://buff.ly/3WhVNtK [ID: Farmed cows looking out into the sunset with text that reads, “A heat wave killed at least 2,000 cows in Kansas in 2022.”]

Worker justice includes those in the prison industrial complex! Call to action by Vera Institute of Justice Repost from @verainstitute: From fighting wildfires to digging graves, incarcerated workers face danger on the job. Yet they are explicitly excluded from many of the workplace safety, labor, and anti-discrimination laws that protect other U.S. workers. Forced prison labor is dangerous and inhumane. It's past time for it to end. 📣 Sign the petition here:

This summer, we completed our annual School Supply Drive for the children of farm workers! This year we delivered backs to families along the California central coast in Santa Maria and Paso Robles. 🤍 Watch the video above to see how the day went and the pure excitement from these kids! You can see more images and a blog recapping the event on our website here: https://buff.ly/3TdlFGo A HUGE thank you to everyone who donated! Because of your generous support, we were able to prepare farm worker families for the school year ahead! 🎒 And a special thank you to Mark Sanches Santos @brownliketheearth for capturing the day. 🎥

✨NEW RESOURCE ALERT! ✨ Have you heard the news? F.E.P. launched Eating Vegan in College! Created by former and current college students on our team, this page is made for students wanting to spread awareness about veganism, food justice, and also those who want to learn how to cook vegan in their dorms! This page is filled with a host of tips, tools, and resources like letter templates, tabling tips, and tons of meal ideas. 🥗 📓 Check it out here: https://buff.ly/4g1HXVp

This #LaborDay and every day after, we commit to standing in solidarity with farm workers who continue to fight for better working conditions, dignity, and respect. Repost from @perfectunion:The Department of Labor is creating the first-ever federal safety standard for extreme heat in the workplace. Farmworkers told us they’re laboring under deadly heat with no shade, few breaks, and little water. They need strong, enforced heat protections to save their lives. #farmworker #farmworkers #farmworkerjustice

Food Empowerment Project has released a new page all about octopuses 🐙 We bring you a host of information about these incredible and fascinating creatures. Sadly, the rise of octopus farming is impacting their lives. Learn more about this horrible and inhumane practice, and why it’s bad for the environment, human health, and why these animals shouldn’t be tortured and killed for human consumption ➡️ https://buff.ly/3Mp22r6 [ID: Reddish octopus in the wild floating in the ocean with text that reads,“the Spanish “seafood” company Nueva Pescanova announced plans to establish the world’s first commercial octopus farm in the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The farm has the potential to ship some 3,000 tons of frozen octopuses a year. That’s about 1 million animals.”]

This #LaborDay and every day after, we commit to standing in solidarity with farm workers who continue to fight for better working conditions, dignity, and respect. Repost from @perfectunion:The Department of Labor is creating the first-ever federal safety standard for extreme heat in the workplace. Farmworkers told us they’re laboring under deadly heat with no shade, few breaks, and little water. They need strong, enforced heat protections to save their lives. #farmworker #farmworkers #farmworkerjustice

Happy #LaborDay! Worker justice is integral for food justice to move forward. Restaurant workers are often left out of discussions about food justice, a major oversight considering that there are more than 13 million in the U.S. alone—nearly 1 of every 10 workers in the country. The diverse agricultural fields of the U.S. employ an estimated 2.4 million people each year. Despite the pivotal role these workers play in the stability of the U.S. food system, many of these adults and even children work in unsafe conditions every day in exchange for a salary below the national poverty level.  F.E.P. encourages a vegan lifestyle based on compassion and respect for all forms of life. Our compassion and respect must extend not only to the non-human animals who are so horribly mistreated but also to the workers who provide us with the fruits and vegetables that sustain us.  Read more about produce and restaurant workers at Foodispower.org 🌱   [ID: Images of farm workers and restaurant workers with a transparent green shape with overlaying text that reads, "there's no food justice without worker justice."]