In March 2021, Host of The Checkout and Grocery Nerd, Errol Schweizer, gave a keynote address to the members of Naturally San Diego. The audience consisted of dozens of natural and organic product entrepreneurs, supply chain workers and investors.

Is Justice and Dignity possible in food industry supply chains? What are the particular issues that matter if we are serious about guaranteeing fairness? Why should natural product companies support the ProACT and unionization campaigns? Tune in for a detailed and rapid-fire inventory of steps you can take to ensure the food industry is more sustainable and equitable for working people.

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The Checkout speaks with Sarah Jaffe about being a labor journalist before it was cool, our shared admiration of Sylvia Federici, and Sarah’s excellent new book, Work Won’t Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted and Alone.

The U.S. dairy industry is vast, complex and misunderstood. Plant-based advocates dismiss it as cruel and inhumane while local farm activists tout the assumed sustainability of family run-dairies. But there is so much more to how it all works, who it works for and how it is failing farmers, consumers and workers.

Join Errol Schweizer, Grocery Nerd and Host of The Checkout, as we dig into Danone’s harsh decision to cut off contracts to 79 Northeast Organic dairy farmers and use this crisis as a jumping off point to analyze and explain the massive U.S. dairy sector.

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https://brandworkers.org

Brandworkers members are forging a new kind of organization to restore power to workers. Workers themselves are best-positioned and uniquely capable to liberate themselves and transform our local food system. Local food workers face long hours with low pay and 40% of workers report an injury on the job. Undocumented workers are paid $7.52 an hour less than their coworkers and women are paid 60 cents on the dollar compared to men. The vision of Brandworkers is: One dignified, family supporting employment standard for workers in the local food industry, maintained and enhanced by the agency of rank and file workers.

Support The Food Worker Power Fund and help Brandworkers organizing expand to New Jersey: https://brandworkers.org/newjersey/

Brandworkers is uniquely positioned to build a sustainable and deeply rooted foundation for food factory workers in New Jersey to achieve dignified union jobs through worker-led organizing and community building with allies. The New York metro area spans both states—worker communities are interconnected.

Since August 10th, bakery plant workers who make Oreos, Ritz and Chips Ahoy in five states across the country, have walked off the job. The parent company of Nabisco, a multinational food conglomerate called Mondelez, has closed multiple facilities, including a legacy plant in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and has already laid off thousands while sending jobs to other countries at a much lower pay scale. The Checkout spoke with three BCTGM workers about their experiences at work, how the company has degraded conditions, compensation and benefits, and what the workers hope to achieve through direct action.

Guests Include:

Lisa Gregory, BCTGM International Representative, East-Central Region.

Mike Burlingham, BCTGM Local 364 Vice President, Portland, Oregon.

Carl Miller, BCTGM Local 358, 34 Year-veteran, Richmond, Virginia.

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The Checkout’s Host, Errol Schweizer, does a deep dive on how broader political economy issues drive grocery store design flaws such as “ethnic aisles” as well as a presentation to the local food movement on understanding larger supply chain issues in our food system during Covid-19. Let’s burst these bubbles.

Errol Schweizer is the Host of The Checkout and has over 25 years of food industry experience, including retail operations and purchasing, CPG, farmers markets, community organizing, and more.

Miyoko Schinner has had a long and storied natural product career. Her wildly successful company, Miyoko’s Creamery is “boldly revolutionizing dairy by making radically real cheese and butter without cows on a game-changing scale and leading the fastest growing natural cheese brand in the U.S. now sold in more than 10,000 retailers nationwide.”

https://miyokos.com Founder and CEO of Miyoko’s, Miyoko Schinner, sparked the rise of the multi-million dollar plant-based cheese revolution by engineering a proprietary technology for making dairy from plants. Earning the title “the Queen of vegan cheese,” the bestselling author, chef, and entrepreneur has dedicated 30+ years to affecting social change and sustainability through veganism and activism.

Tyler Mayoras is an impact investor and entrepreneur focused on building a sustainable future of food. He has over 20 years of private equity experience building successful companies and organizations in the food and agriculture industries and is a founder of Cool Beans.

Cool Beans is the brainchild of Tyler Mayoras and a group of like minded folks. Cool Beans is made with gluten free, whole food, plant-based, minimally processed ingredients. https://www.eatcoolbeans.com/pages/about

https://www.eatcoolbeans.com/pages/where-to-buy

The Checkout Speaks with researcher and educator Pam Koch on the need for universal school lunch and creating school-based resources for food justice.

Pam Koch conducts research with schools and communities to give people power to demand healthy, just, sustainable food. She translates her research into curricula for school teachers, recommendations for policy makers, and resources for advocates. She has evaluated many school-based programs that improve school meals, create school gardens, conduct cooking sessions, and promote food justice. She teaches an online professional development course for educators, Teaching Food and Nutrition for All. Her work contributes to increased access to nutritious, delicious and sustainable food for all.

https://www.tc.columbia.edu/tisch/

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The Checkout caught up with three former employees of No Evil Foods. They gave us the scoop on what it was like to work for a company whose progressive ideals were in conflict with their business model and employee relations.

For more information and to support laid off workers: tinyurl.com/nefcharity

MoEvilFoods.com

@BirdieGregson

@soevilfoods

https://www.instagram.com/soevilfoods/