Food and Farm Justice on the Menu for Kamala Harris
Just four days before Sen. Kamala Harris became the first woman of color chosen as the running mate of a major U.S. political party’s (presumptive) presidential nominee, she co-authored an op-ed for CNN calling on grocery store chains to reinstate “hazard pay.”
Harris’s decision to stand up for grocery store workers months after news crews had left supermarkets, and shoppers had stopped panic-buying, isn’t surprising to those familiar with her record in the food, water, and agriculture sectors.
“Short of having somebody who has actually worked in the food system or has experienced hunger themselves, she’s about as good as they get on food and hunger,” Jessica Bartholow, a policy advocate for the nonpartisan Western Center on Law & Poverty, told Civil Eats.
A native of California, the country’s largest agricultural state, Harris has sponsored legislation to improve working conditions for farmworkers, expand food and water access, and protect the environment.
Her advocacy landed her the coveted endorsement of the United Farm Workers before she suspended her 2020 presidential campaign in December.
And when Joe Biden named her as his VP pick on August 11, leaders of numerous farm and grocery workers unions and of food and environmental groups celebrated the news.
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