Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
Protecting Food. Empowering Whistleblowers.
The Food Integrity Campaign was excited to attend Food Tank’s first annual Food Tank Summit at George Washington University in Washington, DC this week.
The two-day summit consisted of a series of expert panels that discussed various ways of creating positive changes in the food system, such as identifying how to decrease food waste and helping farmers become more resilient.
One particular panel topic on day one caught our attention: the importance of telling the story of food. Speakers addressed the need for different methods and platforms for revealing the stories of where, by who, and how food is produced, as companies continue making it more difficult to shed light on what goes on in the food industry. A key story that needs to be told is that of the whistleblowers. It is critical to support industry insiders who give us the details that Big Ag often tries to hide from the public, and allow us to make more informed purchasing decisions.
The Campaign is constantly working to convey the untold stories of brave individuals who expose wrongdoing and threats to the food supply. Sometimes those stories have a happy ending. But without solidarity from the community or adequate legal protections, many truth-tellers become isolated and face retaliation – their stories silenced.
On day two, we were pleased to hear experts address the need for advancing workers’ rights in the food industry. To take things a step further, we hope next year the summit will address the need to improve whistleblower protections for food industry workers, many of whom currently risk it all to reveal wrongful behavior by the government and major industry players.
Join FIC in the food truth movement by visiting FoodWhistleblower.org.
Alyssa Doom is Investigation & Outreach Coordinator for the Food Integrity Campaign.