"You are invited to join Oxfam's partner, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), at a Boston march and protest to call on Stop & Shop to advance the rights of farmworkers.

Marchers will first gather in Copley Square for a peaceful rally featuring live music and addresses from CIW members and allies, and then march to the Brigham Circle Stop & Shop. There, the march will culminate in a spirited action to call on Stop & Shop to do its part to end farmworker abuse and exploitation.

Join us for either the entire family-friendly march and rally, or just for the culminating action at Stop & Shop.

This march will help grow the movement built by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in support of farmworkers. Stand up for better wages and conditions for these workers by putting pressure on Stop & Shop."

"Things will kick off with Boston's March to Stop Sweatshops, a little play on words (and logo) to target Stop & Shop's refusal to sign onto the Campaign for Fair Food. The supermarket's parent company, Ahold USA, has dug in its heel and continue to give a big fat "no" to working with CIW on making certain their shelves aren't stocked with tomatoes juicy with slavery. Then events will really heat up with a "Do the Right Thing" rally at a Publix supermarket in sunny Tampa, Florida. Once again, on Publix: these are the people who think "atrocities" committed to provide the food they sell don't concern them in the least.

While the tour will run all up and down the East Coast, offending supermarkets exist all over the country, and advocates have launched their own supporting campaign in locations such as Colorado, Texas, and Kansas -- because ending modern-day slavery matters no matter what your zip code." read more

"... A look at the Jewish concept of chanufa (flattery) offers guidance toward a resolution. In Jewish law, this term is generally understood to refer not to ordinary or even excessive compliments, but to actions that prop up evil-doers by protecting their reputation and thereby encourage them to continue in their ways.

In a 13th-century text, Rabbi Yonah Gerondi lays out nine categories of chanufa, each of which involves offering public honor to an evil-doer or justification of his or her actions.

For example, Gerondi prohibits telling such a person that s/he has done nothing wrong; publicly praising a person who does evil, even for the good things that s/he does; elevating a wicked person to a communal honor; or failing to protest when one has the means to do so.

Throughout this discussion, Gerondi assumes that the evil action is already public. That is, there is no expectation that a person will investigate each of his or her friends to ensure that this person is innocent of bad behavior. But once a person becomes known for his or her bad behavior, then the prohibition against offering any support to this person kicks in. In a similar vein, a person who has the means to object to the offense must do so; but a person who does not have the means to object will not be held responsible for staying silent.

In the case of the Immokalee workers, it is probable that most food providers buy from suppliers that pay their workers unfairly and have unsafe working conditions. But until these improper actions become public, we do not know for sure. For the average consumer, there is no expectation that we will investigate the supply chains of every product in our pantries. However, when it becomes public knowledge that a certain company is not behaving appropriately -- and when there are organized means of pushing the company to act differently -- the rules change.

It is now public knowledge that Trader Joe's has refused to sign the Fair Food agreement. And the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has organized an easy-to-join campaign to persuade the company to do the right thing. Any one of us can send a letter to our local store using the sample text here, or write to national headquarters by filling out this form. With these two conditions in place, we risk falling into the reviled category of "flatterers" if we support the company in any way, or even if we miss out on our chance to protest.

So for now, I'm not throwing out all of the tomato paste in the kitchen. But our house will have to be toot-free until the fresh ones come back this spring.