Florida Tomato Growers Reiterate Support for Socially Accountable Farm Employers Certification Program.Third Party Audits & Inspections Started Before McDonald's Announcement Today MAITLAND, Fla. -- The Florida Tomato Growers Exchange today reiterated its support of the Socially Accountable Farm Employers Certification (SAFE) program - a nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. that has provided independent auditing and certification of fair, lawful Licit; legally warranted or authorized. The terms lawful and legal differ in that the former contemplates the substance of law, whereas the latter alludes to the form of law. A lawful act is authorized, sanctioned, or not forbidden by law. farm labor practices in the agriculture industry. Today's joint announcement by McDonald's and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is "a community-based worker organization" whose members are "largely Latino, Haitian, and Mayan Indian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida. comes after two successive years of independent audits of Florida tomato growers who participate in the SAFE program. Formed in 2005, SAFE independently verifies and certifies fruit and vegetable growers who follow fair, lawful labor practices in compliance with the Farm Labor Employer Code of Conduct principles and local legal farm production employer requirements. Farmers that participate in the SAFE program voluntarily agree that an independent auditor Independent Auditor An external auditor with a certified public accounting designation that qualifies him or her to provide an auditor's report. Notes: These auditors aren't affiliated with the company being audited. of an approved Certification Body (CB) conducts on-site verification of growers' facilities and operations to assess compliance with the Farm Labor Employer Code of Conduct. "We will continue to develop long-term, comprehensive solutions that improve the lives of all farm workers," said Reggie Brown, executive vice president, Florida Tomato Growers Exchange. "The SAFE certification establishes a framework for certifying employment, labor, health and safety practices among fruit and vegetable growers in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Our hope is that the rest of agriculture follows our lead in demonstrating corporate responsibility." The Florida Tomato Growers Exchange is an agricultural cooperative An Agricultural cooperative is a cooperative where farmers pool their resources in certain areas. There are two primary types of agricultural cooperatives:
|
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion