TEDxFruitvale 2011: Harvesting Change by Maisie Greenawalt

When it comes to addressing the problems of farmworkers, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. But what we do know is that a cheap food system built on the backs of the poor is immoral and unsustainable.

Maisie Greenawalt is cofounder and president of the Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation and vice president of strategy for Bon Appétit Management Company. Most recently, Maisie has been focused on farmworker rights. After a trip to Immokalee, FL, to meet with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), Maisie and Bon Appétit CEO Fedele Bauccio collaborated with the CIW to usher in a sweeping Code of Conduct for how the company's Florida tomato suppliers treat their workers. Later, Maisie led the Foundation team that worked on the Inventory of Farmworker Rights and Protections in the United States, a comprehensive report developed in partnership with United Farm Workers with support from Oxfam America.

This talk is part of Session One: Meet for TEDxFruitvale, which was held on October 14, 2011 at Mills College in Oakland, CA. The conference's theme was Harvesting Change, and it focused on farmworkers, labor and other social justice movements, and fair labor practices in business.