idk i would personally rather give up access to certain products seasonally or locally than have people enslaved to give me the ability to have any product any place any time. i think i can go without tomatoes in january.
i wish buy local or seasonal meant something to do with ethics but tbh most agriculture in the us is also farmed by immigrant seasonal labor in conditions that with the growing weaponisation of ICE raids by farmowners is much like the kafala system. the part of the supply chain where tomatoes get shipped from florida or southern california are like the least enslaved human labour parts of it.
In a study published July 2023 in Nature, researchers at the University of Nottingham Rights Lab and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University calculated the risk of forced labor across all aspects of the U.S. food supply, excluding seafood. They found that most forced labor risks came from animal-based proteins, processed fruits and vegetables, and discretionary foods – products such as sweeteners, coffee, wine, and beer. They also found that 62 percent of forced labor risk came from production or processing that occurs on US soil. The study notes that characteristics such as poverty, language barriers, and uncertain immigration status could render individuals at higher risk for forced labor in the US.
The elimination of forced labour (Sustainable Development Goal 8.7) is a priority for the sustainability of food systems. Using data on prod
and basically avoid chocolate. almost all chocolate involves slave labor, including the chocolate that advertised itself as slavery free.
