We know that international human rights law guarantees the right to decent work that provides fair wages: essentially, a living wage. Governments thus must protect, respect, and take steps to fulfill this right to decent work. (Wages also implicate other rights that governments must protect: as the UN Special Rapporteur …
Around the world, we depend on farmworkers to grow and harvest our food; we just don’t want to pay them enough so that they can afford the food themselves. As discussed last week, international human rights law guarantees a right to decent work, which includes fair wages that enable workers …
At a restaurant in Kigali the other night, the long table next to mine was filled with 14 loud Americans. I heard snippets of their conversation: an anecdote about slaughtering animals, some business talk, stories from back home. I finally realized that they were there with Tyson Foods Inc., one …
I’m not a member of a union. If you speak about union, you will lose [your] job or [be] treated bad. – Human Rights Watch interview with “Kiersten H.,” Grabouw, South Africa, 2010, from “Ripe with Abuse.“ One of the ironies that struck me while working with farmworkers in South …
In the past two weeks, I’ve written briefly about litigating against agribusiness corporations, and discussed the origins of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). As I noted, the ATS is not a perfect vehicle for accountability, but it is one still of the most important tools that we have at our disposal for …
Last week, I mentioned the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). The ATS is currently one of the most important American laws for pursuing accountability for grave human rights abuses. It is also, unfortunately, in danger of being significantly narrowed by the US Supreme Court. But what is it? Below, I’ll explain …
Agribusinesses can directly and indirectly affect human rights. People concerned about agribusinesses’ negative behavior have a range of options for engagement. Some involve rather amiable collaborations, such as partnerships to improve corporate social responsibility. Other options are more combative, ranging from “naming and shaming” reports to litigation in the court …
Last year, I was blown away by an incredible article in The New Yorker that detailed forced labor and terrible working conditions on US army bases. I knew, of course, that the US government has been implicated in a number of atrocious human rights abuses. And, if pressed, I would not …
Recent news from around the globe related to (or with implications for) the intersection of food, the law, and human rights: In Brazil, the Superior Tribunal of Justice (the highest appellate court for non-constitutional federal questions) held that a decision in the class action lawsuit brought by Brazilian farmers in …
Last week, I posted the first part of an interview with Natalie Bridgeman Fields, the Executive Director of Accountability Counsel, regarding what people can do when the World Bank or other large institutions have supported land grabs. She described two important avenues for recourse within the World Bank Group system: the World …