Today! Call Hannaford to demand Milk with Dignity

Farmworkers and consumers are gearing up for another year of action for Milk with Dignity. Despite the unceasing attacks from Trump’s deportation agencies, workers are courageously continuing to organize for dignified working and housing conditions in the dairy industry. 

After last year’s agreement with organic brand Vermont Way Foods to create a new “Cheese with Dignity” product (on shelves soon!), farmworkers are redoubling calls on Hannaford Supermarket to join the program. Together, workers and consumers can hold Hannaford responsible for ensuring dignified treatment in its dairy supply chain.

Join with campaign supporters today to call Hannaford and demand Milk with Dignity. Make your call now!

Hannaford has responded to the years-long Milk with Dignity campaign with a litany of false solutions designed to trick consumers and investors into believing that the company has cleaned up its act. Hannaford (and parent company Ahold Delhaize) have updated their “Standards of Engagement” for suppliers and distributed “self-assessments” for employers to record their labor practices. They have expanded a complaint line for supply chain workers and have contracted an auditor to review farm practices. Hannaford’s promotion of these initiatives even won an award last year from a public relations association!

The problem? None of these vaunted initiatives has made an ounce of difference for farmworkers. The standards are clearly violated at every level; the self-assessments rely on the honor system; the complaint line has been proven to be ineffective. After years of promising third-party audits, the corporation hired Food Safety Net Services, a food testing lab with no background in labor or human rights. Workers have seen no evidence of any audits taking place.

But farmworkers’ persistence is paying off. Last year, Migrant Justice filed an international human rights complaint against Ahold Delhaize in the Netherlands. The Dutch body has accepted jurisdiction and is now reviewing the complaint. Ahold, for its part, conceded to an independent investigation of human rights in its Northeast U.S. dairy supply chain. The company announced the concession at its annual shareholder meeting, where Migrant Justice and allied investors had gathered to demand Milk with Dignity.

Last fall, the investigators came to the U.S. and spoke with dozens of farmworkers and other industry stakeholders. They heard a clear narrative of systemic human rights violations in Hannaford’s supply chain and of the company’s failure to remedy the violations. They heard from worker after worker that the only solution is Milk with Dignity.

Add your voice to the demand for Milk with Dignity by making a call to Hannaford President Mike Vail today!

p.s. Have you signed the Milk with Dignity consumer pledge? Join with thousands of others to pledge your solidarity with farmworkers fighting for human rights!