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ll to the need for racial and environmental justice. The negative impacts of climate change, failure to recycle society’s wastes, and infrastructure deterioration fall most heavily on low income neighborhoods and communities of color while threatening the present and future health of all living beings. By focusing on the need for fair trading in farm products and fair treatment of food workers rooted in empowerment of those most marginalized by the current food system, AJP contributes to shifting the dominant system towards greater fairness and equity. We believe that taking care of and engaging and empowering all people is a necessary precondition for the regeneration of a viable biosphere worth sustaining. Farms and food businesses that function as cohesive, integrated, aware social organisms have a special role to play in ensuring the health of humans, cultures, animals, and our planet. Our work spans the U.S. and Canada in the following main focus areas:
Steps to Become Food Justice Certified
1. Get Ready
Farms and Food Business of any size and type can become Food Justice Certified farms.
Food businesses of any type and size can become Food Justice Certified, from restaurants to retailers to processors. The certification process looks at your business’ hired labor practices as well as contracts with other businesses and/or with farmers that you purchase from.
The Agricultural Justice Project (AJP) works to transform the existing agricultural system. We seek empowerment, justice and fairness for all who labor from farm to retail. Central to our mission are the principles that all humans deserve respect, the freedom to live with dignity and nurture community, and share responsibility for preserving the earth’s resources for future generations.
Consolidation of power; an economy driven by profit; structural racism that has enabled consolidation of that profit and power in the hands of few via a foundation of strategic exploitation of black, brown, immigrant and native peoples; lack of transparency; and the spread of a cultural of divisiveness are among the root causes of the severe injustices in our food system. These give rise to the advantage of some people over others and invite corruption, while silencing many voices. People are pitted against people, sector against sector. Essential values are discredited and true costs externalized as we ignore the interconnectedness of whole systems. Working people who have the power to change the system remain disunited and in the dark. The very same mechanisms that have led to the need for food justice have given rise as we
- Food Justice Certification for Farmers Factsheet
- Review the Steps to Certification process.
- Read the AJP Standards Sections 2 – 3 farms and 7 for nonprofit farms
- Visit the Resources for Farms page for more info on paying a living wage, labeling, certification and worker rights. Utilize AJP’s Farmer Tool-kit , including sample checklists for self assessment purposes and sample labor policies
- Consider Technical Assistance if your operation is complex or if you have many employees, this option could speed up and simplify your certification process.
- Estimate your FJC Licensing Fee and certification process costs.
- Review the Labeling Policies
2. Find an FJC Certifier
- See our list of approved certifiers
- If you are already certified organic, your certifier could become trained to offer AJP certification – reducing your certification costs by doing both inspections in one trip. Ask us how!
3. Request an Estimate and Application from Your Certifier
- We provide technical assistance and can walk you through the application
4. Return Your Application to the Certifier
- Your application includes a licensing agreement and a request for an affidavit asserting that your farm and/or other entities owned by you or associated with your farm have not had any labor violations.
Author: admin
Uniting Farmers, Ranchers, and Service Providers
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214 W University Ave
Gainesville
32601 -
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