"Grow more organic.” 🙏
This was the request from a California field worker who was part of a food justice panel organized by Monica Ramirez of Justice for Migrant Women during a 2023 Google Food Lab convening.
Along with advocating for higher wages and safer working conditions, especially for women field workers, this mother said working long days in fields sprayed with pesticides and other chemical inputs made her and her children sick.
So she requested that we all grow demand for #Organic when asked how the people in the room could best support her and her community.
At the time, I was getting to know the founders of the Organic Produce Summit. Listening to this Google Food Lab panel, I felt a bolt of energy because I knew we at New Hope Network and Informa Markets could do more to promote Organic by building upon the tremendous Organic produce platform created by Matt Seeley, Susan Canales and Keigan Roos.
Fast forward one year, and we are kicking off the 2024 Organic Produce Summit, which is now part of New Hope and Informa Markets. We have a record number of retail buyers and exhibitors, a new community service event benefiting Brighter Bites, and a strong program promoting the commercial, planetary and social benefits of selling more organically grown fresh fruits and vegetables.
All of this in beautiful Monterey, California's Organic produce mecca.
We have much more to come thanks to the amazing team behind OPS. We are committed to doing more to build an even stronger future for Organic and support the people who produce, distribute and sell Organic produce.
Learn more about OPS: https://lnkd.in/g9qBgVAX
Sign up for the Organic Produce Network newsletter via our new content website: https://lnkd.in/gWKPuQWZ
Join us in our work to grow more Organic!
Hannah Price (Siegel) Lola Ortega Adrienne Smith Jenna Fitch Jessica Rubino Kim Shaw Pamela Skaggs