Washington University Dining Services will only serve Florida tomatoes grown on farms that have agreed to a code of conduct for the ethical treatment of workers, announced Nadeem Siddiqui, dining services manager.
Dining Services obtains tomatoes grown locally when possible, but in the winter, it purchases tomatoes from year-round producers.
The code of conduct was devised by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), an organization of farm workers that strives to create more humane working conditions and labor standards in Florida. The only farm to agree to the CIW code of conduct this winter grows primarily grape tomatoes, Siddiqui said.
While this means WUSTL diners won’t see full-sized tomato slices or wedges in their sandwiches or salads this winter, it also means the tomatoes the campus community will eat — in salads, sauces and other foods — will have been harvested by workers paid a fair wage under ethical working conditions.
The change at WUSTL is the result of a decision by Bon Appetit Management Co., the contractor that provides dining services on the Danforth Campus, to only serve CIW tomatoes.
The CIW code requires that workers be paid a fair minimum wage, that a process be established for workers to pursue complaints without fear of retribution, that worker safety processes be improved, and that third-party monitoring be implemented to ensure that the code of conduct is followed.
Florida grower Alderman Farms became the first company to sign the code of conduct and is the only grower that will supply tomatoes to Bon Appetit’s Washington University account. The company grows primarily grape tomatoes, meaning that other varieties of tomatoes will not be available on the Danforth Campus for the next few months.
Dining Services chefs have crafted alternative menu items to replace full-sized tomatoes, including sweet and sour spiced chutney, tomato-free salsas and grape tomato salsas and adding spinach and red peppers as sandwich options and grape tomatoes at salad bars.
As grape tomatoes or similar substitutions are available on all dishes that formerly contained sliced tomatoes, prices have remained unchanged.
Bon Appetit is the first food service company in the country to sign the agreement with the CIW.
The new tomato policy follows in the footsteps of other environmentally and socially responsible practices established by Dining Services and Bon Appetit.
Those practices include using local products when possible, showing the connections between food choices and climate change, and serving only sustainable seafood, cage-free eggs, Fair Trade bananas and antibiotic-free chicken, turkey breast and hamburger meat.
For more information, call Jill Duncan at 935-5028.