While Taylor Farms technically produces fruits and vegetables, the word "farm" in its name is as close as the produce processing conglomerate — the largest in North America — gets to an actual farm. In reality, Taylor Farms is just another stop on the supply chain, processing and packaging fruits and vegetables from various suppliers across the country. Obfuscations like these are rampant in the food industry across the United States and beyond, disguising not only how distant products and production methods are from "natural," but also pervasive issues such as often-exploitative labor practices or animal abuses.
Increasingly, though, people and organizations around the country are waking up to these realities and demanding change. In 2016, Taylor Farms' processing facility in Tracy, California, was riddled with dozens of safety violations. It was also the locus of what Doug Bloch, political director of the Teamster Joint Council 7, described as the worst union-busting campaign he'd seen in his decades of organizing. At the time, Taylor Farms was a supplier for the Oakland Unified School District; building on existing efforts by district staff and local parents, Bloch and the Teamsters, Taylor Farms workers and other activists successfully lobbied the district board to cancel its Taylor Farms contract. The success of their efforts hinged, in part, on the district's stated values, which include equity and integrity.
