Immigration Raids Hit Farms And Food Plants, As ICE Targets Agriculture

Immigration raids this week have been devastating for many to witness, and, amid all the chaos, the expanded ICE enforcement has turned to targeting America’s agriculture industry. On Tuesday, dozens of workers were taken from their posts in fields and packing houses across the heart of California’s farmland from the San Joaquin Valley to the coasts. Dozens were also taken from a small meatpacking plant in Omaha, Nebraska. And 11 workers were also arrested from a dairy farm in New Mexico.

This is a dangerous game that’s being played, the impacts of which will ricochet across the food industry. Immigrants power it all, from the farming to the packing and processing to the staffing of most restaurant kitchens. And, to feed everyone, they work some of the most dangerous jobs out there—many jobs that employers say would otherwise go unfilled. Price hikes and shortages are only the start of what shoppers will start to feel.

— Chloe Sorvino

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JBS Watch

The highly anticipated listing of JBS on the New York Stock Exchange is set for this Friday. And environmental nonprofit Mighty Earth, which has been fighting to delay the listing for the past two years, filed a last-ditch attempt to stop the listing earlier this week. The letter, sent to Securities and Exchange Commissioners on Sunday, highlights the risk of violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws—particularly because of alleged deforestation in the supply chain of the Brazil-founded company—if the listing goes through.

“JBS’s profits represent the proceeds of crime,” the letter reads. “For the foreseeable future, there is a real risk that profits used to pay dividends to shareholders would also constitute the proceeds of crime, and the NYSE may be held legally accountable for its role in facilitating and concealing JBS’s unlawful conduct.”

JBS declined to comment. JBS representatives have previously denied allegations of deforestation in the Amazon.

The Feed

Cyberhack: An apparent cyberattack on the distributor to Whole Foods and other health retailers rocked shoppers Monday. United Natural Foods Inc., better known as UNFI, “proactively” stopped some business and took its systems offline while it investigated the hack. CNN shares that some shoppers reported bare shelves at a few Whole Foods locations.

Thanks, Tariffs: Trump’s 50% tariff on imported steel means that canned goods—historically a budget-conscious option in stores—are facing price hikes. And the trade group for Campbell’s and Hormel estimates prices in stores could rise up to 15%, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Starvation In Gaza: An estimated 2 million Palestinians are at risk of famine, and yet global humanitarian aid providers have been shut out from helping what the Associated Press describes as among the deadliest and most destructive conflicts since World War II. A Freedom Flotilla Coalition boat carrying activist Greta Thunberg was turned away from providing aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip this week. Chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen has also been unable to resume aid in Gaza.

Summer Reading

Happy Pride Month! I’ve been loving reading through John Birdsall’s What Is Queer Food, which was published earlier this month. Bon Appetit did a fun Q&A with Birdsall, too. Give it a read!

Field Notes

Summer is for sandwiches! And it was way too enjoyable to slather some freshly made ciabatta with the last of my stash of ramp butter, topped off a little leftover prosciutto and taleggio cheese.

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