Food Supply Unchained

Christine Heiser

This podcast aims to discuss the fascinating intersection of food safety and sustainability, exploring the government regulations and policies that shape what we eat and how it's produced. From farm to fork, we’ll uncover how legislation protects public health, support the environment, and ensure ethical practices along the supply chain.

Episodes

  1. 10/13/2025

    From Fields to Fridges: How US Immigration Policy Built (and Broke) Our Food System

    In this episode of Food Supply Unchained, we examine how U.S. border and labor policies have long intersected to both sustain and exploit immigrant farmworkers. Tracing the evolution of America’s food supply chain, we uncover how the pursuit of “cheap” labor has kept food prices low and corporate profits high; often at a human cost. Through this lens, we explore how documented and undocumented immigrants alike power our nation’s food system, and how the government’s failure to enact comprehensive immigration reform has left that system unstable, inequitable, and unsustainable. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:52 The Beginning of the US Food Supply Chain 04:04 Building Railroads & Agribusiness 06:43 WWI - Domestic Labor Shortage 08:47 WWII - Domestic Labor Shortage 11:39 Japanese Internment 14:00 The Bracero Program 16:48 The 1965 Hart-Cellar Act 20:38 Immigration Reform & Control Act 22:16 Impact of NAFTA on Migration Patterns 25:34 Immigrants & the Economy 29:11 How to Get Involved 30:36 Contact Elected Officials - All of Them 31:25 The Farm Workforce Modernization Act 32:46 The Importance of Local Elections in Immigration Reform 35:08 Outro Show Notes: ⁠The Pocket Constitution of the United States of America: Us Constitution Book, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence Travel Size⁠ ⁠Find Your Members in the U.S. Congress⁠ ⁠United Farm Workers (UFW)⁠ ⁠Farmworker Justice⁠ ⁠National Farm Worker Ministry⁠ ⁠Coalition of Immokalee Workers⁠ Ohio's 4th Congressional District: 43009, 43015, 43016, 43017, 43029, 43036, 43040, 43044, 43045, 43060, 43061, 43064, 43067, 43070, 43072, 43077, 43078, 43084, 43302, 43310, 43311, 43314, 43316, 43318, 43319, 43322, 43324, 43331, 43332, 43333, 43336, 43337, 43340, 43341, 43342, 43343, 43344, 43345, 43347, 43348, 43357, 43358, 43360, 43406, 43407, 43410, 43416, 43420, 43430, 43431, 43435, 43442, 43449, 43457, 43464, 43469, 44001, 44028, 44035, 44044, 44049, 44050, 44052, 44053, 44054, 44055, 44074, 44089, 44090, 44802, 44807, 44809, 44811, 44814, 44815, 44816, 44818, 44820, 44824, 44825, 44826, 44827, 44828, 44830, 44833, 44836, 44839, 44841, 44844, 44846, 44847, 44849, 44853, 44854, 44856, 44857, 44861, 44865, 44867, 44870, 44875, 44881, 44882, 44883, 44887, 44889, 45302, 45306, 45312, 45317, 45333, 45334, 45336, 45340, 45344, 45353, 45356, 45360, 45363, 45365, 45389, 45502, 45801, 45804, 45805, 45806, 45807, 45808, 45809, 45810, 45817, 45819, 45820, 45822, 45830, 45833, 45844, 45845, 45850, 45854, 45862, 45865, 45866, 45869, 45870, 45871, 45877, 45884, 45885, 45887, 45888, 45895, 45896 Keywords: Immigrant labor, food supply chain, U.S. agriculture, farmworkers, immigration policy, labor laws, border policy, agricultural labor, food industry, essential workers, comprehensive immigration reform, U.S. labor policy, economic dependence, workforce exploitation, labor rights, food system inequality, corporate profit, agricultural economics, federal regulation

    36 min

About

This podcast aims to discuss the fascinating intersection of food safety and sustainability, exploring the government regulations and policies that shape what we eat and how it's produced. From farm to fork, we’ll uncover how legislation protects public health, support the environment, and ensure ethical practices along the supply chain.