Past Event

NAFTA: 20 Years Later

Reverend Dan Dale and Dr. Pancho McFarland will be joining us as our guest speakers. 

From “The Fruits Of Free Trade: How NAFTA Revamped The American Diet” by Ted Robbins

“Walk through the produce section of your supermarket and you’ll see things you’d never have seen years ago — like fresh raspberries or green beans in the dead of winter. Much of that produce comes from Mexico, and it’s the result of the North American Free Trade Agreement — NAFTA — which took effect 20 years ago this month. In the years since, NAFTA radically changed the way we get our fruits and vegetables…’Twenty years ago, in tomato items alone, you did not have 365-day distribution from Mexico to the United States,he [Jaime Chamberlain] says. ‘And now … every single day of the year, you will find Mexican tomatoes in the U.S. market.'”

Questions for Consideration 

What is the legacy that NAFTA has left behind? What kind of impact did it have on the U.S. diet? What kind of effect did the passage of NAFTA have on farmers and workers on both sides of the border? What kind of benefits or drawbacks did the trade agreement provide?

Want to learn more?

 

Reverend Dan Dale is Senior Minister of Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ.  Rev. Dale has more than 35 years of experience in building community and developing innovative programs that educate and empower people to create a more just and loving world. Rev. Dale received a M.Div. from Meadville Lombard Theological Seminary, and a masters degree in Urban Planning and Environmental Science from Governors State University.
Pancho McFarland, PhD, is associate professor of sociology at Chicago State University where he researches and writes about food justice and Mexicans and Mexican Americans in hip hop culture.  Among his publications are the two books, Chicano Rap: Gender and Violence in the Postindustrial Barrrio (University of Texas, 2008) and Chican@ Hip Hop Nation: Politics of a New Millennial Mestizaje (Michigan State University, 2013).  He is garden coordinator for The Green Lots Project and works in the local food justice movement.

 

Free and open to the public. For more information please call 312.422.5580. If you need a sign interpreter or require other arrangements to fully participate, please call 312.422.5580.