As urbanization intensifies, many consumers remain disconnected from the origin of their food and its producers. However, the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change has launched a public activism campaign using QR codes, demanding people to pay attention. They have tagged tables in numerous restaurants across Ottawa, Toronto and surrounding areas with large political offices with these codes.

Description of covert menus and their purpose

At first glance, the codes appear to be menus, but after scanning them, they reveal the harsh working conditions that foreign farm workers face. For instance, the "To-Die-For Sweet Potato Fries" item tells the story of Garvin Yapp, a Jamaican potato harvester who died in a farming accident in southern Ontario last summer. Similarly, the "Bitter Strawberry Tart" explains the grueling 18-hour days that some workers endure while harvesting strawberries on their hands and knees, mostly under the hot summer sun. People who come across these covert menus are also directed to a petition, urging the Canadian government to improve labor conditions for migrant workers and grant them permanent resident status. Robert, a Jamaican greenhouse worker who has been living in Canada for the past seven years with temporary resident status, is intimately familiar with such circumstances. Since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, he tells Modern Farmer that he hasn't had a single day off. He arrived in Canada with the hopes of building a better life for himself.

Cases of injured workers being prohibited from seeking medical care

However, upon arriving, Robert quickly realized that his rights, along with those of his colleagues, had been forgotten. He explains that they must comply with their employer's demands without question, as the alternative is being sent back to their home country. Robert has witnessed cases where injured workers were prohibited from seeking medical care, as businesses were worried about the cost of their insurance going up. Additionally, he has spent long days in unventilated greenhouses with his coworkers, where the air is thick with pesticides. "I had breathing difficulties. My coworkers experienced chronic headaches. Sometimes, people would vomit or have blood coming out of their nostrils," Robert recalls. The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change has documented these issues, along with other examples where farmworkers have reported experiencing crowded, substandard living conditions, long hours, and hazardous working conditions that jeopardize their health. Those who wish to voice their concerns, like Robert, fear deportation or being banned from re-entering the country. Studies conducted in Canada have also highlighted the dismal reality of these conditions, with nine migrant agricultural workers dying in Ontario between January 2020 and June 2021. Robert and other migrant workers believe that gaining permanent residency status in Canada would provide them with more rights, access to social services such as healthcare without their employer's permission, and the opportunity to reunite with their families. Prime Minister Trudeau promised to change the status of all temporary foreign workers in his 2021 immigration policy priorities.

Positive response to the campaign with thousands of signatures collected since January

The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) brings in over 60,000 temporary migrant workers each year from Mexico and 11 countries in the Caribbean to work on Canadian farms. The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change launched its QR code campaign to raise awareness of the exploitative working conditions faced by many foreign farm workers. The response to the campaign has been overwhelming, with thousands of signatures collected since its launch in late January. Organizer Luisa Ortiz-Garza notes that momentum is building, and QR stickers will soon be placed in the country's east and west coast provinces. The organization plans to continue campaigning until the Canadian government fulfills its promise. An event will be held this weekend, and another one in late March, focusing on the secret menu initiative and their request for permanent residency. Regardless of the campaign's outcome, Robert says he will continue to speak out about the issues faced by migrant workers. He hopes that people will consider the individuals on the ground who make it possible for them to enjoy Canadian produce.