Yo Quiero Taco Bell

I've always been a big Taco Bell fan, and I admit grappling with the moral dilemma during those late night drives home. Do I stop and get two meximelts and a pintos and cheese, or do I support the Coalition of Immokalee Workers?

I can't say that I've been 100% true to the cause, but I definitely have cut down on my Taco Bell consumption since finding out how those farm workers in Immokalee are treated.

So, you can imagine how beside myself with glee I was when I read this.

the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a group that represents farm
workers in southern Florida, announced that it was ending a four-year
boycott of Taco Bell. The most remarkable thing about the announcement
was the reason behind it: Taco Bell had acceded to all of the coalition's
demands. At a time of declining union membership, failed organizing
drives and public apathy about poverty, a group of immigrant tomato
pickers had persuaded an enormous fast food company - Yum Brands,
which in addition to Taco Bell owns KFC, Pizza Hut, A&W All American
Food Restaurants and Long John Silver's - to increase the wages of
migrant workers and impose a tough code of conduct on Florida tomato
suppliers. "Human rights are universal," said Jonathan Blum, a senior
vice president of Yum, adding that under Taco Bell's new labor rules
"indentured servitude by suppliers is strictly forbidden."

I know, it's not all about me and my late night cravings. It's about those fine folks who work in the fields. Working their butts off, probably harder than I ever will, earning a pittance to survive and to support their families.

I know there is a long road ahead for any kind of real economic equality for these folks, but at least this is a step in the right direction. For the workers, their families, and for my belly.

But still, the question remains, should I stop by my local Taco Bell on the way home from work today to celebrate, or should I wait until one of those late night drives home, when the celebration might all the more sweeter?