To Feed the World, Fight for Communism!
PACIFIC NORTHWEST, US – The UN says a billion people will face hunger and starvation as a result of the pandemic. But it’s not the pandemic. It’s murderous capitalism.
In the US, this same murderous system will force an estimated 50 million people to face food insecurity. Northwest Harvest, which supplies food banks in Washington State, has projected the need to double, from 850,000 to 1.6 million people. In San Antonio, Texas (US), a food bank opened to 10,000 people in line.
Why are people standing in line for hours at the food bank? Isn’t there enough food to feed everyone? Yes, there is more than enough food to feed everyone.
Then why are people going hungry all over the world? Because the capitalist system needs to make profits. If they can’t, they will destroy food rather than give it to the millions of starving people!
During this pandemic, capitalists are destroying mountains of fresh food. But even during so-called good times, the bosses’ methods of growing, processing, and distributing food to the masses are horrible. According to the USDA‘s Economic Research Service, 30 – 40 % of the food supply in the US is wasted/destroyed. And as they destroy more and more food, it becomes more expensive.
At the same time, they are shoving low-paid workers into dangerous slaughterhouses and massive food-processing plants. These workers slave long hours in what are now Covid-19 hotspots. Many are immigrants and refugees who have no legal rights in the US. If they complain or organize, they face jail or deportation.
US-born workers who work at low wage jobs or are supporting families with children, or older workers living on a fixed income also cannot afford the cost of food.
People waiting in food bank lines eagerly took Red Flag and the ICWP immigration pamphlet. We spoke with workers who were originally from El Salvador, China and Southeast Asia, as well as the US. They agreed that change must come. People must have homes, healthy food, clean water, and healthcare. But the truth is we will never have this as long as we have capitalism. Only communism can provide for our basic needs and more.
One Seattle worker in a food bank line, originally from Mexico, said, “I don’t think they told us the truth about Communism in the 50’s and 60’s.” He wanted to talk about how much better things could be with Communism, including food and healthcare for all. He took a paper for himself and another for a friend.
YAKIMA, USA, May 2020—Hundreds of striking farmworkers shut down production at six apple packinghouse companies in Washington State.They demanded safe working conditions and hazard pay during the pandemic. Yakima County has the highest rate of Covid-19 cases in the state. Most of the workers came from Mexico long ago. Their families are the community’s core.
How will we live when we have communism?
We need input from as many workers as possible to understand this. There are many examples of the working class organizing food preparation and distribution during war, famine, epidemics and strikes. During the Seattle General Strike of 1919, workers shut down the city for 6 days. No one worked for the bosses, but they formed committees that collected garbage, milked the cows, did laundry and served meals for 30,000 daily. Because the system was still capitalist, the workers eventually lost.
But imagine what life will be like in communism, when there are no privately owned farms or grocery stores, no banks or finance, no wage system and no need for money.
All resources will be shared. Everyone’s needs will be equally important no matter what work they do. This will be true for food, housing, healthcare, childcare, education, and more. Everyone does what they can to contribute.
Even if a pandemic forced many workers to stay home, we wouldn’t stop producing food for everyone – including those who had to temporarily stop working. Instead, those who kept working would get extra protection and would share their duties with workers who temporarily quit doing other tasks.
We want to talk with more people about Communism and win workers to see that it is the only solution. We will continue to go to food banks, distribute Red Flag and have discussions with workers there. We plan to ask other comrades and friends to come with us.
Only a united and revolutionary international working class can put an end to the horrors of capitalism. Join the ICWP!