After Long-Time Ban, Dining Halls Will Serve Grapes Again

The grapes are coming back, but it remains to be seen whether students will herald the return of the fruit with welcome or wrath.

Harvard Dining Services (HDS) has decided to overturn the 1992 student-prompted boycott on table grapes inspired by the national boycott started in 1984 by union leader Cesar Chavez, according to HDS executive chef Michael Miller.

Five years after the boycott, student opinion has changed.

"Each year we've been getting more and more requests for grapes, particularly in forums like our Manager's Roundtables," said Alexandra McNitt, a project manager with HDS.

"We've had a lot of students from the [Harvard University Dining Action Committee (HUDAC)] and a number of comment cards request that we put grapes back in the dining room," said Ted A. Mayer, director of HDS.

"If we continue to get requests for things, eventually it's going to happen," McNitt said.

The actual decision to reintroduce grapes was made last May, but due to seasonal availability, grapes will not return to dining halls until November 9 at brunch.

Much of the impetus for reintroducing grapes came from students Sam A. Yagan '99, Adam Vaina '98 and Marco B. Simons '97.

"Grapes happen to be a favorite fruit of mine," said Yagan, a regular member of HUDAC. "I didn't feel that one group of students should be able to dictate to everyone what was being served."

Yagan also pointed to the fact that the College was the only school served by HDS that did not serve grapes.

"All the grad schools do, and definitely Harvard Catering does," he said. "There were at least nine or 10 products on the menu that contained grapes, going anywhere from raisins to grape juice to grape jelly--things that are considered very staple items."

Mayer said that the demand for grapes was high enough to warrant reintroducing them to the dining halls.

"The sense was that there were enough students who wanted grapes that we would put the grapes out and leave it up to students to decide," Mayer said. "If they felt strongly about boycotting grapes they could do so. And if they wanted grapes, they would be there, and we would adjust our purchases accordingly."

Miller expressed the same sentiment.

"If students want to not eat grapes, I think they can make that statement by not choosing to eat them," he said.

Daniel R. Morgan '99, a member of the Progressive Student Labor Movement, said that the Harvard name could wield influence on growers that individual students could not.

"I think that it's wrong to say that it's an individual choice--I think that if the Harvard name decides not to serve grapes, that's a big support," he said.

"The issue is at a much larger level, with the fact that a few grapes per person multiplied by everyone here become a large factor," he added. "[Harvard's] purchasing grapes again at an institutional level breaks down the support that the union has worked for decades to build up."

Harvard will purchase the grapes from Costa Fruit and Produce, a distributor based in Boston.

"We've been doing business with Harvard for several years now," said Brad Woodgate, vice-president of Costa. "And it's always just been a forgone conclusion that Harvard didn't purchase grapes because of the Cesar Chavez situation, and nobody's ever pursued it."

Through the Grapevine

Harvard was not alone in boycotting grapes in the early 1990s.

"In the fall of 1994, students asked us to boycott table grapes, and they had a petition that was signed by a majority of students," said Alan R. Kenny, director of dining services at Yale University. Yale's boycott is still active, to a large extent because "there hasn't been any demand for grapes," Kenny said.

Stanford University introduced a boycott against table grapes in 1995 after four students began a hunger strike demanding a boycott.

Duke University lifted a 1988 ban on grapes in the spring of 1993 but reintroduced the boycott after pressure from student activist groups in 1995.

Many other schools never implemented a boycott at all. According to Woodgate, all of other schools served by Costa currently include grapes in their menu, including Northeastern, Lesley and parts of UMass.

Nevertheless, the possibility remains that students at Harvard may protest the reintroduction of grapes as students did at Duke.

"If there were an overwhelming concern from students about our desire to serve grapes, we would weigh that against the desires of the students who do want us to serve grapes," Miller said.

The Grapes of Wrath

Technically, almost all grapes from California are still under the 1984 boycott called by the United Farm Workers (UFW), the union formerly led by Chavez. The boycott was the third such economic sanction in a series of UFW boycotts dating back to 1965.

However, Mark Grossman, director of the UFW's press division and Cesar Chavez's press secretary from 1975 to 1993, said that UFW has not in recent years "been actively pursuing" the grape boycott and has instead been focusing on organizing strawberry workers in California.

Grossman added that the union would be hesitant to divert its attention to single out individual offenders.

"I'm reluctant to call anyone to task, since we're not actively promoting the boycott," he said. "But I think it would be well for people to remember the abuse and betrayal of grape workers by this industry that led to the grape boycott, since those abuses and that betrayal continue."

According to Grossman, only 300 grape workers--less than 1 percent of the grape industry in California--are currently members of the UFW. The boycott applies to all California table grapes not picked by these workers.

Grape Expectations

Despite continuing criticism from UFW leaders, grape growers argue that they have made significant strides since the first boycotts in 1965.

Mark Givens, an operating manager at Corrin--which supplies 75 percent of Costa's grapes--said California growers have responded to many union demands.

"I think you've got sanitation requirements that you didn't have in the '60s, you now have laws about working conditions and sanitation and toilets in the field and cleaning facilities to wash your hands," Givens said. "You have legal requirements on pay and overtime that didn't exist for farm workers in the '60s. The laws in California were changed."

But union leaders disagree, citing the poor conditions still prevalent in California vineyards.

"The reasons why Cesar Chavez began the third boycott in 1984 are still valid--nothing has changed," Grossman said. "Grape workers who have organized under the UFW have been intimidated, physically attacked and harassed [by] grape growers who refuse to bargain in good faith for union contracts. Wages are poor, benefits are few if not non-existent. Workers frequently complain they're treated like animals by foremen and labor contractors."

According to Grossman, one of Costa's suppliers, the Guimarra Vineyard Corporation in Bakersfield, Calif., has a 30-year history of conflict with the union.

"Giumarra is the 'South Africa' of the table grape industry," Grossman said. "They apply cancer-causing and birth defect-causing pesticides to their vineyards that grape workers come in contact with."

Givens said that the alleged threat of pesticide poisoning "didn't exist" based "on any scientific examination."

But Woodgate said that the contribution in Guimarra was just less than 1 percent of its total stock.

No Sour Grapes Here

But many Harvard students are focusing on the novelty to be added to the menu.

"I'm excited about grapes--grapes are cool," said Mikhail S. Ulinich '99. "I just hope they're seedless."

In fact, according to Givens, Corrin "specializes in seedless grapes"--85 percent of their grape business is seedless

Harvard will purchase the grapes from Costa Fruit and Produce, a distributor based in Boston.

"We've been doing business with Harvard for several years now," said Brad Woodgate, vice-president of Costa. "And it's always just been a forgone conclusion that Harvard didn't purchase grapes because of the Cesar Chavez situation, and nobody's ever pursued it."

Through the Grapevine

Harvard was not alone in boycotting grapes in the early 1990s.

"In the fall of 1994, students asked us to boycott table grapes, and they had a petition that was signed by a majority of students," said Alan R. Kenny, director of dining services at Yale University. Yale's boycott is still active, to a large extent because "there hasn't been any demand for grapes," Kenny said.

Stanford University introduced a boycott against table grapes in 1995 after four students began a hunger strike demanding a boycott.

Duke University lifted a 1988 ban on grapes in the spring of 1993 but reintroduced the boycott after pressure from student activist groups in 1995.

Many other schools never implemented a boycott at all. According to Woodgate, all of other schools served by Costa currently include grapes in their menu, including Northeastern, Lesley and parts of UMass.

Nevertheless, the possibility remains that students at Harvard may protest the reintroduction of grapes as students did at Duke.

"If there were an overwhelming concern from students about our desire to serve grapes, we would weigh that against the desires of the students who do want us to serve grapes," Miller said.

The Grapes of Wrath

Technically, almost all grapes from California are still under the 1984 boycott called by the United Farm Workers (UFW), the union formerly led by Chavez. The boycott was the third such economic sanction in a series of UFW boycotts dating back to 1965.

However, Mark Grossman, director of the UFW's press division and Cesar Chavez's press secretary from 1975 to 1993, said that UFW has not in recent years "been actively pursuing" the grape boycott and has instead been focusing on organizing strawberry workers in California.

Grossman added that the union would be hesitant to divert its attention to single out individual offenders.

"I'm reluctant to call anyone to task, since we're not actively promoting the boycott," he said. "But I think it would be well for people to remember the abuse and betrayal of grape workers by this industry that led to the grape boycott, since those abuses and that betrayal continue."

According to Grossman, only 300 grape workers--less than 1 percent of the grape industry in California--are currently members of the UFW. The boycott applies to all California table grapes not picked by these workers.

Grape Expectations

Despite continuing criticism from UFW leaders, grape growers argue that they have made significant strides since the first boycotts in 1965.

Mark Givens, an operating manager at Corrin--which supplies 75 percent of Costa's grapes--said California growers have responded to many union demands.

"I think you've got sanitation requirements that you didn't have in the '60s, you now have laws about working conditions and sanitation and toilets in the field and cleaning facilities to wash your hands," Givens said. "You have legal requirements on pay and overtime that didn't exist for farm workers in the '60s. The laws in California were changed."

But union leaders disagree, citing the poor conditions still prevalent in California vineyards.

"The reasons why Cesar Chavez began the third boycott in 1984 are still valid--nothing has changed," Grossman said. "Grape workers who have organized under the UFW have been intimidated, physically attacked and harassed [by] grape growers who refuse to bargain in good faith for union contracts. Wages are poor, benefits are few if not non-existent. Workers frequently complain they're treated like animals by foremen and labor contractors."

According to Grossman, one of Costa's suppliers, the Guimarra Vineyard Corporation in Bakersfield, Calif., has a 30-year history of conflict with the union.

"Giumarra is the 'South Africa' of the table grape industry," Grossman said. "They apply cancer-causing and birth defect-causing pesticides to their vineyards that grape workers come in contact with."

Givens said that the alleged threat of pesticide poisoning "didn't exist" based "on any scientific examination."

But Woodgate said that the contribution in Guimarra was just less than 1 percent of its total stock.

No Sour Grapes Here

But many Harvard students are focusing on the novelty to be added to the menu.

"I'm excited about grapes--grapes are cool," said Mikhail S. Ulinich '99. "I just hope they're seedless."

In fact, according to Givens, Corrin "specializes in seedless grapes"--85 percent of their grape business is seedless