--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The one thing that everyone knows about…" description: "\"The one thing that everyone knows about America is people will say, I know my rights. One of those rights is the right to organize. When workers do get..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/raj-patel-18362_organize_the-one-thing-that-everyone-knows-about_517221.jpg" --- # The one thing that everyone knows about America is people… ![“The one thing that everyone knows about America is people will say, I know my rights. One of those rights is the right to organize. When workers do get together and organize and drive up their wages, they are much, much better off. I think this is one integral part of food policy. We can't talk…” quote by Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/raj-patel-18362_organize_the-one-thing-that-everyone-knows-about_517221.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/raj-patel-18362_organize_the-one-thing-that-everyone-knows-about_517221.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e98/raj-patel-18362_organize_the-one-thing-that-everyone-knows-about_517221.jpg) > “The one thing that everyone knows about America is people will say, I know my rights. One of those rights is the right to organize. When workers do get together and organize and drive up their wages, they are much, much better off. I think this is one integral part of food policy. We can't talk about increasing the price of food without figuring out how working Americans are going to pay for that.” [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Workers’ right to organize is essential for fair wages, which is a key factor in food affordability and policy. **In simple terms:** Organizing workers boosts wages, affecting food costs. Key Takeaway Support labor organization for affordable food. Themes labor rights food policy economic justice Mood concerned hopeful Type persuasive informative When to use this quote - policy debates - union organizing - budget planning for families Key Concepts collective bargaining wage growth food security Questions to Reflect On - What policies can complement labor rights to ensure food affordability? - How can consumers support fair wages? A Different Perspective Organizing alone may not solve all food price issues without broader economic reforms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Right now you're seeing more and more families reporting that they are skipping meals. They're having to give up meat. Mothers are foregoing food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/right-now-you-re-seeing-more-and-more-families-reporting-that-they/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [Let the workers organize. Let the toilers assemble. Let their crystallized voice proclaim their injustices and demand their privileges. Let all thoughtful citizens sustain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-l-lewis/let-the-workers-organize-let-the-toilers-assemble-let-their/) [John L. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-l-lewis/) > [The few who profit from the labor of the masses want to organize the workers into an army which will protect the interests of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-few-who-profit-from-the-labor-of-the-masses-want-to-organize-the/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [I definitely think the price of food is going up. We need to figure out ways to manage that in a sustainable way. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/i-definitely-think-the-price-of-food-is-going-up-we-need-to-figure/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [We need to realize that these industrial methods of farming have gotten us used to cheap food. The corollary of cheap food is low…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/we-need-to-realize-that-these-industrial-methods-of-farming-have/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [Policies that promote better wages and better jobs would be super-helpful, and I'm a big fan of programs that encourage people to go where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance-2/policies-that-promote-better-wages-and-better-jobs-would-be-super/) [J. D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance-2/) > [We'll organize workers in this movement as long as we're willing to sacrifice. The moment we stop sacrificing, we stop organizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-ll-organize-workers-in-this-movement-as-long-as-we-re-willing-to/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [Productivity is driven at the enterprise level. Better wages, better performing workplaces, are driven at the workplace level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-shorten/productivity-is-driven-at-the-enterprise-level-better-wages-better/) [Bill Shorten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-shorten/) > [The true task is to unite and organize all workers...and it is the workers themselves who must secure freedom for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-true-task-is-to-unite-and-organize-all-workers-and-it-is-the/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [The strike and the boycott, they have cost us much. What they have not paid us in wages, better working conditions, and new contracts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/the-strike-and-the-boycott-they-have-cost-us-much-what-they-have-not/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [How can human rights be ever developed for the majority of Chinese people? The only way is to organize. To organize workers, peasants, merchants,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-yat-sen/how-can-human-rights-be-ever-developed-for-the-majority-of-chinese/) [Sun Yat-sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-yat-sen/) > [“When unions get higher wages for their members by restricting entry into an occupation, those higher wages are at the expense of other workers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/when-unions-get-higher-wages-for-their-members-by-restricting-entry/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [“As UC Berkeley economics professor Brad DeLong put it to me: You get famine if the price of food spikes far beyond that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annalee-newitz/as-uc-berkeley-economics-professor-brad-delong-put-it-to-me-you-get/) [Annalee Newitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annalee-newitz/) > [“The fact that the nutritional quality of a given food (and of that food's food) can vary not just in degree but in kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/the-fact-that-the-nutritional-quality-of-a-given-food-and-of-that/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [We all need to know how to cook. I can buy a chicken and have many meals come from it. Is it affordable? Yes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-waters/we-all-need-to-know-how-to-cook-i-can-buy-a-chicken-and-have-many/) [Alice Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-waters/) ## More by Raj Patel > [One of the most abused country on earth is Mexico. The marketing spills over the border, and people are persuaded to eat food that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/one-of-the-most-abused-country-on-earth-is-mexico-the-marketing/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [Right now you're seeing more and more families reporting that they are skipping meals. They're having to give up meat. Mothers are foregoing food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/right-now-you-re-seeing-more-and-more-families-reporting-that-they/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [If fucking up takes practice.. i seem well rehearsed..!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/if-fucking-up-takes-practice-i-seem-well-rehearsed/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [I definitely think the price of food is going up. We need to figure out ways to manage that in a sustainable way. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/i-definitely-think-the-price-of-food-is-going-up-we-need-to-figure/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [I think we do need to worry about a food shortage, but we also need to worry about the quality of the food. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/i-think-we-do-need-to-worry-about-a-food-shortage-but-we-also-need-to/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [“studies are beginning to show that our ability to appreciate the intrinsic value of generosity, sharing and selflessness is central to maximizing our well-being.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/studies-are-beginning-to-show-that-our-ability-to-appreciate-the/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [When you have weird policy decisions in the United States that then ripple out throughout the world, the rest of the world really takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/when-you-have-weird-policy-decisions-in-the-united-states-that-then/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [I do think we have a food problem. In 2006, which is the year for which we have the latest data, 35.5 million Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/i-do-think-we-have-a-food-problem-in-2006-which-is-the-year-for-which/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [All of human history is about the going from sudden fat years to the sudden lean years. We've always had good times and bad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/all-of-human-history-is-about-the-going-from-sudden-fat-years-to-the/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [“Today’s human activity isn’t exterminating mammoths through centuries of overhunting. Some humans are currently killing everything, from megafauna to microbiota, at speeds one hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/today-s-human-activity-isn-t-exterminating-mammoths-through-centuries/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [By the end of the 1960s, the United States owned more than half of the Indian rupee money supply, and that had been acquired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/by-the-end-of-the-1960s-the-united-states-owned-more-than-half-of-the/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [The problem is that we are living now with the consequences of the others people mistake. It would be nice to make our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/the-problem-is-that-we-are-living-now-with-the-consequences-of-the/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [A fertilizer bomb that kills hundreds in Oklahoma. Fuel-laden civil jets that kill 4000 in New York. A sanctions policy that kills one and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/a-fertilizer-bomb-that-kills-hundreds-in-oklahoma-fuel-laden-civil/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [Food sovereignty... is most of all characterized by it’s conversations around how to end hunger and poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/food-sovereignty-is-most-of-all-characterized-by-it-s-conversations/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) > [We have the industrial agriculturalists who try and make an argument that big is beautiful. But if you do the math, and particularly if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-patel/we-have-the-industrial-agriculturalists-who-try-and-make-an-argument/) [Raj Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) [Explore all 35 Raj Patel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-patel/) ## More Organize quotes > [I don't feel insecure about any of this work anymore. 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But the army is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/obama-did-organize-a-great-large-number-of-people-and-many/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If every person has the right to defend - even by force - his person, his liberty, and his property, then it follows that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/if-every-person-has-the-right-to-defend-even-by-force-his-person-his/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [Photography is space, light, texture, of course, but the really important element is time - that nanosecond when the image organizes itself on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-stoller/photography-is-space-light-texture-of-course-but-the-really-important/) Ezra Stoller > [The full implications of feminism will evolve over time, as we organize, experiment, think, analyze, and revise our ideas and strategies in light of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bunch/the-full-implications-of-feminism-will-evolve-over-time-as-we/) [Charlotte Bunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bunch/) > [I believe that at least 70 percent of parenting goes to the mother. 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