Illegal immigration in North America has been a real issue for years. Lately it’s become a spotlighted political target due to the piss poor economy and a lack of jobs for most legal residents. Many big grocer chains have actually been feeding into the illegal immigration issue by hiring in foreign workers to perform laborious work for next-to-nothing wages. A new iPhone app has popped up letting those interested in learning more or doing something, start off by pelting tomatoes at big corporations and major food chains.

United Farm Workers has been at the forefront of informing people about the poor and inhumane working conditions many illegal workers face after making it across the border. Change.org has decided to help spread the word about the new form of slavery plaguing the United States by releasing an iOS mobile app called Angry Tomato, which lets gamers throw tomatoes at all the culprits behind supporting illegal workers, poor working conditions and inhumane worker treatment.

Marc Rodrigues of the Student Farmworker Alliance commented in the press release, saying…

“Angry Tomato users are making activist art by splattering virtual tomatoes and a request for change across the storefronts of grocery chains that are failing to stand up for farmworkers,” ... “Then, they can share their posters with friends on Facebook and Twitter, sending a powerful message to supermarkets that its time to end farmworker exploitation now.”

The campaign for change targets major chains and grocers such as Kroger, Trader Joe’s, Giant, Stop & Stop and Publix to name a few. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Fair Food Program aims to protect farmworkers and raise wages to a penny per pound of tomato. I know a lot of people complain about their hourly wages but come on, how is it an upgrade making a penny per pound of a tomato? Making anything less is practically working for free.

Andrei Tchijov, President and Co-Founder of Leaping Bytes shared a few thoughts as well, saying…

“It has been exciting to develop an application that helps consumers fight for the basic human rights of farmworkers,” … “Mobile technology has been under-utilized as a tool for activism, and Leaping Bytes has been happy to see this app put to use.”

A number of Change.org petitions are also available for those who actually want to do something. Others who would prefer being armchair warriors can download the Angry Tomato app from the iTune App Store.

You can learn more about the movement against illegal and unfair worker treatment by visiting the Official Change.Org Website.