Dear Prudence,
I recently volunteered on an organic farm. When I was working in the fields with the owner, he mentioned that many of the volunteers are overweight and don’t understand anything about nutrition and won’t listen to him about it. He told me that one woman “gobbles down dry granola for breakfast every morning” and ridiculed her “unhealthy” method of cooking eggs, adding “no wonder she’s 30 pounds overweight.” He also complained, “I can’t say anything to her, because you can’t give any weight or diet advice to a young woman today.” Then he told me I was overweight, too.
Now that my volunteer time is over, the farm has asked me to leave a review. In general I learned a lot and was treated well, but I am concerned about the fatphobia that the owner exhibited. Do I have a duty to disclose this information on the website if I leave a review? Should I decline to leave one? If it were racist comments, I wouldn’t have any doubts as to what to do, but I’m torn here.
— Farming While Fat