AGR 203: Food Chains by https://padlet.com/hndyer/k7xkd86i4jbb Farm Labor Is Exploited Labor en-us 2018-07-16 16:04:27 UTC 2023-07-10 21:00:42 UTC hello@padlet.com "Sometimes you can feel a nice breeze from the pesticides were spraying over there. It felt good. They don’t tell you about the risks." hndyer https://padlet.com/hndyer/k7xkd86i4jbb/wish/270534137 I chose this quote because it shows how bad working conditions are. The majority of farm labor is done outside, weather conditions are uncontrollable but the fact that workers are excited about a breeze from chemicals shows that their working standards are well below standards and potentially dangerous. The International Journal of Environmental Health and Research reported that the majority of farmers know pesticides can be harmful to workers but, because of lack of knowledge farmers and farm labor do not follow safety instructions or precautions when dealing with pesticides. This can result in intense and prolonged exposure and lead to chronic health problems for workers (Jallow, 2017).  ]]> 2018-07-18 16:33:03 UTC https://padlet.com/hndyer/k7xkd86i4jbb/wish/270534137 "The farmers in this country are not poor. We are screwed." hndyer https://padlet.com/hndyer/k7xkd86i4jbb/wish/270535510 This shows how hopeless some farm labors are. Farm laborers work so hard for such little money and have done it for so long they feel like any changes to improve their working and living conditions are nearly impossible. The US Department of Human Health Services reports that that 90% of farmworkers are paid by the hour and that there were many wage rate violations with many workers making less than minimum wage. The article also reports that workers who are without a H-2A visa are more prone to worker wage violations and pesticide safety violations (Robinson, Nguyen, Isom, Quandt, Grzywacz, Chen, Arcury, 2011). Workers are afraid to speak up about issues and mistreatment because they do not want to risk losing their job or getting deported.  
 
]]> 2018-07-18 16:57:22 UTC https://padlet.com/hndyer/k7xkd86i4jbb/wish/270535510 "The history of farm labor in the United States is a history of exploitation." hndyer https://padlet.com/hndyer/k7xkd86i4jbb/wish/270536959 Ever since the abolition of slavery in the United States a new form of somewhat legal slavery has arisen in farm labor in the jobs that other Americans have deemed undesirable. These jobs are typically worked by immigrants for low wages that don't allow then to live above the poverty line. This type of abuse of farmworkers has been going on decades. The Journal for Citizenship Studies states that the same problem that is happening in America with the long running history of exploitation of minorities is also happening in Canada. The article states that Canada has passed laws that limit the rights and freedoms of immigrant workers to keep them at their same economic level, so they continue to work the jobs that other citizens will not but are crucial to everyday life (Perry 2012).  ]]> 2018-07-18 17:16:52 UTC https://padlet.com/hndyer/k7xkd86i4jbb/wish/270536959 "There was terrible poverty and exploitation just hidden from view." hndyer https://padlet.com/hndyer/k7xkd86i4jbb/wish/270538409 This quote was referring to Edward R. Murrow's documentary in the 1960s about farm workers. Even though this documentary is from 50 years ago a lot of the conditions are still the same today. Today many people do not know the struggles these farm workers face. When at a supermarket many people would not stop to think about how the food got there and at what price to the workers. The realization of the issue is improving though through organizations like CIW as discussed in the movie the larger suppliers in the food chain are being held more responsible for worker conditions and bringing the issue into the main stream media (Dias-Abey, 2018).  ]]> 2018-07-18 17:41:04 UTC https://padlet.com/hndyer/k7xkd86i4jbb/wish/270538409 "You are poor because you are making others rich." hndyer https://padlet.com/hndyer/k7xkd86i4jbb/wish/270538777 This quote was said by one of the workers when talking about how farm workers fall below the poverty line, but big supermarkets are thriving. Publix, for example, was the store focused on in the movie and if they were to just give one more penny per pound it would cost them $1 million out of their $22 billion net profit. An article for Business History also points out how large supermarket chains have put a lot of local farmers out of business and has even caused smaller grocery stores to be taken over by the large chains (Collantes, 2016).  
 ]]> 2018-07-18 17:47:33 UTC https://padlet.com/hndyer/k7xkd86i4jbb/wish/270538777 Works Cited hndyer https://padlet.com/hndyer/k7xkd86i4jbb/wish/270539228 2018-07-18 17:56:43 UTC https://padlet.com/hndyer/k7xkd86i4jbb/wish/270539228