Upon watching the video “Food Chains” and reading Labor Controversies, it is appalling that the workers who pick the food that is consumed at dinner tables across the nation do not even get paid minimum and live below the poverty line. The historical context of immigrant farm workers in the United States, and across the globe, is riddled with exploitation and greed (Food Chains, 2014). It was shocking to learn of some of the working conditions modern-day farm laborers had to face. According to the film Food Chains, Immokalee tomato pickers had to board their buses at 5:00 a.m. in order to be at their destination by 7:00-7:30 a.m. only to have to wait several more hours for the dew to evaporate before they could start picking tomatoes. They were not paid for the time they did not work although they were required to wait for hours on end until it was appropriate to begin picking. Workers described the labor intensity of the job and how some people could not take it because it would get too hot. The film shows meager accommodations for the bus loads of workers dropped off at a site. Few porta-potties, water, shade, or fans were provided, if any. Workers were paid slave wages of a little more than one penny per pound that they picked. The film, Food Chains, and literature by Villarejo (2003) discusses the chain of power that flows from the top to the bottom in the supply chain in the United States food industry. Villarejo (2003) also discussed the historical exploitation of migrant and poor people who do not necessarily have a strong voice. These workers cannot afford to complain about unfair treatment, horrendous working conditions, or wage theft. With families to support, they cannot afford to be labeled as a troublemaker and fired. Many of the problems in exploited industries goes unreported due to those and other reasons.
Works Cited
Food Chains. Dir. Sanjay Rawal. Screen Media, 2014. Film.
Villarejo, Don. "The health of US hired farm workers." Annual review of public health 24.1
(2003): 175-193.
