What are two things that stood out the most to you?
Two things that stood out to me from watching “Food Chains” was that the workers currently pick an estimated 4000 lbs. of tomatoes a day and make roughly $40. That’s only a penny a pound! But for just 1 penny more per pound picked of tomatoes, which would only cost $1 million more (out of the $2 billion annual revenue), the farmers could double their salaries and possibly be lifted above the poverty line. The fact that the farmers work full time jobs, picking thousands of pounds a day, yet still are below the poverty level is shameful. How is that in line with President Barack Obama saying an “an honest day’s work for honest wages?” If the grocery stores passed this expense onto the consumer, it would only raise the cost of tomatoes roughly .44 cents a year, per family. There is no excuse for the grocery chains not to stop these horrendous conditions.
Do you agree or disagree with the actions of the workers?
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The film constantly explained that the grocery stores, like many other business is a supply chain, with the majority of power at the top (in this case the large grocery store chains). Many Americans don’t realize that they we are all connected in this problem and that when we buy fruits and vegetables from grocery chains, we are unknowingly forcing farmers to continue to endure mistreatment, abuse, and almost slavery conditions in terms of pay. The film explained how farm labor has a deep past rooted in exploitation, but the cycle needs to stop. I fully support the actions of the workers, and through their hunger strike and other means of putting pressure on the grocery chains to pay them