There is an important human rights story highlighted this week by the LA Times that needs attention. It risks being obscured by the torture and budget issues, but this also demands our concerns and interest.
The plight of Mexican laborers in the labor camps of Mexico is not new, but many Americans are still unaware of it.
More detail on what the Los Angeles Times is uncovering is after the squashed tomato...
But a Los Angeles Times investigation found that for thousands of farm laborers south of the border, the export boom is a story of exploitation and extreme hardship.
The Times found:
* Many farm laborers are essentially trapped for months at a time in rat-infested camps, often without beds and sometimes without functioning toilets or a reliable water supply.
* Some camp bosses illegally withhold wages to prevent workers from leaving during peak harvest periods.
* Laborers often go deep in debt paying inflated prices for necessities at company stores. Some are reduced to scavenging for food when their credit is cut off. It's common for laborers to head home penniless at the end of a harvest.
* Those who seek to escape their debts and miserable living conditions have to contend with guards, barbed-wire fences and sometimes threats of violence from camp supervisors.
* Major U.S. companies have done little to enforce social responsibility guidelines that call for basic worker protections such as clean housing and fair pay practices.
http://graphics.latimes.com/...
Some familiar patterns in common with textile sweat shops in Bangladesh, yes?
This story was also highlighted in an NPR story this morning. The diary title is taken from that program.
Most Kossacks are informed enough to know that the life of migrant workers who work within the US are no bed of arugula, but it's even worse south of the border. And this produce is grown for US consumption. Unless you've made a conscious effort to eat only locally grown produce and never eat out, it's nearly guaranteed that you've eaten food from these megafarms.
So, what to do?
1) Please read the LA Times article. The details are shocking although not entirely surprising. The photos can make you weep. Nearly ever abuse of labor standard you can imagine takes place in the business of providing produce to some well know American retailers. Read to find out who some of these retailers are.
2) Find out where your produce currently comes from. Raise a stink with your local store if you expect it is carrying produce from these megafarms. Let them know what levels of ethical treatment for farm labor you expect.
3) Go local. The local food movement is gaining momentum and is worth supporting for our health, the environment and for reasons of justice.
4) Even in Winter there are people growing produce in northern US. Locate these sources and share information with your neighbors and friends.
5) Share in the comments what you think we can do to shed light on these injustices and create change.