A Walk In A Tomato Picker's Shoes

The story of the Naples tomato pickers shocked me. Tomatoes are one of my favorite things to eat. I never really thought about the laborers that helped pick them. Who would have thought that someone could put another person through that kind of treatment and actually get away with it. Their hourly wage should be determined by the time they reach work until the time they leave. I really thought that slavery days were over. It is so sad to think that we are living in a country that speaks so highly of "freedom" and yet we can enslave someone else. It also makes me think of a guy I met at Kalama Park in Kihei. He told me a story about how he snuck across the Texas and Mexico border and walked for four days to get to this so-called "free" country. I remember him saying that he hid in some dead shrubery for half a day. He waited until night to drink from a home owner's water hose. The saddest thing he mentioned was that he thought that once he was in America, that he could also be "free". He also said that it was so hard for him to find work because he didn't have a social security number and often feared the immigration. These poorly treated immigrants in Florida must feel as if they have no other choice but to stay. What a way to go on living. No one should have to indure the beatings and the mistreatment. And on top of that, they are charged outrageous amounts of money for their intolerable living arrangements. Reading this made me feel as if I complain about the littlest issues when there are much bigger things to worry about.

Something tomatoes

i think its trippy on how people can treat others that way and still go to bed at night. even though they are illegal doesnt mean they should be treated less than a human. someone has to do the work but atleast pay hem minimum wage. they make bank i dont see why it would be a problem to pay the people. slavery is messed up and it should be stopped because no one should or deserves to be treated in that way.

I have read the article "The Price of Tomatoes." It was really sad how the immigrants were being treated. Immigrants working in America is illegal, but who else who do all the dirty work if they weren't here? They leave everything behind and come to America hoping to find a new life. They do anything to earn money so they can support themselves and their families. Many of my friends have relatives that come to Hawaii from different countries as immigrants, work illegally, but do not get treated like slaves. It is very sad and heartbreaking. In both cases its wrong. Illegal immigrants working illegally is wrong and whoever is giving them jobs is wrong. An average American would never pick tomatoes for a living and live in conditions like this. For sure I would not want to live like that. With the help of immigrants things are getting done. Immigrants come to American probably because they envy all the freedom we have, they need money and have a better life. But when they get to American it is a different story, they get treated like ****. The lazy Americans who want to make money by selling tomatoes your slaves pick, why do you put yourself in there situation and try live by your rules you give them. Stop being "neat" ; don't care about the process only the results. They care about getting money, and dont care about all the hard work people need to do. I am not for or against any of this because its wrong. This is all i have to say, because if i go on it is not going to make sense. If it this does not make any sense you guys who are reading this, sorry ;

Got Tomatoes

The article about the tomato picking slaves is unreal. I can not believe that kind of thing goes on in the U.S.A. It does not matter who you are you do not deserve to be treated like Lucas was. I mean being beaten, threatened and then to be put in such terrible living conditions is completely inhumane. On the other hand, I think this is one of the more extreme cases and I am going to bet that there are many happy illegal immigrates making less then minimum wage picking tomatoes. The article brings up some good points but some things are ridicules. For instance the slaves who are illegal immigrants do not get medical care. Well that’s too bad because many American citizens do not even get medical. How injured are you really going to get picking tomatoes? A sore back and a few scratches just like any American citizen farmer.

Mystery Meat

I have always wondered why the food at school tasted so bad. From the interview clip of Michael Pollan I now have an idea of why the food at school is also so cheap. The food being served to the children of society is the solution to the overproduction of food from big agriculture companies. I find it to be quite funny that America's other trashcan is its children. I am not completely baffled of the thought that the agriculture decided to recycle the overproduced foods through the children of society, but it sure is funny. I am just disappointed that I did not see this interview until I escaped the mystery meat filled days.

CRUELTY is very unacceptable...

Reading this article The Prince of Tomatoes is very painful. I really do not know how it feels to be a "slave" or being treated unfairly. However, what I can say to this is that it is not fair to treat other human being like us a different way. Just because they are from a different country or state or different skin nor different tones of language. We are all the same. No one deserves to be look down or be treated like an "animal". Having to read this is just disturbing. Therefore, people that migrates to the United States what they really want is to have a good life and give there family a better living. But some people makes it like "they are better than them". On the other hand, we are just the same. We all have the same dream which is having a better life and to have a great education. I guess some people just think that it is okay to treat someone this cruel to make themselves feel good. To end this, I really do believe that the people who treated this immigrants very cruel and treated them like slaves..they should all go to jail or possibly switch places for twenty years maybe..So, they know how it feels to be on that situation and it is not funny at all.

How far have we come?

I knew that field workers lived in poor condition. I knew they weren’t paid very well. What I didn’t know is that they are being treated as slaves. I thought slavery was long gone. Being forced to stay in those horrible conditions is utterly disgusting. These people are arrogant and heartless to treat fellow human beings like this. It seems they have taken a few hundred steps backwards and adopted the mind of that wrongful time. What makes them think they are so much better than these people, these immigrants that they deserve to be treated like this? It doesn’t matter that most, if not all, are illegal immigrants. They are still people that deserve the same amount of respect that the slave owners have, if not more. The immigrants are doing everything they can to just get by AND help out their families back home. They came here to live the “American Dream” and bring their families here. They came to get out of poverty and unfairness, not to be put back in it. The article The Price of Tomatoes is a mind blowing truth showing us we really haven’t come very far as human beings. The slave owners, in my opinion, should all go to jail and therapy. Their mind has to be twisted if they think it is alright to treat people this way.

Price of tomatoes

Of course cruelty, maltreatment, and "slavery" is unacceptable. That being said: If someone illegally migrates to this country to work, then works illegally - it puts them into a completely different level of what is fair or not. Obviously whatever country they are migrating from has zero opportunity for them, and just having the opportunity to work is huge. Poverty level in the U.S.A can be considered rich in many other places in the world. Also by working illegally, the migrants are creating their own problems, as well as taking work away from legal citizens that are unemployed. If these "slave" owners did not have these people to exploit, they would have to pay decent wages and provide acceptable living conditions.

Expensive Cheap Food

Watching the youtube clip with Bill Moyer and Michael Pollan really woke me up. I never realized just how expensive cheap fast food really is. The government is giving farm subsidies to basically help the fast food industry. I agree with Pollan, that these subsidies for corn and soy is contributing to health problems. Corn is used for corn syrup which then is used to sweeten up the sodas. The soy is made into soy oil which Pollan said is what fast food restaurants use to fry their food. There are trans fat in soy oil and Pollan said it is also lethal. These two crops are in fast food industries and because of the recession, many may turn to fast food restaurants because of the prices but people don't realize how unhealthy and how expensive the process is. To get food processed, it goes through a lot of fossil fuel. It's ridiculous how the government doesn't pay more attention to making food policies because people are eating over 300 calories extra a day and there are more people getting type 2 diabetes with the 80% chance of heart disease. The farm subsidies are only contributing fast foods which are given to Americans which then ends up in high costs of health care. Food is the beginning and if the government focuses on this area more then hopefully health problems would decrease and the money spent on these farm subsidies would go to a better cost, like education, health care, or creation of new jobs. Now, I think twice about going to a fast food restaurant, I'd rather eat home cooked meals that are much more healthier and home grown vegetables or local meat. Eating McDonalds is good but the extra calories and all that oil is just so disgusting!