Workers at the Bottom of the Food Chain

[Ohiorganic]

Originally Posted by Gardener5

The wages workers get paid have a big impact on the cost of a product so if they made close to three times what they made now prices go up a lot.

So you are saying these people must be paid less than minimum wage and be enslaved (as most cannot leave the fields because they are threatened with deportation or bodily harm) so we can have cheap food?

[RozieDozie]

Originally Posted by c1377

Food cost has very little to do with migrant worker wages.
Their wages are a pittance compared with the overall cost of food production.

The primary catalyst for today's expensive food is fuel.
Fuel is used to ship the produce (which is no longer grown locally),
Fuel is used to produce fertilizer, pesticides, and herbicides,
Fuel is used to run machines that tend the land and the crop,
Fuel is used to mine ore, and make those machines, etc.

PS.
Don't get me wrong, I am not picking a fight.
I do feel rather strongly about this, though.
I have lived across the world and seen real poverty.
I have also seen how liberty can provide hope.
Generally speaking, the larger the operation is the less liberty is involved and the worse off the people doing the real work are.

And that always gives a different and more realistic perspective. Many people in this small town area have never traveled more than 35 miles away from their home so having a world view is difficult, if not impossible.

Here, peach pickers are hard to come by. They've stopped hiring illegal workers because there has been a huge crackdown. They can either hire local peach pickers or migrant workers. The peach farmers are cutting down their trees rather than paying to meet the migrant worker standards and, if local pickers were available, they aren't interested in paying their taxes, etc.

It's understandable that its costly over the short run to change labor patterns, but over the long run, cutting down orchards of fruit bearing trees doesn't make sense, either.

[Gardener5]

Originally Posted by Ohiorganic

So you are saying these people must be paid less than minimum wage and be enslaved (as most cannot leave the fields because they are threatened with deportation or bodily harm) so we can have cheap food?

No I'm saying if they were paid very good money like $20/hr people wouldn't be able to afford the food or maybe thats what some want. If they are abused or threatened yes then those doing it need to be held accountable. If you are here illegally and I have no doubt many of the workers are then you have problems.

[32bantam]

Originally Posted by Ohiorganic

So you are saying these people must be paid less than minimum wage and be enslaved (as most cannot leave the fields because they are threatened with deportation or bodily harm) so we can have cheap food?

They shouldn't be hiring illegals in the first place and should be fined or punished for doing so.

People shouldn't make less than minimum wage but how much more would you be willing to pay for food for them to make more?

Would you be willing to have your grocery bill triple so the can have high wages and benefits?

[Gardener5]

Originally Posted by 32bantam

They shouldn't be hiring illegals in the first place and should be fined or punished for doing so.

People shouldn't make less than minimum wage but how much more would you be willing to pay for food for them to make more?

Would you be willing to have your grocery bill triple so the can have high wages and benefits?

I think what some want is people to buy onlyorganic or locally grown food food and if other food has to go up in price then so be it. I've said it before not everyone can afford organic food especially when ya just getting by like single Moms they can't afford to pay double when they just manage to pay their bills.

[bunkie]