"Farm exports to the U.S. from Mexico have tripled to $7.6 billion in the last decade, enriching agribusinesses, distributors and retailers.
American consumers get all the salsa, squash and melons they can eat at affordable prices. And top U.S. brands — Wal-Mart, Whole Foods, Subway and Safeway, among many others — profit from produce they have come to depend on.These corporations say their Mexican suppliers have committed to decent treatment and living conditions for workers. 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."
we work the fields for our families.
It’s crazy to see how desperate some of these people are to get working and how much they do for such a little reward. These people are working longer and harder than probably all Americans and they are barely surviving. They work for survival. It’s hard for some of these people to stay healthy, especially in the harsh conditions and tight living spaces that these people have to deal with on an everyday basis.
Corporations are always looking for the cheapest base product to import. Unfortunately for the laborers of Mexico, their country does not enforce globally accepted standards of labor. The US cannot police other countries' policies and procedures, but we can educate our own consumers about the working conditions behind the product they buy. The consumers then have a choice; do they want to pay 49 cents a pound for bananas or 99 cents. What is more important, the health and welfare of the employee who picked the produce or the financial well-being of the consumer who purchases it?
This obviously is big business for Mexico and the US should apply some pressure to motivate our friends south of the border to foster better working conditions for their employees. It would seem to me that Mexico could afford to pay their workers a little more and still be competitive given their proximity to the US. I think I will start buying my bananas from Ecuador....