Just as we discussed in class last week, a big component of this article is exposing the focus on feeding the hungry and explaining that a change in our production system is what is actually necessary if we really want to escape this cycle of poverty, hunger, and migration. Agricultural sales are increasing while the stability and wages of farmworkers are decreasing, especially for immigrant workers who don't have access to food security programs. Fresno county is the home to the largest farmworker population in the US but is also one of the poorest and most food insecure counties in California.
The USDA undermines these issues by replacing the categories labeled food insecure and food insecure with hunger with low food security and very low food security. Caloric value and mass are prioritized heavily over nutritional value. Corn and soybeans rank number 1 and 2 of the most subsidized crops.
Immigration policies have been used to manage labor flow, but also as a tool to keep a labor force that doesn't have any rights and can be taken advantage of in times of need. A huge part of Californian agriculture was the Bracero program (1942-64) a US government sponsored program that brought 5 million Mexican workers to Californian fields but denied them basic human rights. This just goes to show how the Government has been corrupt and continues to do so in less obvious ways.
1 comment:
I to did not know very much about this issue until this article. I found your information about the US government bringing 5 million people quite interesting and concerning as they came to have a better life but did, they really end up with one? this information along with the article raises many questions and concerns about those in power greed going unchecked and causing others to suffer for it.
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