Question

What connections can we make between the U.S. corn economy and the lives of the people picking tomatoes in Florida? (Trying to trace the connections that exist between corn fields in places like Iowa, push factors in Mexico, and the life histories of the people picking the tomatoes that we find at our local grocery stores).

Answer 1

As USA does not rely on its agriculture to run economy but still cultivating huge amount of Corn or Maize. Around 90% of grain product is corn in the nation. Overall, about 80 million acres of farmland are being planted annually with corn, and this is a number that has been increasing in recent years. However the consumption rate is also high, The number of processed foods and other consumables that now contain corn or a corn derivative as an ingredient is almost limitless, and it is high-fructose corn syrup in particular that has been making a huge impact on the typical American diet. And another use is for Ethenol industry. Its also used for cattle feed.

While the tomato picking people in florida are facing lot of issues as slavery and trafficking, thousands of farm laborers work under slavery-like conditions today in the U.S. and Mexico to grow tomatoes and other products. Florida is the region where one-third of all U.S. tomatoes are grown. Florida as a whole produces 90 percent of our winter tomatoes. And since 1997, the Justice Department has prosecuted seven slavery cases in Florida, four involving tomato harvesters More than 1,200 people have been freed from agricultural slavery rings in Florida during the last 10 to 15 years. Workers tell stories of brutal beatings, being shackled in chains at night, no regular pay for work, housing where 20 pickers share one mobile home and are each charged upwards of $200 per month in rent. No shade in the fields, no breaks for meals, 10 to 12 hour workdays, seven days a week. With financial obligations and no way to escape, many tomato field workers have found themselves modern day slaves. Children and adults work six days a week for sometimes less than $10 weekly pay. They are trapped in rat-infested housing, denied pay, go unfed and are severely punished for attempts at escape. Worst of all, some of the same businesses that comply with the Fair Food Program also buy from these farms in Mexico.