5 ms·

Farmworkers key to keeping US fed are wary of virus spread

46 points by jelliclesfarm 7y ago

_bxg1 7y ago
Link is broken
- jelliclesfarm 7y ago
  https://www-sfgate-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.sfgate.com/news/medical/amp/Farmworkers-key-to-keeping-US-fed-are-wary-of-15163600.php https://www-sfgate-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.sfgate.com... : this should work?
  - _bxg1 7y ago
    Yep
  - dang 7y ago
    Sorry! This looks like a case where our software failed to rewrite an AMP URL correctly. The correct URL would be https://www.sfgate.com/news/medical/article/Farmworkers-key-to-keeping-US-fed-are-wary-of-15163600.php https://www.sfgate.com/news/medical/article/Farmworkers-key-.... However, that page autoplays a video, so I googled the title and found one which doesn't instead.
jennyyang 7y ago
We need to figure out protocols as a society so that things like farms, food supply chains and other critical services are not disrupted by this epidemic. Things like test every single farm worker for the virus and keep them isolated during harvest season. Have onsite quarantine facilities, maybe even have the military come in and help with containment and quaratining. Oh yeah, also PAY THEM A LOT BETTER. Also, where are these 15 mins tests that we have been talking about for months? We need these before we can start implementing any sort of procedures to help restart our economies. Unfortunately food prices will have to go up, which will affect the poor, but not as badly as if the supply chains are completely disrupted and food prices skyrocket.
- jelliclesfarm 7y ago
  Even if would pay more, as long as our population keeps increasing, it won’t work out. The only solution is automation of most Ag operations, create many more decentralized food production/distribution hubs that is more sustainable. Food security necessarily means assured labour supply. No one wants their kids to be farm labourers. As we educate more of the world population, why would they come to the field and do manual labour? We need Ag robots and automated platforms of all sizes for farms at different scales. Farm labour is implicitly exploitative. The only solution is automation and reducing manual labour/labour costs for food crops.
  - jdjrkk90 7y ago
    Reality has a way of not giving a crap about what parents want. Why can’t people be laborers regarding their basic needs some times, and academics sometimes? It’s a pretty traditional values “I am king now and forever” notion to think one life one career. There’s nothing biological preventing a rotation between work over our lives. And many philosophers too have warned about division of labor making for a society of ignorant humans. Following orders rather than their curiosity. IMO first worlders who can should. You’re not a god and the billions that outnumber us are catching up fast. Pointing big guns at them and saying “lol, no” isn’t gonna work forever.
    - jelliclesfarm 7y ago
      Why don’t we want manual labourers? Because they are weaker and less efficient than machines. If I had the choice and can afford to choose between a person picking fruit and a machine picking fruit, I will pick the machine. A human will get sick. A machine won’t. A human needs breaks and insurance and have to be paid. Machines don’t. If a human is broken, a life is affected. If a machine breaks down, it can be repaired and sent to the fields to work again. Also, I can depreciate a machine as a deduction. When a human ‘depreciates’ for someone to profit from that, it is a crime against our own species. I am a god in my farm because I own it. I don’t know any farmer who would pick unreliable, easily breakable, under paid(if they have a conscience, it should bother them) human worker over reliable machines because the prime directive of a business is to stay viable and profitable. The farmer wants to make a profit and hopefully in an ethical and sustainable manner. Human workers for repetitive manual unskilled jobs is not sustainable.
_bxg1 7y ago
Before you panic, what I heard when this came up about Europe is that it only applies to "luxury crops". Certain fresh fruits and vegetables; not basics like grains. The latter are easy to harvest with minimal labor. It isn't good, but nobody's at risk of starvation.
- jelliclesfarm 7y ago
  Grains are commodity crops and mechanization has already hyper optimized that sector.
- teeray 7y ago
  What about the second order effects though? Even if it’s a luxury crop, those are calories that will have to be consumed elsewhere, putting strain on the basics. Maybe we can turn up production on those, but what if we can’t? It could prime us for a cascading failure.
  - _bxg1 7y ago
    Another thing someone pointed out is that we feed grains to cattle. If livestock started declining for reasons like these, there would be excess grain for humans.
    - jelliclesfarm 7y ago
      Grain grown for feed and fodder is inedible for humans.
  - lm28469 7y ago
    Nobody's going to starve, most US citizens could go weeks if not months without food and still be fine anyway. We're talking about strawberries, raspberries, cherries, peppers and things like that.
grognak420 7y ago
Get the military to start farming
- pvaldes 7y ago
  ... or send farmers to fight in wars, the result will be the same. Army would not make good farmers for many reasons. Too different goals and sensibilities.
laurex 7y ago
My parents mentioned that farmers in their area are offering to let "regular people" who have the time come and help with harvesting with social distancing measures in place, with the bonus of taking home farm fresh items.
- jelliclesfarm 7y ago
  This is not a viable business model. And fraught with liability. Not to mention risky. Any business that have to resort to volunteerism to survive..or ‘gofundme’ ...Or any business that needs works risking their health by exposing themselves to covid are those in an industry that MUST be automated

46 points by jelliclesfarm 7y ago

_bxg1 7y ago

Link is broken

jelliclesfarm 7y ago
https://www-sfgate-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.sfgate.com/news/medical/amp/Farmworkers-key-to-keeping-US-fed-are-wary-of-15163600.php https://www-sfgate-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.sfgate.com... : this should work?
- _bxg1 7y ago
  Yep
- dang 7y ago
  Sorry! This looks like a case where our software failed to rewrite an AMP URL correctly. The correct URL would be https://www.sfgate.com/news/medical/article/Farmworkers-key-to-keeping-US-fed-are-wary-of-15163600.php https://www.sfgate.com/news/medical/article/Farmworkers-key-.... However, that page autoplays a video, so I googled the title and found one which doesn't instead.

jennyyang 7y ago

We need to figure out protocols as a society so that things like farms, food supply chains and other critical services are not disrupted by this epidemic. Things like test every single farm worker for the virus and keep them isolated during harvest season. Have onsite quarantine facilities, maybe even have the military come in and help with containment and quaratining. Oh yeah, also PAY THEM A LOT BETTER. Also, where are these 15 mins tests that we have been talking about for months? We need these before we can start implementing any sort of procedures to help restart our economies. Unfortunately food prices will have to go up, which will affect the poor, but not as badly as if the supply chains are completely disrupted and food prices skyrocket.

jelliclesfarm 7y ago
Even if would pay more, as long as our population keeps increasing, it won’t work out. The only solution is automation of most Ag operations, create many more decentralized food production/distribution hubs that is more sustainable. Food security necessarily means assured labour supply. No one wants their kids to be farm labourers. As we educate more of the world population, why would they come to the field and do manual labour? We need Ag robots and automated platforms of all sizes for farms at different scales. Farm labour is implicitly exploitative. The only solution is automation and reducing manual labour/labour costs for food crops.
- jdjrkk90 7y ago
  Reality has a way of not giving a crap about what parents want. Why can’t people be laborers regarding their basic needs some times, and academics sometimes? It’s a pretty traditional values “I am king now and forever” notion to think one life one career. There’s nothing biological preventing a rotation between work over our lives. And many philosophers too have warned about division of labor making for a society of ignorant humans. Following orders rather than their curiosity. IMO first worlders who can should. You’re not a god and the billions that outnumber us are catching up fast. Pointing big guns at them and saying “lol, no” isn’t gonna work forever.
  - jelliclesfarm 7y ago
    Why don’t we want manual labourers? Because they are weaker and less efficient than machines. If I had the choice and can afford to choose between a person picking fruit and a machine picking fruit, I will pick the machine. A human will get sick. A machine won’t. A human needs breaks and insurance and have to be paid. Machines don’t. If a human is broken, a life is affected. If a machine breaks down, it can be repaired and sent to the fields to work again. Also, I can depreciate a machine as a deduction. When a human ‘depreciates’ for someone to profit from that, it is a crime against our own species. I am a god in my farm because I own it. I don’t know any farmer who would pick unreliable, easily breakable, under paid(if they have a conscience, it should bother them) human worker over reliable machines because the prime directive of a business is to stay viable and profitable. The farmer wants to make a profit and hopefully in an ethical and sustainable manner. Human workers for repetitive manual unskilled jobs is not sustainable.

_bxg1 7y ago

Before you panic, what I heard when this came up about Europe is that it only applies to "luxury crops". Certain fresh fruits and vegetables; not basics like grains. The latter are easy to harvest with minimal labor. It isn't good, but nobody's at risk of starvation.

jelliclesfarm 7y ago
Grains are commodity crops and mechanization has already hyper optimized that sector.
teeray 7y ago
What about the second order effects though? Even if it’s a luxury crop, those are calories that will have to be consumed elsewhere, putting strain on the basics. Maybe we can turn up production on those, but what if we can’t? It could prime us for a cascading failure.
- _bxg1 7y ago
  Another thing someone pointed out is that we feed grains to cattle. If livestock started declining for reasons like these, there would be excess grain for humans.
  - jelliclesfarm 7y ago
    Grain grown for feed and fodder is inedible for humans.
- lm28469 7y ago
  Nobody's going to starve, most US citizens could go weeks if not months without food and still be fine anyway. We're talking about strawberries, raspberries, cherries, peppers and things like that.

grognak420 7y ago

Get the military to start farming

pvaldes 7y ago
... or send farmers to fight in wars, the result will be the same. Army would not make good farmers for many reasons. Too different goals and sensibilities.

laurex 7y ago

My parents mentioned that farmers in their area are offering to let "regular people" who have the time come and help with harvesting with social distancing measures in place, with the bonus of taking home farm fresh items.

jelliclesfarm 7y ago
This is not a viable business model. And fraught with liability. Not to mention risky. Any business that have to resort to volunteerism to survive..or ‘gofundme’ ...Or any business that needs works risking their health by exposing themselves to covid are those in an industry that MUST be automated