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When people talk about food costs in America, an extremely crucial element is often overlooked. For all the moral posturing about animal treatment in factory f
by LB232323 6y ago
When people talk about food costs in America, an extremely crucial element is often overlooked.
For all the moral posturing about animal treatment in factory farms and sustainability, which I can sympathize with, there is a massive army of illegal migrant workers that are invisible both legally and socially.
These migrant workers grow and harvest the food that Americans survive on every day. Not to mention cleaning homes, landscaping, and even raising families.
This is a major factor in why food is so cheap and abundant in America. Illegal migrant workers who are paid sub-minimum slave wages to feed the citizens of the United States.
Until we take a hard look at this labor system and widely acknowledge its economic role, these debates are empty. If you know your history, you understand why this system exists.
- koheripbal 6y agoI'm not sure this is accurate. The US H2-A seasonal farm worker visa program allows almost 200000 workers (mostly from Mexico) work in the US without needing to be illegal. My understanding of illegal immigrant jobs was that they were centered more in the restaurant and construction/landscaping fields (and many others, I'm sure). source: https://cis.org/Report/Unlimited-Cheap-Farm-Labor-Evaluating-H2A-Disclosure-Data https://cis.org/Report/Unlimited-Cheap-Farm-Labor-Evaluating...
- simmanian 6y agoIs there a source that describes just how dependent we are on slave labor for food? I think some numbers would do a lot of good here.
- AviationAtom 6y agoYou call is slave labor, but I'm willing to be many in those jobs could not view it as further from the truth. The know they life they left behind and are ex exceptionally grateful to have an opportunity to make what most Americans would see as peanuts. It's all perspective. Americans demand a lot.