The human cost of food : farmworkers' lives, labor, and advocacy / edited by Charles D. Thompson, Jr., and Melinda F. Wiggins.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Thompson, Charles D., Jr. (Charles Dillard), 1956-

Wiggins, Melinda.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Migrant agricultural laborers--Government policy--United States.

Migrant agricultural laborers.

Migrant agricultural laborers--Southern States.

Social advocacy--Southern States.

Social advocacy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (358 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Finding fresh fruits and vegetables is as easy as going to the grocery store for most Americans—which makes it all too easy to forget that our food is cultivated, harvested, and packaged by farmworkers who labor for less pay, fewer benefits, and under more dangerous conditions than workers in almost any other sector of the U.S. economy. Seeking to end the public's ignorance and improve workers' living and working conditions, this book addresses the major factors that affect farmworkers' lives while offering practical strategies for action on farmworker issues. The contributors to this book are all farmworker advocates—student and community activists and farmworkers themselves. Focusing on workers in the Southeast United States, a previously understudied region, they cover a range of issues, from labor organizing, to the rise of agribusiness, to current health, educational, and legal challenges faced by farmworkers. The authors blend coverage of each issue with practical suggestions for working with farmworkers and other advocates to achieve justice in our food system both regionally and nationally.

Contents:

""Contents""; ""List of Abbreviations""; ""Preface""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""Sowing Seeds for Change Symposium Address, Gainesville, Florida, by Lucas Benitez, farmworker and organizer""; ""Introduction by Charles D. Thompson, Jr.""; ""Organization of This Book""; ""The Virgin of Guadalupe, by Carmen Tomás, farmworker from Cherán, Michoacán, Mexico, Interview by Wendy Daniels Ibarra, 1999 SAF intern""; ""Chapter 1: Making Home: Culture, Ethnicity, and Religion among Farmworkers in the Southeastern United States, by Alejandra Okie Holt and Sister Evelyn Mattern""

""Sowing Seeds for Change Symposium Address, Gainesville, Florida, by Lucas Benitez, farmworker and organizer""""Chapter 2: Layers of Loss: Migrants, Small Farmers, and Agribusiness, by Charles D. Thompson, Jr.""; ""Life on Easy Street, by Rachel LaCour Niesen, 1999 SAF intern""; ""Chapter 3: Standing Idly By: ''Organized'' Farmworkers in South Florida during the Depression and World War II, by Cindy Hahamovitch""; ""Rifaré mi suerte/ I'll Raffle My Luck by Humberto Zapata Alvizo, farmworker and musician, Interview by Joe Bagby, 1999 SAF intern""

""Chapter 4: H-2A Guestworker Program: A Legacy of Importing Agricultural Labor, by Garry G. Geffert""""Testimony at Hearing before the Commission on Agricultural Workers, by Roman Rodriguez, Florida farmworker""; ""Chapter 5: Farmworker Exceptionalism under the Law:How the Legal System Contributes to Farmworker Poverty and Powerlessness, by Greg Schell""; ""Wells Farms, by Rachel Avery, 1997 SAF intern""; ""The Conditions at the Camp Are Not Great, by Vanessa, farmworker and daughter of crew leader, Interview by Kris Adams, 1997 SAF intern""

""Chapter 6: Bitter Harvest: Housing Conditions of Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers, by Christopher Holden""""The History We Wrote This Summer, by Jenny Carroll""; ""Chapter 7: The Struggle for Health in Times of Plenty, by Colin Austin""; ""That Summer, by Marcella Hurtado Gomez, farmworker and 1997 SAF intern""; ""Bella Juventud/ Wonderful Youth, by Gloria Velásquez""; ""Chapter 8: Understanding the Challenges and Potential of Migrant Students, by Ramiro Arceo, Joy Kusserow, and Al Wright""

""I Don't Think People Give Up, by Sheila Payne, farmworker organizer, Interview by Melinda Steele, 1998 SAF intern""""Chapter 9: From Slavery to Cesar Chavez and Beyond: Farmworker Organizing in the United States, by Paul Ortiz""; ""Sowing Seeds for Change Symposium Address, Gainesville, Florida, by Lucas Benitez, farmworker and organizer""; ""Conclusion: An Invocation to Act, by Melinda F. Wiggins""; ""Appendix I: Developing a Syllabus on Farmworker Advocacy""; ""Appendix II: Farmworker-Related Organizations and Agencies""; ""Appendix III: Recommended Readings""; ""Works Cited""

""Contributors""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-292-79891-1

OCLC:

55676103