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Author: Subject: San Quintin quieting down?
JoeJustJoe
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[*] posted on 5-19-2015 at 12:21 PM


Quote: Originally posted by chuckie  
Blame me, I bought some Driscoll Raspberries at the Grocery store in St. Francis Kansas this morning....


Well I can't fault you for eating raspberries. I understand that raspberries are extremely healthy for people, and even I myself, have included raspberries, blackberries, and other fruits and vegetables into my diet.

However, when I see raspberries or blackberry from Drisoll's which actually has it's headquarters in California, and is a US company, and is one of of most recognized companies that is known to exploit the Mexican farm workers.

Well, I will just refused to buy the fruit product bearing the Drisoll's name. And if the supermarket where I'm shopping doesn't have other brands of blackberries, I just won't buy any raspberries or blackberries period. I will just pick up my 12 pack of Mexican beer, and call it a shopping day.

Of course there are worse companies in Mexican exploiting and abusing the Mexican worker, than Drisoll's, but since Drisoll's is an American company, I hold them to a higher standard, because they have even more direct influence than stores like "Safeway" in the US, and because I can't miss the Drisoll brand, when I'm in the supermarket.

Now there are two reasons why I'm boycotting the Drisoll products, and other exploiters of the Mexican farm workers. The first reason is obvious, I want to support the Mexican farm workers.

The second reason, is that when employees, are on strike or just unhappy about working conditions. The farm workers, sometimes take out their frustrations on the commodities or in this case, the Drisoll's fruits. It's not uncommon for a worker to urinate or do others types ungodly acts to the employers products or raspberries in the case of Chuckie, and thereby giving a new meaning to being organic.

The workers know, that most people could care less about their plight, and this is one way of getting back at those who don't support the farm workers cause.

[Edited on 5-19-2015 by JoeJustJoe]
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mcfez
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[*] posted on 5-19-2015 at 12:40 PM




You hit it on dead on! Harvesting berries is a very tough job....back breaking......and long hours since the season is short.

We farm Boysenberries. http://thenatomasfarm.blogspot.com/2014/05/going-nutz-with-b... I just wish our shirts (and hands) stayed clean as depicted in the photo. End of the day....we have purple hands.

Drisoll been around for a hundred years......has patented berries that are known to be very large in size. Salinas CA is where their explosive growth took place ....back in the 70's. Management used to be (may still be) cold and power hungry. I know...I worked for them for a year in the 80's.

JoeJustJoe is pretty much on point about the company....that "reality mail" should be returned to it's lonely sender.

Quote: Originally posted by DianaT  
Meanwhile IMHO, BerryMex who grows for Driscolls does not do itself any favor by posting propaganda photos like this on their website.



Those hands do not pick berries and look at that new very clean sweatshirt and hat with the scarf tied in such a stylish way. Nice try.




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chuckie
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[*] posted on 5-19-2015 at 02:28 PM


Given the standards to which Driscoll is being held, maybe we should stop eating beef, as well. Ask a feedlot rider what he is being paid, and look at the conditions under which he is working. We cant fix everything, or maybe anything....some things are as they are...and will remain that way....



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[*] posted on 5-19-2015 at 02:34 PM


Quote: Originally posted by chuckie  
Given the standards to which Driscoll is being held, maybe we should stop eating beef, as well. Ask a feedlot rider what he is being paid, and look at the conditions under which he is working. We cant fix everything, or maybe anything....some things are as they are...and will remain that way....


Chuckie,
Good point, but for different reasoning: spend some time around a feedlot and you might reconsider eating a lot of beef. Next to the kidney bean, cows are the stupidest form of protein :biggrin: ....and are part of unsustainable food production...

Meanwhile, back to the berry wars...




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chuckie
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[*] posted on 5-19-2015 at 02:39 PM


I'm around a feed lot every day....I still prefer a Rib eye to Tofu.....as to being unsustainable? Hard to define that term.....Cattle have been being raised in this country for over 200 years....



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[*] posted on 5-19-2015 at 02:54 PM


Spend some time on a giant wheat farm and it's huge grain bins and you might not want that slice of bread anymore. The legal limit of rat poop per million parts is rather high and not well publicized in the super markets.

This IS Kansas and those aren't capers, Toto.

P.S. Forgive me, for I am from ND, the actual big wheat state.




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chuckie
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[*] posted on 5-19-2015 at 03:59 PM


Where did that quote about capers come from?



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[*] posted on 5-19-2015 at 04:35 PM


Quote: Originally posted by chuckie  
Where did that quote about capers come from?


Donald Sutherland in Invasion of the Body Snatchers during the food inspection in the restaurant....I think!




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chuckie
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[*] posted on 5-19-2015 at 04:39 PM


I thought if we had a caper expert, I'd ask about planting some....What exactly IS a caper....Other than a fumbled crime....



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[*] posted on 5-19-2015 at 04:46 PM


Chuckie, a caper is the edible flower bud of the caper bush, also called Flinders rose. Usually pickled and quite tasty for a tidbit.



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[*] posted on 5-19-2015 at 07:16 PM


Well, poor Joe is so far left as to preclude any intelligence so his solution must be correct. Just double the wages to 200 pesos a day and we will all live happily ever after. The workers will all have big houses, drive a new car to work, and generally be content with their jobs.



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[*] posted on 5-19-2015 at 07:37 PM


Joe also seems unaware of the large monetary investment an agricultural company puts up front long before any profit is realized on any given crop. I know Joe's head might explode, but profit is what allows the company to hire workers.
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[*] posted on 5-19-2015 at 09:41 PM


ANY of you guys want to work for $13....... a day?

That's 200 pesos.

I'd be looking for a coyote to get me and my family across La Frontera to El Norte where I could make three times that much and send half home.

Current wages are criminal unless you're an aboriginal in Borneo. It's an international disgrace for emerging 2nd world nations, and Mexico wants to see some parity. This isn't even parity. I'm appalled some of you intelligent, FILTHY RICH by Mexican standards retirees are pooh-poohing the poverty of the area.

No wonder we have a border problem, don't you think? 200 pesos a day is NOTHING. Most of you haven't or wouldn't work for less than 200 pesos an hour for the last 30 years. Before that, yeah; I started at 25 cents an hour. I worked minimum wage for $1.75 in 1972. That was over 200 pesos a day over FORTY years ago, and I had to make at least a 60 hour work week to make ends meet, and I was single.

[Edited on 5-20-2015 by bajabuddha]

[Edited on 5-20-2015 by bajabuddha]




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[*] posted on 5-19-2015 at 09:46 PM


Quote: Originally posted by Pescador  
Well, poor Joe is so far left as to preclude any intelligence so his solution must be correct. Just double the wages to 200 pesos a day and we will all live happily ever after. The workers will all have big houses, drive a new car to work, and generally be content with their jobs.


Quote: Originally posted by bajacamper  
Joe also seems unaware of the large monetary investment an agricultural company puts up front long before any profit is realized on any given crop. I know Joe's head might explode, but profit is what allows the company to hire workers.


The driscolls and other farmers seem to be living pretty high, on the backs of people making a few dollars per day for backbreaking work, eh?

I don't fault anyone for success, I do fault people that achieve success upon the backs of poverty stricken laborers living on crumbs and scraps. Don't know how some people sleep at night.

How dare those uppity peasants ask for more than $1 per hour! Ungrateful peons! Send in the goons to break their legs!

:barf:

[Edited on 5-20-2015 by mtgoat666]
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[*] posted on 5-19-2015 at 09:57 PM


Quote: Originally posted by bajabuddha  
ANY of you guys want to work for $13....... a day?

That's 200 pesos.

I'd be looking for a coyote to get me and my family across La Frontera to El Norte where I could make three times that much and send half home.

Current wages are criminal unless you're an aboriginal in Borneo. It's an international disgrace for emerging 2nd world nations, and Mexico wants to see some parity. This isn't even parity. I'm appalled some of you intelligent, FILTHY RICH by Mexican standards retirees are pooh-poohing the poverty of the area.

No wonder we have a border problem, don't you think? 200 pesos a day is NOTHING. Most of you haven't or wouldn't work for less than 200 pesos an hour for the last 30 years. Before that, yeah; I started at 25 cents an hour. I worked minimum wage for $1.75 in 1972. That was over 200 pesos a day over FORTY years ago, and I had to make at least a 60 hour work week to make ends meet, and I was single.

[Edited on 5-20-2015 by bajabuddha]

[Edited on 5-20-2015 by bajabuddha]




When you view yourself as different than and separate From others, it is easy to accept that people are living in abject poverty so you can get cheap eats



I am amused when people chime in on this topic about wealth disparity and basic decency to fellow human beings, to share a few jokes, and they happen to have never worked a day in their life...

[Edited on 5-20-2015 by mtgoat666]
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[*] posted on 5-19-2015 at 11:48 PM


I have been driving up and down Baja for many many years.
At one point I noticed the arrival of new farmworkers in the San Quintin area
the locals had gotten too expensive
the new workers were tiny people in funny dresses, never found out where in Mexico they had been imported from
they were given a few sticks and blue tarps to build their own shelters
most of them not visible from MEX1
most of them walked to where ever they had to go
few could afford the colectivos
but even with the slave wages they were able over time to improve their "houses"
and then they were able to afford bicycles - very popular for a few years
I bet the growers now claim that by providing work they have helped to significantly improve the lives of these poor people

all the time I had been wondering when those slave laborers would start to revolt
also have been wondering how ugly it would get
maybe the police shooting workers like in the early US labor disputes?




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[*] posted on 5-20-2015 at 12:05 AM


If Mexican farm workers were paid a minimum wage similar to the workers just a few hundred miles north, it would solve the illegal immigration problem. And also save billions of dollars annually wasted on extreme border security.

Geeze, how simple is that :light:
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[*] posted on 5-20-2015 at 12:18 AM



This is from part I of the "LA Times" Investigative four part series titled " Hardship on Mexico's farms," and it written before the strike, in San Quintin, and it covers others areas of Mexico than just Baja.
_______________________________________________

Hardship on Mexico's farms, a bounty for U.S. tables

A Times reporter and photographer find that thousands of laborers at Mexico's mega-farms endure harsh conditions and exploitation while supplying produce for American consumers.

First of four stories

The tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers arrive year-round by the ton, with peel-off stickers proclaiming "Product of Mexico."

Farm exports to the U.S. from Mexico have tripled to $7.6 billion in the last decade, enriching agribusinesses, distributors and retailers.

American consumers get all the salsa, squash and melons they can eat at affordable prices. And top U.S. brands — Wal-Mart, Whole Foods, Subway and Safeway, among many others — profit from produce they have come to depend on.

These corporations say their Mexican suppliers have committed to decent treatment and living conditions for workers.

But a Los Angeles Times investigation found that for thousands of farm laborers south of the border, the export boom is a story of exploitation and extreme hardship.

The Times found:

Many farm laborers are essentially trapped for months at a time in rat-infested camps, often without beds and sometimes without functioning toilets or a reliable water supply.

Some camp bosses illegally withhold wages to prevent workers from leaving during peak harvest periods.

Laborers often go deep in debt paying inflated prices for necessities at company stores. Some are reduced to scavenging for food when their credit is cut off. It's common for laborers to head home penniless at the end of a harvest.

Those who seek to escape their debts and miserable living conditions have to contend with guards, barbed-wire fences and sometimes threats of violence from camp supervisors.

Major U.S. companies have done little to enforce social responsibility guidelines that call for basic worker protections such as clean housing and fair pay practices.

read the rest here:

http://graphics.latimes.com/product-of-mexico-camps/
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[*] posted on 5-20-2015 at 06:07 AM


Why not just follow Los Angeles ... Study Says ...

Los Angeles City Council votes for $15 minimum wage (+video)

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2015/0519/Los-Angeles-City...
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[*] posted on 5-20-2015 at 06:25 AM


Well, of course! What a plan! Follow Californias lead! Why didn't anyone else think of that! Let em eat capers....



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