"What was the most surprising or shocking aspect of the food system that you uncovered in your research?"
"Before I did the research, I had a sense of the hierarchy of people involved in the food labor chain. But over the course of the first five months, it became clear that the hierarchy is much more detailed and subtle. There are indigenous Mexicans [like the Triqui] who occupy the rung with the most demanding physical labor — they're the ones who are bent over picking. The mestizos operate the machines — that's not quite as demanding. Then the U.S.-born Latinos are in charge of some things, and use English and Spanish. The white Americans have the most control.
"What was troubling was that people on every rung of hierarchy are legitimizing and justifying it. Farmworkers are doing that, too."
~ Eliza Barclay & Seth Holmes
"Why Picking Your Berries For $8,000 A Year Hurts A Lot" : The Salt : NPR
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