Wow, those guys picking tomatoes and tossing watermelon make more than my husband does at the State Civil Service, and assuming these workers are not legal citizens, they get to keep all the money they make, and then take it home to Mexico where it does nothing for our economy! And the money goes a lot further there than it does here. And this article fails to disclose that although they wake early to start work, they’ll typically quit by early afternoon, so it’s not like they’re working 12 hour days...more like 6 or 8. Doesn’t sound half bad! And if the watermelon tossers were citizens, their employer would provide safety equipment and gloves. As it is, if they’re going to work illegally (unfortunate though the economic situation in Mexico is), they can purchase those things for themselves, if they feel the necessity.

Wow is right. Let’s get a couple things straight, I speak from first hand experience. Their legal status makes no difference, we as employers must pay and take FICA out of their checks. So you are incorrect to say they keep all the money they make. While living here they do eat, pay rent and spend money so they do a lot for our economy. Yes, we start early but end late. Our average day is 10-12 hours not 6 or eight. Finally, EVERYONE deserves safe working conditions. As an agricultural employer legal status would have nothing to do with a safe and healthy working environment. I think you would want nothing less for the people picking and handling your food. Doesn’t sound half bad? Then try it out, it is hard, tiring work, most people don’t even last until lunch.

I would agree that everyone certainly does deserve safe working conditions, but the definition of “safe” will vary depending on who you ask. There was no routine use of back braces in the 19th century, but that didn’t necessarily mean that agricultural workers all had back problems. And while employers might be required to pay and take out FICA by law, that doesn’t necessarily mean they all actually comply, since it’s going to be a bit tricky for the law to hold an employer accountable for that if the employee doesn’t “exist” as far as our government is concerned. Also, I have spent significant time working on a farm and in orchards, and I would agree that it is hard and tiring, as you say - but certainly it is not any more so than successfully rearing and caring for your own young children on a daily basis, which work is utterly exhausting, unrelenting, and unpaid, but this is what I choose to do because the benefits outweigh the costs. Likewise, migrant workers wouldn’t be migrant workers if the benefits of such didn’t outweigh the costs for them; if it was really such awful pay for such horrendous work, they’d stay in Mexico. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not without sympathy for their situation, and I do buy food from local farms that I’m familiar with as often as possible, but I just don’t think the picture is as stark and desperate as some people paint it (or photograph it) to be...the farm work is a step up from what’s available south of the border, so while it’s not the best occupation, it is fortunate that these people have an option that provides better income than the opportunities available to them in Mexico. So hate me. I grew up in California and watched this out the car window many times as a kid, I just had no idea how well it paid until I read this article!

Just FYI. Farmworkers make on average about $10,000 a year, get no benefits, no overtime, no health insurance, regardless of their legal status.

I would think that for people who read this website and who care about food they eat, that you would care also about the people who pick that food.

Rick took this documentary project and doesn’t look past his feminine side to look at the whole picture from an American view or to compare the relative negative impacts on society or even the people themselves as they cross the border trashing the place and endangering themselves and others as they break the law. He takes a decidedly pro-illegal immigrant stance and is proud that his images are being used for political purposes as can be heard in his open-heart outpourings in his Candid Frame interview. Why do so many artists take this path. Is it a psychological and intellectual condition or an environmental influence?