Tuesday, October 02, 2012

Honors Post-Due Wednesday

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/02/21/tomato-growers-florida/


After reading this article, please post a 3-5 sentence reaction.  Be sure to reference the article.  Try not to repeat the thoughts of previous posters.  If warrented, comment on a classmate's post.

42 comments:

  1. Reading this article was considerably shocking because you wouldn't happen to think that slavery would still exist in our world today, especially after all we did to get it abolished. Tomato pickers are getting treated like animals and there needs to be an end put to it. The author states that, "there are approximately 27 million slaves in the world today." That number is outrageous to me because I really didn't believe serious slavery was around. The article also states that many of the humans being trafficked are from over the borders, but a good amount are also U.S. citizens. In order to feed their families, a worker needs to haul 2 tons of tomatoes everyday. I feel as though something needs to be done due to the fact that men are working and doing hard labor, yet they're not even close to being treated as a human being.


    Francesca L.
    Period 1

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  2. Reading this article was very shocking. It was suprisng to me that people would treat workers in such a horrible way. I think that it is horrible that tomato pickers are being underpaid, abused and kept against their will. It's wrong and I'm suprised that people are just letting this happen. I think that it's unfair that the people/companies that are responsable for this are not even being punished. The author says "Now, Hispanic criminals who traffic people into the U.S. can be thrown in prison, but the companies who contract with them can walk away and find a new supplier." It's not fair that if they come here illigally and get caught they have to go to jail but the people that hire them knowing that they aren't here legally don't get punished for hiring them and mistreating them. These people come here for opertunities and a chance at a better life and they just get mistreaten. The author says "They want what everyone else comes to America for: a chance to earn their fair share in return for hard work, not to be given it for nothing" this is extremely true. They come to America to work hard and have a better life. They work so hard and just want what they deserve for working so hard, but instead they're given nothing. I think it's wrong that this is going on and it should be stopped and the tomoato pickers should be given what they desereve. And not just the tomato pickers that come to America from other places but for all the tomato pickers that work so hard all day in the fields. They deserve much more for their hard work.

    Jackie W. Period 2

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  3. I thought slavery was a closed issue. I had no idea that there are still millions and millions of slaves. A slave is defined as a person entirely under the domination of someone else and the way these tomato pickers are being treated are sick. I mean to treat your fellow man like this is astonishing to me. They are your equal and should have the same rights as you. Just because slavery happened in the past does not make it right today. I hope in the next couple years all slaves get freed, but that probably wont happen. :(

    Conor Smith
    Period 2

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  4. It was very recently that I found out that slavery still exists in the world today, and I haven’t quite come to grips with it yet. The idea of what is going on there is absolutely horrifying, but most people are still detached from the truth of the situation. Obviously, the people who are enslaving the tomato pickers are aware of it, but they would never do the work they make others do. Nobody would want to if they had another choice. “We returned from Florida convinced that most Americans who are used to 9-to-5, minimum wage, lunch breaks and vacations, would never put themselves through what the average tomato picker does in the course of a day.” Even minimum wage jobs are probably difficult enough to do and make a living from, let alone the conditions the tomato pickers are in. The worst part is that things like this are really difficult to change in our society.
    -Amy B. Period 1

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  5. Before reading the past couple articles in class, I really had no idea that slavery still existed to the degree that it does in our country. To go along with that, "there are about 16,000 new cases of slavery within the United States each year, many the result of humans trafficked illegally from outside our borders, but also a significant number of US citizens." Some people from other countries are very desperate for a job here and it's sickening to know that they get lured here just to end up in such an unhealthy environment and work place such as that, that exists in Florida in the tomato business. That also applies to US citizens, with the economy not doing so well, families need to keep the money coming in and people are taking whatever jobs they can get, even if it's something as horrible as this. It would be nice to see the government try to do more to crack down on this behavior and put a stop to it. However, I also believe it is the job of all of us as free citizens to make sure it gets the attention it needs. If no one takes the initiative to do anything about it, then it's going to continue to go on, and maybe even get worse. In order to ensure that it is stopped before it turns into an even larger issue, we, as a country, need to be making an effort to get it to end.

    - Sarah C. Period 5

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  6. Overall, I found this article to be extremely interesting, and it highlighted the slavery in America which I think should be more of a concern in todays society. The end of this article reminded me of one of the quotes in chapter 13 of “Grapes of Wrath” that Evan and I highlighted in our powerpoint. The quote I am thinking of is the one that says that the only way to kill the beast (greed/capitalism) is to cut it out completely. In the article, it says that the terms of the Victims of Violence and Human Trafficking Act of 2000 terms were changed so “Now, Hispanic criminals who traffic people into the U.S. can be thrown in prison, but the companies who contract with them can walk away and find a new supplier.” This demonstrates how a half measure and only attacking part of the problem will not solve it entirely or in this case at all. I hope that the Fair Food Agreement will turn out to be a stronger measure to prevent (and ideally end) slavery in the United States by attacking the problem head on.

    Griffin S. P5

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  7. Although I was already aware of contemporary slavery (a friend of mine wrote a bill about it a few years back) I still find this issue abhorrent. Not only is this clear evidence of the US's failure to uphold the UNESCO Declaration of Human Rights, but the reaction to this situation is absurdly misplaced. Most abhorrent is the lack of anger expressed by the CIW, "The CIW are an unusual group. For all they have suffered, they do not express anger or seek revenge." this group has both a right and a duty to be furious at the industry and the system that subjugates individuals. The other factor of agricultural slavery is the reaction of normal US citizens. Instead of calling for the swift destruction of this modern system of slavery (both wage and actual) many complain that immigrants are 'stealing' jobs from 'Americans.' We as a people should tolerate neither the exploitation of workers nor the belittlement of them by the racist or uneducated who blame the poor economic climate on the subjugated.

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  8. After reading the previous article about Florida tomato farms in 2008, I assumed that things have been fixed since then. However, things are not over when it comes to slavery in the U.S. "...there are about 16,000 new cases of slavery within the United States each year, many the result of humans trafficked illegally from outside our borders, but also a significant number of US citizens." This is a very scary thing to hear for so many reasons. The workers at these farms are still not being treated or payed properly. ": in order to earn enough to feed their families, a worker needs to haul two tons of tomatoes every day. If that 50 cents seems a pittance, consider that farmers have to plant, tend, sort, pack and ship their crop, and are at the mercy of the weather." This is horrifying. I was appalled upon reading this. The fact that workers are being treated this way in our own country is one of the most startling things I have ever read.
    Anna T
    -Period 5

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  9. This article came as a huge shock to me. It really surprised me that so much slavery still exists in our world today, especially in the United States; I never would've expected the number to be in the millions. It's so sad and sickening to think that right now, so many people are being treated so horribly and doing such hard work for a very small pay. It's even worse to think about the way the workers are being treated. I don't think this is right at all and I think the government should be working harder to stop these things from continuing to happen. "Workers do not get paid for travel time, nor for time spent waiting to the tomatoes to dry in the sun. If it rains, the picking is called off and they do not get paid at all." Reading this part of the article really bothered me because that is completely unfair to the workers; when you take the travel times and the amount of time spent waiting for the tomatoes to dry, there isn't much time left of the work day to pick the tomatoes so the workers aren't getting a fair pay. In general, this article was really interesting to read because I never would've thought things like this still go on today in America.

    Katlyn G. Period 2

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  10. The fact that slavery still exists in our society should outrage everyone. The year is 2012 and still there is not equality or fair treatment for all in our society. In the article it says,” through the CIW's success at bringing slavery to light, Congress passed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act in 2000.” This act was supposed to have ended slavery in the tomato fields. However, later on in the article it continues to say that “Hispanic criminals who traffic people into the U.S. can be thrown in prison, but the companies who contract with them can walk away and find a new supplier. This leaves a crime that no one has incentive to report.” This seems almost as, if not more, outrageous than the slavery in the first place. When the law was created, the government should have done more to stop this and they should be doing more to enforce this now!
    Anna B., period 2

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  11. Like most others, I was extremely shocked after reading this article. Though I did know that slavery exists in other countries, I would never expect slavery to be practiced in US in such a horrific way,especially after our history with slavery."Anti-Slavery International says there are approximately 27 million slaves in the world today...there are about 16,000 new cases of slavery within the United States each year.." This sentence stuck out to me and saddened me. It made me realize how we take so much for granted. Also, most of us don't really think about where the food that we eat comes from, or how hard people are working to prove the food. This is a very important issue that should be addressed immediately, but unfortunately, it seems like something that may be ignored and pushed aside.
    -Ayeshra A. Period 1

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  12. I always assumed that since this was the 21st century, slavery was a thing in the past for America but after reading these articles I am shocked to see that there are still people being enslaved. According to the article, “there are about 16,000 new cases of slavery within the United States each year, many the result of humans trafficked illegally.” It is even more shocking that some of these people are American-born citizens. It is upsetting for me to see that some people still believe they have the power and are willing to take away someone’s liberties so that they can make more money with limited costs. It is sickening that these poor people are being taken advantage of and it must be stopped. One way we could stop it is to monitor crop owners more closely, particularly the tomato crop owners.
    Carlye M.

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  13. This article made me realize how bad slavery really is in America. I did not know so many people are being mistreated and forced to work against their will, even after the civil war that was supposed to end slavery. I was horrified when I read that their wages are close to nothing. In the article it said, "Pickers are paid 50 cents per 32-pound bucket of tomatoes...in order to earn enough to feed their families, a worker needs to haul two tons of tomatoes every day." Hauling two tons of tomatoes is such laborious, tiring, and almost impossible work, and the workers do not even get enough money to feed their families. It also saddened me to read that once the workers are freed, it sometimes doesn't get better for them. In the article it said, "They do not speak English, have no local network of friends or family, are physically and psychologically disabled, are not offered social services or medical care, and do not have a valid permit to remain in the U.S." They have nowhere else to go sometimes when they are freed. The people and the government should enforce the law against slavery and give more attention to the issue.

    Haley K. Period 5

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  14. I couldn't believe that slavery was still going on in the United States, and when it said "...16,000 new cases of slavery within the United States...." I was shocked that this many cases were going on right on our soil. I had always thought that slavery was something that ended a long time ago. I also can't believe that people don't protest against it. I also thought that it was completely wrong that the owners were not punished and that they let this happen to all these innocent people so that they could make more money. I thought that laws were in place to stop this, but now knowing that they are not I think that they need to be passed and that they need to punish anyone that is allowing the slaves to work, I agree with this act as it says in the article, "The original version...slave labor." Slavery is an awful thing and needs to end not only here in America but throughout the world.

    Brian Fitter - Period 2 - October 2, 2012

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  15. It’s hard for me to even imagine slavery still being present in the United States. To be honest I never realized it was still an issue. That must be the “cultural blind spot” the author was talking about. Today’s media never talks about slavery and similar problems in the U.S. Well, by today’s media I mean what I watch so that’s Access Hollywood or E!News. However, these media shows spend days talking about the same issues like why Tom and Katie broke up. But they never spend 30 seconds to say hey these are some current issues, such as labor slavery in Florida’s tomato fields. E! News has spent plenty of time talking about what stars are doing overseas to help end slavery in other countries, but you never hear about the stars that are trying to help with what’s going on inside our own boarders. Obviously Access Hollywood is not the show to tune into for today’s current events, still these media shows completely blow over those important issues creating a bigger cultural blind spot. Sadly these are the only news shows many people watch and because of that they are unaware of some serious problems in the U.S.
    Eden W.
    p.5

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  16. This article was very shocking to me, especially sice the article we read on it was from 2008, therefore i figured the issue would be solved by now. The ways that the workers are treated are astonishing, as well as their wages. They get paid 50 cents a basket which is not even close to being enough to support a family. In the text it said, "The victims are often nearly as badly off once they are freed as while in captivity. They do not speak English, have no local network of friends or family, are physically and psychologically disabled, are not offered social services or medical care, and do not have a valid permit to remain in the U.S." This is one of the only jobs these people can get. They are trying to earn money to move their family over, and live a succesful life. However, they are not all Hispanic, it was surprising that some are Americans. Not many people know about this enslavement, and it should be made more public to try to get the government to end slavery.
    Julia Watsky Period 2

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  17. I found this article to be abhorrent. The fact that it is the 21st century, yet slavery is still intact, is disgraceful. It is so unfair that out of all the jobs in the world, farming and slavery are excluded from common privileges. "The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 provided for unionization and collective bargaining, workplace safety standards and the minimum wage. And it explicitly excluded agricultural workers and domestic help." This article made me think closely about everyday things in my life that could potentially be a product of slavery. It pains me so much to know that slaves are treated this badly, yet there are not any big steps toward changing this.

    Lianne Y, Per. 5

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  18. This article made me realize how badly some of the slavery going on today is. I would have never thought something like this would still be going on, before I read the article yesterday and this article today I have absolutely no idea that slavery was still a concern. A very sad quote for me was, "27 million slaves in the world today. According to the US Department of State, there are about 16,000 new cases of slavery within the United States each year." This was something I would have thought I would be reading in a article during the 2000's. Especially because a majority of the slaves are people who can't fight for themselves because they don't speak English and barley know Spanish. Another sad quote was, "In order to earn enough to feed their families, a worker needs to haul two tons of tomatoes every day." No one should have to live like that or be treated poorly like these slaves do. I think this needs to be something that is enforced, there should be no slaves anymore. It is extremely wrong and degrading to do to a person, no one should have to go through that.

    Jessica B. Period 1

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  19. After reading this article, i found it to be very shocking; i pretty much had the same reaction that i did when i read the other article about the tomato fields. It's so hard for me to imagine/believe that after everything the U.S. has gone through and fought for, slavery still exists in our country. If we know it's out there and being done every day, how come we are not doing more than we are right now to stop/help it? One part of the article that i read that shocked me a lot was "Anti-Slavery International says there are approximately 27 million slaves in the world today." Even though it's not just talking about the United States, i still found this to be a horrific fact. I understand that it's hard to stop slavery all together, but i just feel that we can do more than we're doing right now to stop it. Another part that i read from the article that was equally as bad as what i read before was "Pickers are paid 50 cents per 32-pound bucket of tomato." This just makes me want to take all the money i have and give it to all the pickers because i just find it so unfair they work so much for so little that it's hard for me to find the right words to describe my feelings. I think that more attention needs to be brought to slavery not just in the U.S., but everywhere in the world.

    Maxine H, P2

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  20. I thought that this article was very interesting because I was unaware that any of this was going on in the United States. Each day, we all just live our lives, but somewhere in Florida, there are thousands of slaves being forced to work and grow tomatoes. Even though some of them are illegal and should not be here, there are United States citizens that are suffering through the "5 AM worker selection at the central parking lot, followed by a bus ride to the tomato field where they sometimes wait for hours until the dew dries." I thought that slavery was completely banished until I read this article, which is quite frightening. Pickers are being paid 50 cents for 32 lb boxes of tomatoes where people are making $8.25 at minimum wage jobs. This article really opened up my eyes to some of the problems that exist in the United States; I will never look at a tomato the same after reading this.
    -Lizzy B Period 1

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  21. After reading this article it provided some information that we questioned from the article before, like what Immokalee was, as it’s a town in Florida. It also had several surprising facts like the idea that tomato pickers only make $0.50 a 32 pound box of tomatoes, something that we almost would see in The Grapes of Wrath, where the Joads were only making $0.05 a box of Peaches. It was even more surprising when it said that you had to get 2 tons of tomatoes just to make $66, something that I find would be hard to do along with the fact that you had long hours and long drives. I also found interesting facts about the Farm laws and why they had different standards than every other profession, there was a law that was passed during the Great Depression in 1935 that said that there was minimum wage, unions, and collective bargaining, but it didn't include farmers. According to the article the law means that kids as young as 12 could start working on farms, the farms didn't have to have a proper work system and that includes fair pay and fair work practices. Overall it surprised me that all these things were still happening in the US, from the estimated 16,000 slaves in America still at any one time, some of which give us cheap tomatoes, to the fact that the farm workers are so under treated that some are treated as slaves, right here in America.

    Quinn Bohan Period 2

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  22. I was shocked by many points in the article. It seems as if this article is giving the ugly truth to all the ignorant Americans: that the labor standards for farm workers are “a triumph of capitalism at its idealized best.” Farm workers do not receive benefits and are often abused. In fact, some are even victims of some “invisible chassis of human suffering.” There are an astonishing 27 million slaves in the world today, even after the abolition of slavery and the civil rights movement. I, like many Americans, had no idea that some of the food that we eat was picked by slaves. However, in reality, how many people will think about the suffering and struggle of those slaves next time they look at a tomato. Is the scary thought that “this is the best our society has to offer” really true?
    David E Period 5

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  23. When I read this article I was shocked that there are so many slavery cases in the United States today. I always knew that there was slavery still in other countries but I never thought that the United states still hasn't stopped slavery. I was especially shocked when i read this, "16,000 new cases of slavery within the United States each year". This quote not only tells me that there is still slavery in the United states but that slavery is growing with time. I hope as a country we can do something to stop this and decrease the number of slaves before we are back to where we were many years ago before civil rights. Brittany S. Period 5

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  24. I had absolutely no clue that there was still slavery going on in our country. It is 2012, I thought slavery had ended in the 1960's. The article states, "According to the US Department of State, there are about 16,000 new cases of slavery within the United States each year, many the result of humans trafficked illegally from outside our borders, but also a significant number of US citizens." That is a lot of slaves and I think that more people need to become aware of this to try and stop the slavery. Also, another thing that I found shocking was how little they were paid, "Pickers are paid 50 cents per 32-pound bucket of tomatoes." That is not a lot of money at all, and also they are not paid for travel time, which may be up to 3 hours a day, or rain days. The article mentions that in order to feed their families, they need to haul 2 tons of tomatoes every day.

    Miriah Ventre per 5

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  25. Who knew that forms of slavery still existed today? What intrigued me so much about this article is that I truly had no idea these awful conditions were still around for Americans today. In the text it proves this by stating, “According to the US Department of State, there are about 16,000 new cases of slavery within the United States each year…” While reading this article and feeling in disgust that our country could allow these things to get by, I was delighted to hear that many of the best supermarkets around the country are trying to put a sop to this. Trader Joes, Whole Foods and many other food services around our country have signed an agreement that includes labor standard for farm workers. These standards include adding one penny per to tomato pickers wages, overall standards for the workers can do nothing but help. Through out this article what also struck me was how hard it was for the tomato workers to make a decent living off of this job. For example in the text it says, “Pickers are paid 50 cents per 32-pound bucket of tomatoes. Thus, it costs the grower about $33 in labor per ton of tomatoes. Put another way: in order to earn enough to feed their families, a worker needs to haul two tons of tomatoes every day.” This article did a very good job of bringing attention to the abused worker in the U.S, we need to bring more and more attention to this very sensitive and heartfelt topic to do the best we can to prevent these awful situations.


    Isabella Suppa Period 2

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  26. Reading this article was shocking to me because I did not know how much slave labor still exists. It says, “…there are approximately 27 million slaves in the world today.” This number is unbelievable. I had no idea that slavery was still such a growing problem. I also did not realize how unfair this whole system was, especially with human trafficking. The victims of it are thrown into jail and penalized much more then need be, while the owners walk away without a scratch. This is outrageous to me; the government should be working harder to fix this instead of having to deal with it repeatedly. The other most interesting thing I got from this article was how little the pay was for tomato pickers. They are paid barely enough to support their family, and they don’t get paid if the weather doesn’t cooperate with them. This article threw me for a loop and made me realize the amount of slavery problems this country still has.

    Rebecca W. Period 2

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  27. I was shocked when I read the first article and found out there was still slavery in the United States and this article gave me all the more reason to be in more shock. In the article it says, “According to the US Department of State, there are about 16,000 new cases of slavery within the United States each year”. That is mind blowing to me, a country that stopped slavery is still letting it go on… doesn't make much sense to me. I think more people need to be aware of this and try and do something to put an end to it. I also find it disgusting how owners of these places let this happen and give them close to nothing. Overall I think this is an issue that needs to be brought to more peoples attention.

    Morgan Lazowy p.2

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  28. This video brings to light part of a very serious issue in our country. The way our agricultural system runs is very broken. It should cost way less to buy a tomato that was picked 20 miles away from where you buy it, or at an orchard where it doesn’t have to be shipped at all, than to buy a tomato from 1000 miles away. However because of the way our system is set up this is not the case. Farmers now hire immigrant workers, or use slaves to harvest vast quantities of food to be shipped all over the country. Besides making it difficult for local farms to stay in business this has serious impacts on our environment and requires huge amounts of fuel that we can’t really afford to waste. Besides the obvious hardships that this system has on the workers and their families, there are serious problems with our system that harm everyone today and provide danger for the generations to come.
    Evan B 5.

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  29. Before reading this article, I thought there was no more slavery in the United States. This article showed me that slavery is in fact still a very significant issue, especially in Florida with tomato workers. I was shocked when the article stated that, "...there are about 16,000 new cases of slavery within the United States each year...". This article also reminded me of Nickel and Dimed because these tomato field workers are doing a physically demanding job for very little money in reward. The author stated that, "in order to earn enough to feed their families, a worker needs to haul two tons of tomatoes every day." Personally, I find it outright horrible how these people are abused and earn a miniscule amount of money. The worst part is the victims have no place to go after they are freed because they do not speak english, have no family connections, and do not have social services or medicare.

    Justin W. Period 5

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  30. During this time and age, no one should be abused and treated horribly. Slaver was an enormous issue in the 1900s and thus led to the Civil War. Since then, one would think that slavery has been wiped out forever, but after reading this article, I have realized that slavery is still an issue today. These people are paid very minimal amounts of money and forced to do gruesome work, which is typically known as slaved labor. Some even have to pay for their own rent! I believe that our government should take steps in stopping this horrible mistreatment of workers on farms. After all, you should always treat people the way you want to be treated.

    Ali P. Period 5

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  31. I know when I think of slavery I do not think of 2012 let alone in the USA. The abuse that these farm workers receive are ridiculous. I still can not understand how we are just hearing about this issue now. Havn't people learned from the past in that slavery does not work, it only creates problems. Some people are probably saying oh its not slavery because they are still being payed, but I bet those people are the ones enslaving these farm workers. The last part of the article hit me the hardest, "Take a good look next time you eat a tomato. It represents struggle and suffering. Will it also come to represent the best our society has to offer?" The author is completely right in saying this, is it really the best our great american society has to offer? After reading this article In don't think I will look at a tomato the same way.
    Christina Smith p2

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  32. Before I read this article, I had never heard of anything like this happening in the United States today. I did not realize that slavery was still a problem in this country. The article states, "we suffer from a longstanding cultural blind spot: our society sees nothing below our own exceedingly high visual horizon." This is stating that most people in America do not even have a clue as to what is going on in their own country. This article is very well written and helps to raise awareness of those that are struggling and going through the torture just to try and survive in this world. The article also says, "in order to earn enough to feed their families, a worker needs to haul two tons of tomatoes every day." These people are doing all that they can just to help their families survive. Think about the things that happen in our lives and the smallest bumps that we have in our lives that do not even compare to the problems of those who are so much less fortunate then ourselves. There are so many people who have so much less than we do and that have far worse problems but we still find the need to complain about every little thing in our lives. Most people just need to take a step back and realize how fortunate they really are.

    Morgan R. Period 1

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  33. I think this article does a good job of making people aware to the situation at hand. This article also makes me give some of the migrants some sympathy becuase even after they get out of slavery, they are for the mostpart still miserable and have difficulty living a stable lifestyle. The CIW does a great job at discovering these areas of slavery and putting an end to it. As it says in the article, "They want what everyone else comes to America for: a chance to earn their fair share in return for hard work, not to be given it for nothing." However, no matter how hard the CIW or anyone else tries, slavery will always be present somewhere in the world.

    Anna Atkinson
    Period 1

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  34. It is astonishing to hear that slavery still exist in the world especially in such high numbers (27 million). Though compared to the global population this number is small, no one should be enslaved in a world where a number of nations are developed, and many other nations are developing. We often don't think of where our food and materials come from, but chances are, the people who made or picked the stuff we care so little about are probably making so little they can survive. This article really address's a relevant issue that we as a nation need to fix.

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  35. Although this article is hard to read, the issue of slavery(27 million world wide) does not surprise me as there are terrible people in the world among us today. Although slavery has been a law that you can't own a slave it's still a law that's broken like any other law. What the government could do is make the law more strict about slavery but quite frankly slavery will still always exist just like murder or any other unconstitutional act. The best thing as an American citizen that I can do I believe is to spread the word about how this problem of slavery still exists and hope that developing countries follow suit of the United States.

    Cory W. Per 1

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  36. After reading this article, I was completely amazed that slavery still exists in this world. To see that humans treat other humans like dirt, is beyond upsetting. The article states "The 2000 census counted just under 20,000 residents in Immokalee: 71% Hispanic, 18% African American and 3% white." These are the greatest slave populations. Most of these people aren't from the U.S. These people come to the U.S to find a better lifestyle. For example, parts of Mexico are very poor, and these people only come here to send a little bit of money back home to their families. The thought of them being mistreated, and put to work as slaves sickens me. The owners of the tomato farms most likely put them to work because they know they will work for whatever money they can get. My father had come to the U.S. from Mexico, and he explains to me how men are sent here to make money for there families. There is no money in some places. They are helpless and can't stand up for themselves in this kind of situation. This is where the government needs to step in, and figure out a way to atop this agricultural slavery so nobody will get treated like the are not human.

    Cassie F-C, Period 5.

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  37. This article was really surprising, mostly because it's hard to believe that slaves are still being used in America (specifically for tomatoes in this case). While I was more informed of this in the last article we read, I was more surprised at the fact that these tomato slaves are barely paid. The article stated that in order to get paid enough to support a family a worker would have to pick 2 tons of tomatoes per day!

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  38. This is ridiculous because how is it possible for them to pick 2 ton in a day? It isn't! These slaves are being treated unfairly and literally are beaten and abused while trying to work to support their families... Which they don't even earn enough money to do.

    Rachel I.
    Per. 1

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  39. I enjoyed this article alot because it gave me hope. I was happy to see that big corporations like Trader Joes and McDonalds have agreed to signed an agreement with some Florida tomato growers, that includes actual labor standards and adds one penny per pound to tomato pickers wages. This to me outweighs all of the horrible information that I took in because it showed me that not all corporations are focused on profits.
    Steve Z.
    period 5

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