I've been working in a greenhouse for most of the summer. It's hard,
back-breaking labor in a hot and humid environment. I've ruined five
shirts and three pairs of shorts. My shoes are so disgusting I leave
them outside. Many of the people who work around me struggle to speak
English, and some of them I can't understand at all. At the end of the
day I'm often utterly exhausted, too.
But it's THE BEST summer job I've ever had!
The greenhouse where I work grows organic, heirloom tomatoes in soil --
the only one of its kind in Canada west of Saskatchewan. Mind you, as
far as I'm concerned the texture of a tomato is equivalent to that of a
human lip, and I hate both the flavor and the smell of the fruit. There
is, however, something different about growing food in soil. Even when I
have to collect the rotten ones, they don't stink as badly as do the
ordinary ones I find in the supermarket.
I've made several interesting observations since I began working there.
1) The best way to gain respect from the migrant workers is to work as
hard as they do. These men and women aren't looking for handouts. They
sweat and strain to produce the food we eat, often under a hot sun, for
long hours. (It's been as warm as 42 degrees in that greenhouse for
days on end this summer!) Think about that next time you go into a
grocery store. Every piece of fruit you see has been handled by a long
line of (mostly dark-skinned) people who labored to get it to you.
2) In general, wealthy white-skinned people like me think this kind of
work is beneath them. We've had unemployed folk who look like me coming
to the greenhouse for jobs, but they don't last for more than a day.
Weeding, pruning plants, cleaning fruit and packing is a mind-numbing
task for many people. We can't get enough workers for the amount of
labor that needs to be done. Think about that next time you hear someone
complaining about immigration.
3) Growing organically IS different from conventional agriculture.
Aggressive weed management, pruning and pest control are the main ways
to control losses that are typically done by spraying nasty chemicals in
conventional agriculture. It's far more labor intensive, and because
labor isn't subsidized, this food costs more to produce. But it's of
higher quality, it tastes better, and it's likely much better for you.
4) This summer in the Pacific Northwest has been the hottest on record.
A local meteorologist commented that the temperature and rainfall
patterns for this summer are equivalent to what the computer models
predicted 30 - 50 years from now. The same trend of high pressure over
western North America and low pressure over the eastern regions of the
continent that brought frigid temperatures to the eastern seaboard last
winter have persisted. California is facing a horrendous drought, and
our rainfall has been far below normal. I suspect we've been too
conservative in our predictions for the impact of global climate change.
5) No matter WHAT the GMO advocates contend, the problem with
agriculture is surplus, not scarcity. We're producing so much fruit in
our greenhouse, nearly 500 kilos is going rotten PER DAY right now.
There is no market for this abundance of fresh produce. It's very
discouraging to throw out food when I know that people elsewhere are
going hungry. There's a dehydrator in the works, but that's a really
expensive and long-term solution. I spent more than an hour today trying
to find a charity who had room for our "seconds." I dropped off more
than 100 kilos of fruit to a local group who feeds low income families
in our town.
Food for thought, for certain!
--
Robert Luis Rabello
Adventure for Your Mind
http://www.newadventure.ca
Ceremonies and Celebrations video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV3k-s_sg1Q
Meet the People video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txsCdh1hZ6c
Crisis video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZedNEXhTn4
The Long Journey video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy4muxaksgk
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