No pickers means no produce.

If all the immigrant workers get bused back to Mexico who will keep picking the fruit and vegetables that goes onto the shop shelves and on to your dinner table?

What do readers think would be a reasonable hourly wage to get paid for picking fruit if you had to help harvest a crop and get it to market?

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Penny · 46-50, F

well, they should get minimum wage right? oh but they dont cause theyre illegal? how is that in any way right? sometimes people have to stand up for injustice even if it might hurt them somehow. the sad part is the illegal workers want the money anyway, not to get deported. they want to work and live in the US but they are here illegally. so its really not cool that they are welcomed like that by the corporations and such. if i was looking for a job picking veggies id want at least minimum wage. if they couldnt find work then maybe they wouldnt come. if they are really that necessary then they should come up with like a migrant worker program or something that would be fair to everyone and not exploit them as well as offering the same job opportunities to citizens.

JimboSaturn · 56-60, M

@Penny The only way for our Western economies to produce cheap food is to exploit foreign workers.

justanothername · 51-55, M

@Penny The jobs are ALL on offer to everyone but you try asking a college kid if they want to pick fruit during their summer break for minimum wage in the hot sun.

Fruit growers need a guaranteed supply of hard working labor at financially viable rates. Super markets push a hard price bargain and customers expect affordable produce.

Hello Mexico.

Penny · 46-50, F

@JimboSaturn well then they should make it at least that theyre not here doing it illegally. if they cant do that then the whole system needs to change. why not shop more direct from farms and stuff like that. more pick your own produce and junk places. maybe it could be done. more coop type places involving the members helping harvest could be part of a solution. this may not apply to the huge fields that i know exist but generally those are prolly the ones we wouldnt want to eat food from anyway as theyre doused in chemicals.

JimboSaturn · 56-60, M

@justanothername I actually feel sorry for the farmers. Farmers grow all out food but get paid squat prices for the labour. Meanwhile, the retail stores, grocery stores inflate the price and make all the money.

JimboSaturn · 56-60, M

@Penny I think most of them are legal. At least in Canada. I love the idea of bypassing the retail by using co-ops like you said! I would much prefer to give my money to the farmer .