When my wife and I were younger, we liked to travel the back roads near the communities we lived in. Each time we moved -- frequently during our first 10 years together -- we would schedule several weekends to explore what was off the beaten path. Several times a local map (if we happened to have one) might indicate flat or mountainous terrain, but once we started down a road, we soon discovered that our day's trip was going to turn out altogether different.
This sort of loosely describes my reading of Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit by Barry Estabrook. I had read of the book in an article on one of the progressive news sites I frequent. The article piqued my interest and I decided to purchase a copy.
However, the book turned out to be nothing like I expected! From the article I had read, I was anticipating a thorough discussion of how modern agribusiness had taken the taste out of the tomato in order to increase profitability. While the first three chapters did indeed do this part of the story justice, the major thrust of the book has to do with the migrant farmers -- the tomato pickers -- who perform the backbreaking work to bring the alluring fruit to market.
A great deal of the text has to do with the efforts of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and their continued fight to win fair wages and treatment from the tomato growers in the State of Florida.
When I lived in Salem, Oregon, I was involved in several projects with PCUN (Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste -- Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers United). So, I am well aware of many of the problems farmworkers face. That said, Estabrook provides very vivid descriptions of the wage and human rights violations that are rampant in the agricultural industry. While he painstakingly details many of the still ongoing problems, he also highlights several success stories.
I can't write enough good things about this book! It is extremely readable, like sitting down with an old friend to chew the fat. It is meticulously researched. And Estabrook's love of the tomato as well as social justice come shining through on page after page.
After reading this superb book, it will be hard for a person to look at a tomato in the same light as before!!
This sort of loosely describes my reading of Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit by Barry Estabrook. I had read of the book in an article on one of the progressive news sites I frequent. The article piqued my interest and I decided to purchase a copy.
However, the book turned out to be nothing like I expected! From the article I had read, I was anticipating a thorough discussion of how modern agribusiness had taken the taste out of the tomato in order to increase profitability. While the first three chapters did indeed do this part of the story justice, the major thrust of the book has to do with the migrant farmers -- the tomato pickers -- who perform the backbreaking work to bring the alluring fruit to market.
A great deal of the text has to do with the efforts of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and their continued fight to win fair wages and treatment from the tomato growers in the State of Florida.
When I lived in Salem, Oregon, I was involved in several projects with PCUN (Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste -- Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers United). So, I am well aware of many of the problems farmworkers face. That said, Estabrook provides very vivid descriptions of the wage and human rights violations that are rampant in the agricultural industry. While he painstakingly details many of the still ongoing problems, he also highlights several success stories.
I can't write enough good things about this book! It is extremely readable, like sitting down with an old friend to chew the fat. It is meticulously researched. And Estabrook's love of the tomato as well as social justice come shining through on page after page.
After reading this superb book, it will be hard for a person to look at a tomato in the same light as before!!
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