World

The far-away food factories

by generaldecay | May 18, 2009 at 09:11 am

124 views | 4 Recommendations | 6 comments

The plight of sweat shop workers in the clothes industry has been well documented, but what about those who toil in exotic countries to satisfy our exotic palates? One student tasted life on the gourmet production lines.

I am the first to put my hand up and admit that, while I often consider where the clothes on my back come from, I think much less about the origins of my food; and in particular who is involved in the processing of food. This piece is informative.

My name is Stacey and I'm a fashion student. When I got an offer, along with five others, of travelling to this corner of the world to experience the conditions people working in the food industry face every day, I was curious. The experience has changed my life.

We were guests of the food producers but we received no special treatment. We were expected to catch, harvest and produce products we take for granted in the UK, as well as eat, sleep, and exist on the same wages the food workers live on, typically about £3 a day.

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So after working a 12-hour day in the ponds, we had a couple of hours sleep before getting back up to do the harvesting. While I was trying to catch a net of prawns, a crab managed to scratch my leg. It really hurt, but I felt ridiculous mentioning it, because the locals seem so toughened to the conditions.

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The work was terribly physical, 12-hour days in 38-degree heat. It got to the point where I really didn't think I could bend one more time, I felt like I was going to snap in half.

Quite literally, food for thought. The comments are, predicatbly for the BBC, diverse.

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tikun

at 09:19 on May 18th, 2009

You mean that milk is not made in the supermarket. How about cotton for that shirt I love. Finally, the true grit of real life. Thanks.

generaldecay

at 09:41 on May 18th, 2009

Nope and nope and yes. I mean, I've always been aware of where our food comes from (I grew up on a farm), but the work that goes into its produce is something else entirely.

PIM of SPAIN

at 10:56 on May 18th, 2009

Its good to be aware about those facts, but we also have to consider the relativity of produce grown elsewhere, I mean these people have to got to have an earning too, which means that their local circumstances aren't comparable with ours. I know about growers of flowers who do a tremendous good job for locals in Africa n various countries, and their working conditions aren't equal to ours either. Undertaking nothing means these people continue to live in the slumps without any possibility for improvement at all. Caution is advised.