吃菜要洗净

今天听了The Farmworkers' Journey 一书的作者Ann Aurelia López的一个演讲，这本书的主要内容是：

Illuminating the dark side of economic globalization, this book gives a rare insider's view of the migrant farmworkers' binational circuit that stretches from the west central Mexico countryside to central California. Over the course of ten years, Ann Aurelia López conducted a series of intimate interviews with farmworkers and their families along the migrant circuit. She deftly weaves their voices together with up-to-date research to portray a world hidden from most Americans—a world of inescapable poverty that has worsened considerably since NAFTA was implemented in 1994. In fact, today it has become nearly impossible for rural communities in Mexico to continue to farm the land sustainably, leaving few survival options except the perilous border crossing to the United States. The

Farmworkers' Journey brings together for the first time the many facets of this issue into a comprehensive and accessible narrative: how corporate agribusiness operates, how binational institutions and laws promote the subjugation of Mexican farmworkers, how migration affects family life, how genetically modified corn strains pouring into Mexico from the United States are affecting farmers, how migrants face exploitation from employers, and more. A must-read for all Americans, The Farmworkers' Journey traces the human consequences of our policy decisions.

洛佩兹博士从墨西哥带回来几个农药瓶。这些农药从70年代起就禁止在美国使用了，但是厂商仍然生产，出口到墨西哥。这种农药如果人服上一调羹就会死。这种农药继续在墨西哥使用。美国大量进口墨西哥的初级农产品，送到各大超市去卖。虽然有检验，但是并非全部检验。洛佩兹说最安全的是吃本地有机农产品。

洛佩兹是加州大学圣塔克鲁兹分校教授。她的博士论文项目是研究本地墨西哥农民。为此她在美墨之间多次往返，采访农民家庭，到过极为贫困的墨西哥村落。她发起的一个组织同时向农民捐赠钱物。

自从NAFTA以后，墨西哥本土的自给自足的，抗虫害的玉米生产受到来自美国的杂交玉米冲击一蹶不振。杂交玉米不能有效抗虫害， 因此非常依赖农药。

洛佩兹在本地采访过墨西哥农民聚居的地方，在一居室 （一厅，厅厨一体的studio）里同时住多口人，只有一个厕所。这种社区的存在是大多数本地人不知道的。

非法移民在农田干活的工资是5美元一小时。每天要工作十三个小时。

相比起来，我在街上看到的墨西哥人算是“城里人"了，男的一般做跟建筑有关的contractor, landscaping, painting 等。有的在饭馆做饭。女的有一技之长的可以开理发馆，有钱的可以开商店，没有的就做清洁工。也有男的打零工的。但比起农田里的来，还是好多了。我们如果找墨西哥人做工，一般都是10美元一小时。