The origin of how food goes from the fields and ends on the dinner table brings up the concerns of a very important social problem: unfair treatment of agricultural pickers. There is a documentary named Food Chains by Sanjay Rawal who talks about the struggles agricultural pickers go through. The food industry issues mentioned in Food Chains occurs in many large enterprises in California, such as: Publix, Walmart, and others.

Food acts as a resource that is closely linked to human beings. There is a lot of food consumed every day and the only thing people do when they sit at the table is enjoy their food. Few people think about where it comes from or how it was brought to the table.

In Food Chains, in order to maintain their own interests against their unfair suffering, the farm workers and agricultural pickers held a protest for a few days. The company, Publix, turned a deaf ear to this protest. After watching, it is easy to understand the difficulties these workers experience, which inspires support of their behavior and their views of the company as a little dehumanized.

These farm workers are at the bottom of the heap and are overloaded with work every day. Their work is the hardest in the food industry, but their wages are the lowest.

There is another serious problem: Women experience sexual harassment during their work time. In most cases, workers have to suffer in silence in order to support their families.

The last problem is the unfair treatment of immigrant farmworkers. California is a good place to live, so it has a strong appeal to the large number of people from other regions. There is a large number of immigrants who work as farm workers in California, and their rights are often ignored in American society.

People are closely connected to the food industry; therefore, establishing a good working environment is necessary. Here are some solutions for alleviating this serious social problem.

First, society should attach greater importance to workers and set up special organizations to protect the legitimate rights and interests of farm workers. Second, the government should introduce relevant laws and regulations to regulate the behavior of enterprises. These laws can effectively limit some of the undesirable actions in their working environment, such as sexual harassment, to create a better environment.

Third, as the top of the food chain, these larger enterprises have an obligation to help workers solve their problems. For example, these enterprises can reduce workers’ working hours, raise their wages, or distribute the proceeds from the project more evenly. Fourth, when we consumers enjoy the happiness that food can bring us, please think of the farm workers who struggle to survive.

The last solution is the farm workers themselves. They are the most aware of the agricultural pickers’ hardships and the fundamental problem of improving unequal treatment is to pay attention. Their protest was a good opportunity to appeal to their suffering.

Food is vital to the survival of the human race. It is imperative to improve farm workers’ working conditions and raise their incomes as they are just as important to the larger picture no matter how small their contributions may be in the eyes of society.