The First 100 pages...

I just got done reading the first 100 pages of "The American Way of Eating" by Tracie McMillan. The book is about a woman who is essentially a muckraker, (there's a term from my COM classes) or an investigative journalist who works undercover in agriculture in California fields, a Wal-Mart store and an Applebee’s restaurant.

So far the first 100 pages is about her experience working alongside migrant workers in California agriculture.

Part I of the book, titled: “Farming” is jam packed with lots of information and shocking details about the conditions of their working environment and the day-to-day life that these workers go through including the laws that are disregarded. Such laws include a law that is specifically set in place by Monterey County in California that prohibits workers to work in an environment that was recently sprayed by crop dusting planes within a certain time frame. McMillian had stated this in her book, but her agriculture crew had gone out anyway.
I found myself getting almost frustrated to see these basic safety concerns be constantly overlooked. It was very surprising to see how many things were essentially swept under the rug and how these people were maybe a half of a step above slavery. Sure, they were paid but McMillian had done the math and found that at one point, during her undercover work a company had underpaid her by about $400. She also made a great point in saying that having actual people out there in the fields picking was a cheaper option than springing $600,000 on a new combine.

It was also really interesting to read that safety regulations were overlooked. McMillian showed up to work someday and one of her co-workers asked her to sign a paper saying that she had taken a safety class that, in reality, she did not take nor ever hear about.

The next section of the book will be discussing her experience at a Wal-Mart in Michigan. I worked at Wal-Mart as a seasonal associate my sophomore year of college and it was complete hell, so I’m greatly looking forward to what she has to say about her experience there.

Here's a link to a documentary I found interesting regarding Wal-Mart and its controversial modes of operation. It's a bit long and a bit outdated but it hits the nail on the head!