Agriculture is an important sector in the United States economy owing to its contribution to the industry as well as the provision of food for millions of people. Its importance for both the rural and urban dwellers remains one for the cornerstones of development in the country. However, the people that practice agriculture and produce plenty of food to feed millions of Americans benefit the least from their production. The farmers do a lot of work in plating, caring for, harvesting, and distributing the foods for the rest of the population. Although the farm produce is used to provide fresh foods for the people and raw materials for the industries, the farmers’ diets are generally inadequate (McMillan, 2012). Most of them consume foods from animal sources as much of the crop yield is dispatched to other places. Additionally, the farmers also risk their lives braving the potentially hazardous conditions to make sure that they produce enough. McMillan (2012) explores the lives of the farmers and the challenges they go through to ensure the shelves of supermarkets, groceries, and restaurants have a constant supply of adequate food.
McMillan’s farm experiences show how the farm workers persevere hours of heavy work but receive little pay (McMillan, 2012). The farm workers do not get the minimum wage bill because the company’s they work for alter information. Their life is also at risk as they lead lowly lives trying to make ends meet. Because of the low wages that they get, the workers can only afford the inexpensive foods which are generally not nutritious. They have to eat cheap process foods, live in areas prone to illnesses and work for longer times in an attempt to increase their daily wages (McMillan, 2012. By working on the farms and experiencing most of what the farm workers go through, McMillan’s is able to understand why the people that collectively produce wholesome foods do not consume the same.
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The issues of food production, distribution, consumption, and compensation of the workers affect social justice. Social justice deals with the distribution of wealth, jobs opportunities and individual privileges in the communities. America’s food system violates the dictates of social justice because the individuals at the lowest levels of the food system are not compensated adequately (Gottlieb & Joshi, 2010). Most of the companies that benefit from the farm produce are exploitative; they underpay the workers despite systematically forcing them to work for longer hours in order to get adequate pay for their basic needs. The people that spend more than eight hours on the job earn little and as a result, they cannot afford to lead quality lives (Gottlieb & Joshi, 2010). On the contrary, the individuals or companies that use the farm workers make millions of money each year.
The companies that sell foodstuffs have not helped in the fight for a socially just society. Not only have they failed to adequately pay the farm workers, they have opted to sell foods that are not healthy (Gottlieb & Joshi, 2010). There is an adequate production of fresh foods from all over the country but most of the companies opt for finished and ready to use products. They have shifted the traditional modes of food preparation and use by targeting the working class and as a result, the companies contribute to the rising trends of poor feeding. People are offered food at its last stages of preparation and they find it convenient to use such foods (Gottlieb & Joshi, 2010). The companies have failed to demonstrate honesty in informing the public about the dangers of processed foods. Instead, they use numerous adverts that convince the consumer that they are getting the best value for the money. This dishonesty has contributed to the rising burden of obesity and related complications across the world.
The ideas of stewardship and dignity of work can contribute to social justice if they are fully explored. The idea of stewardship calls upon all the people to take responsibility for what they do (Francis, 2015). It calls for the conservation of the environment and appreciation of its beauty so as to preserve the works of God and save humanity. In terms of food production, stewardship can be applied in ensuring that the means used to produce the food are accepted and there is no deliberate contamination of the food or pollution of the environment in an attempt to improve or preserve the yield. On the other hand, the dignity of work is the belief that all jobs are equal and there is none than superior to the other. This ideology calls upon humanity to respect all the people and the works that they do regardless of the statuses. All men that work on food production farms are important for they play different significant roles in feeding the rest of the population. Respect for the laborers that are considered lowly involves adequate pay, favorable working conditions, caring for them and honesty (Francis, 2015). The exploration of stewardship and dignity of work ideologies contributes to social welfare which in turn fulfills social justice. A system that is determined to conserve the environment and adequately address the welfare concerns of the workers. The food production system needs to operate with necessary transparency, especially on matters concerning the environmental impact. Social justice can be fulfilled by respect of humanity and environment within which the people operate.
References
Francis. (2015, May 24). Laudato Si . Retrieved March 06, 2018, from http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html
Gottlieb, R., & Joshi, A. (2010). Food justice . MIT Press. Print
McMillan, T. (2012). The American way of eating: undercover at Walmart, Applebee’s, farm fields and the dinner table. Simon and Schuster. Print
