Mission: The Valley Women’s Club is dedicated to community action, awareness and leadership in environmental, educational, social, and political concerns that affect the health and welfare of the San Lorenzo Valley and our community.
Mission: The Valley Women’s Club is dedicated to community action, awareness and leadership in environmental, educational, social, and political concerns that affect the health and welfare of the San Lorenzo Valley and our community.
Women’s Issues Committee
The Farmworker’s Journey by Ann López The harvest season is upon us. What better time to reflect on where our food comes from, how it is grown and harvested, and how the workers (many of whom live in our very own Santa Cruz County) fare in the agriculture business. Publisher UC Press (2007) offers the following description of Ann’s book: 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.” As a result of her extensive research, she and others are actively attempting to create awareness about the Human Rights abuses endemic at every juncture of the migrant circuit. Ann currently works with 17 families in Watsonville to help alleviate some of their difficulties and to promote their children’s education. So what can concerned residents of the San Lorenzo Valley do to help the situation? The number one thing we can all do is to become informed on the issues. The website for the Center for Farmworker Families, contains links to Pesticide Action Network, Greenpeace Mexico, and Beyond Pesticides, as well as an excellent recommended reading list and ways to become involved. Once informed, we can support national policies and legislation to improve the situation. In the meantime, we can also support regional organizations whose goals are to improve the lives of those binational farmworkers who work in Santa Cruz County, including the Community Action Board 763-2147 (health, housing and other issues), Defensa de Mujeres 425-4030 (women’s crisis support), United Farm Workers 763-4820, Salud Para la Gente 728-0222, the Familia Center 423-5747, Together for Families (Parents Center, Watsonville) 724-2879 and others. About the Author: Ann Aurelia López received a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Cruz; she resides in Felton. She recently completed a President’s Postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkley. She has a long history of teaching Environmental Science, Ecology, and Botany courses in the Department of Biology at San Jose City College. She is currently a Research Associate at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at UCSC and is in the process of establishing a non-profit organization designed to improve the lives of California farmworkers and their families in Mexico. To purchase her book, go to the University of California Press website.
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