First published 2018
Barry Estabrook exposes the brutal realities behind America's tomato industry in this completely revised third edition of his 2011 investigation. The three-time James Beard Award winner documents how migrant workers in Florida's tomato fields endured exploitation and dangerous conditions while picking the fruit that stocks supermarket shelves nationwide. Estabrook reveals how these workers organized themselves into an unlikely coalition that challenged massive restaurant chains and food retailers. Their campaign created new standards for labor justice that spread beyond Florida's borders. Four new chapters update the original story with recent developments that former President Bill Clinton called "the most astonishing thing politically in the world we're living in today." The book shows how determined workers transformed an entire industry and established a working model for fair labor practices. Eric Schlosser provides a new foreword to this updated edition.
Genres: business, agriculture, biography-memoir, current-affairs, activism, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: social-change, underdog
Setting: America, Florida
Period: 21st-century
256 pages · Paperback · Andrews McMeel Publishing
Content warnings: abuse