1lb pkg Driscol Strawberries $1.50 ea at Target

[alaskyn66]

Although they have had labor problems in the past... the future of berry picking is for the machines.

|However, the boycott of Driscoll's continues over labor practices in Baja where workers are seeking a wage of thirteen dollars a day.[14]|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driscoll%27s


|Eventually, harvesting might not be done by humans at all. Driscoll's is working with Spanish technology company Agrobot to develop a robot that will do the picking instead. The company's breeding team, meanwhile, is working on berries that grow at consistent stem lengths so they can be picked by the machine. This isn't a far-fetched concept. Madesko predicts there will be a strawberry-picking Agrobot in five years. "It's not an if, but a when," he said.|

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...by-a-robot

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

strawberry-picking Agrobot in five years.

Posting in Punaweb July 7th, 2022:
Cheaply built imported foreign Agrobots are taking good jobs from Hawaiian Agrobots! What are we going to do about it? It's time we boycott every local farm engaged in unfair labor practices using ImmigrantAgroBots!!!

Perfect citizens: Those who do not like cake, but have a passion for producing eggs, butter, sugar & milk.

[PaulW]

Agrobot? What an unfortunate name!

[terracore]

"I suspect this is a promotion, but when you are paying below minimum wage (say $3/hr) for labor and then housing workers in sub-standard conditions you can really keep costs down. Driscoll's farms are an example of exploitation of labor and environment. I encourage anyone to keep this in mind when buying $1.50 strawberries. Sourcing local fruit may be more expensive, but what is the real cost of those Driscoll berries?"

My first job was picking strawberries and I worked alongside the migrant workers. They made some serious cash, way more than minimum wage but they worked hard. They didn't see it as exploitation, they saw it as opportunity. I can't speak of the pay they get working in Mexico or elsewhere, it's probably horrible.

All that being said, strawberries grow really well here. We grow them in hanging baskets and get fresh strawberries every day. "Real" strawberries are much smaller and have much more flavor than the type you get at the store that were bred for size and shelf life.