Vida Newsletter, Volume 3 - December 1988

Гк°Д1 (?^!IR°ai2E^LiSlJllB2MTo'^Msar(-0 11И°М1 Ilg5l?ffp??ri|tr7: ГО Й^11^ЛШЭДГЛЩНЖГТо)' DFC 2 о 1988 II VIDA Ifolume # ill DotG ■ December, 1988 For your tea!#* .... and ours DON'T EAT GRAPES Extra, extra! A war has been declared on pesticides!! A nation wide boycott has been declared by the United Farm Workers (UFW) organization against table grapes. The battle lines have been set up. It is the farm workers and the consumers versus the corporations and the government. Which side are you on? According to "The Wrath of Grapes," which¬ ever side you choose there are no winners; there are only losers. Under the leadership of Cesar Chavez, the United Farm Workers organized some twenty years ago demanding fair wages, working conditions and a ban on pesticides because they were considered harmful and dangerous to one’s health. Until then, very little had been done to resolve this problem. Pesticides threaten residential areas near the fields because it enters homes, affects playgrounds, and pollutes water. The most visible warning signs come from the children. The children of farm workers have a higher ratio of birth defects; and children in nearby residencies are contracting cancer and other illnesses. Who is responsible? What is being done? It boils down to politics. Who is in power and who isn’t. The majority in power are the government officials, the big corporate heads and the market businesses who are blind to the effects of pesticides. They are the apathetic consumers who choose to ignore the pleas of farm workers and those involved in "the cause.” Many of us choose to be passive and go about our merry way. Well, now it is time to act. Once the pesticides were considered a "miracle of science;" now they are known as "time bombs." We need to go out there and support the farm workers. This planet has limited resources. As fellow human beings, it is our responsibility to preserve what is left of this planet. We cannot afford to contaminate the water or pollute the air. Let’s get involved and do something, for every minute we waste is costing the lives of innocent people... — Pat Gamboa Щ i S1 МЕШЕШЖ