Assignment 2

Write a short essay (1500 words) answering/covering the following questions:

1. The movie points out that supermarkets are not ruled by a “free-market economy” but by a “monopsony”. What does “monopsony” mean? How is monopsony affecting farmers?
2. “Farmworkers are generally paid by the piece rather than strictly by the hour” Foodchains film.com Tomato pickers in Immokalee are required to pick a minimum of 480 pounds of fruit per hour to make around $42 for a nine-hour shift; for how much money would you be willing to do this work? What else might you demand? If you would require a large amount of money to do this work, how would the company meet your demand? How would they cover the additional cost? If you say that no amount of money would be enough, what alternatives would the company have, since people like you will not do the work?
3. In the film, Father Brinkle says that in the Napa Valley there is an ” Economic Apartheid.” What does he mean by that expression?
4. According to the film, raising $4 million in charity in the Napa Valley does absolutely nothing to enable farmers to live a life closer in material terms to the one that donors live. Who do you think is benefiting from the Napa Valley vintners auction?
5. How is the history of the agriculture industry in the U.S. connected to immigration?

Film: “Food Chains”