The FDA uses instruments such as the one pictured below to test for pesticideresidues. The instrument detects less than half of the pesticides which may end up onfood.

agency samples. The GAO estimatesthat the FDA sampled less than two­tenths of one percent of the domesticfood supply in 1985. Even with thatsmall sample, the FDA found thatalmost three percent of the food testedwas adulterated. If the FDA had takenrepresentative samples, it is probablethat the amount of adulterated fooddetected would be even higher.

Limited Testing

The FDA has determined that thereare 496 pesticides which may leaveresidues, and yet the agency cannotdetect almost 60% of these with its mostcommonly used multiresidue tests.

By the FDA's own admission, itshould be using other tests to detectthese pesticides. Yet, the GAO reportstates, "These tests were not performedeven though (1) it was likely the pesti­cides were used on these foods and (2)the FDA's ... program required contin­uous or periodic monitoring of thesepesticides. "

Pesticides which are not tested forinclude many used on grapes. Forinstance, laboratories in California do

FDA is FailingT he growers are lying.

They are lying when they claimthe government protects consumersfrom eating pesticide residues onCalifornia table grapes. How do youknow they are lying? Just ask thegovernment.

In early December, the GeneralAccounting Office released a study it didon the Food and Drug Administration atthe request of Senator David Duren­berger (R-Minn.). The FDA is chargedwith protecting the public from illegalpesticide residues on domestically pro­duced food, but the GAO reports showthe FDA is failing miserably at its job.

Durenberger, chairman of the Sub­committee on Toxic Substances andEnvironmental Oversight, drew this con­clusion about illegal residues from thereport: "Your chances of contracting adisease - or at least a serious illness ­are fairly high."

The GAO reviewed the FDA's abilityto sample, test, and seize adulterated(unsafe) food, including California tablegrapes.

FDA's failure to protect the publicbegins wtih the amount of food the

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~Cesar Chavez

©1986 The title United FarmWorkers of America, AFL-CIO,FOOD AND JUSTICE is registeredwith the United States Patent andTrademark Office.

Managing Editor:

Armando Garcia

~Marvin CortnerFr. Ken IrrgangKimberly K Lawson

FOOD AND JUSTICE (ISSN0885:0704) is published monthlyfor $5 per year by the United FarmWorkers of America, AFL-CIO, OldHighway 58, La Paz, California93570. Second-class postage ispaid at Keene, California.POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to FOOD AND JUSTICE,P.O. 62, La Paz, California 93570.

Associate Editor:Rev. Chris Hartmire

Production Director:

Paul Chavez

Members:Arturo RodriguezArturo MendozaOscar MondragonBen Maddock

Photographer:

Victor Aleman

National Executive Board:

President:Cesar ChavezSecretary-Treasurer:Peter VelascoFirst Vice-President:Dolores HuertaSecond Vice-President:Frank OrtizThird Vice-President:David Martinez

Magazine of the UnitedFarm Workers ofAmerica, AFL·CIOLa Paz, Keene, CA 93570

Volume 4, Number 2

Food and Justice

February 1987

W ith good reason, our February issue devotes sev­eral pages to two separate but related reports

released in December by the General Accounting Office.The titles alone convey the GAO's strong indictment

of how ineptly both the Food and Drug Administrationand the Environmental Protection Agency are handlingthe pesticide menace to consumers: "Pesticides: BetterSampling and Enforcement Needed on Imported Food"and, on domestic food, "Pesticides: Need to EnhanceFDA's Ability to Protect the Public From IllegalResidues. "

The results are far too grave for us to take comfort ina we-told-you-so attitude, but the temptation is hard toresist since California grape growers have arrogantlyscorned as a "hoax" and "Goebbels-like" propagandaour boycott focus on the terrible pesticide threat facingthe entire nation - farm workers and consumers.

The grim findings of the GAO should make con­sumers as outraged at their own slow poisoning by pesti­cides as we are at the deaths and birth defects farmworkers and their children suffer. We invite consumersto join us in an all-out drive to force growers to stoptheir pesticide crimes and their scorn for those who warnAmericans about them.

A successful grape boycott will be a big step in thatdirection. Y

EDITORIAL

Grim Findings

2 3

duce is the California Department ofFood and Agriculture. CDFA is chargedwith protecting the public from consum.ing adulterated produce grown inCalifornia.

According to spokesman JulioCalderon, the CDFA uses multiscreentests which "go through 106 pesticides."There are approximately 300 pesticidesused in California, and many of theseca~ be detected only through singlereSIdue tests. Calderon admitted thatthese tests are not routinely done.

The FDA, which also relies on multi­residue tests, would not comment on theGAO report. According to spokesmanJim Greene, FDA's commissioner FrankYoung may never respond to GAO'scharges. Greene said, "I'm not sure wehave to formally respond to GAO ornot. If we do then obviously we will, andonce we do, we will make it known ifpeople want to know."

Greene claimed he had never read theGAO report, and when asked why, heresponded, "Normally these reports arefairly voluminous, and it's not some­thing we respond to overnight." Thereport is less than 60 pages long. It wasreleased December 3. y

Clare Berryhill, CDFA director, doesnot believe he needs to comment on theGA 0 report even though the CDFA is asguilty as the FDA of under testing forresidues.

A report issued by the General Ac­counting Office in early December

contains the following statement: "Theprobability that FDA [the Food andDrug Administration] will find a growermarketing food with illegal pesticideresidues is rather low."

FDA Commissioner Frank Young

. Does. this mean you are eating pesti­CIde reSIdues? There are, after all, otheragencies involved in the process of test­ing illegal residues.

The Environmental Protection Agen­cy, for instance, sets tolerance levels forpesticides, and the FDA uses these levelsto determine if the residue amountdetected on food is illegal. The EPA iscurrently reassessing its information onpesticides.

"There are about 1200 chemicals, andwe reassess about 30 a year," AI Heier,EPA spokesman, said. "We've nowc~mpleted 175." At this rate, the EPAWill be unable to provide the FDA withaccurate data on all pesticides until theyear 2021.

Another agency which monitors pro-

Agencies React to Chargesthe market suffer an economic loss whilegrowers who do not remove food ...are usually able to market the food andavoid any economic loss."

Even if the FDA did have the power toseize adulterated food, it is unlikely itwould. The GAO says the FDA shouldspend no more than 48 hours to collectand analyze a food sample. Yet in 107cases in which the FDA found illegalresidues, the agency took more than 10days to complete this process in 71070 ofthe cases. By the time the FDA hasanalyzed a sample, most of it is on itsway to the market.

It's no wonder Durenberger wasalarmed by the GAO's findings. To theUFW, however, the report does notcome as a great surprise. It is, sadly, fur­ther evidence of the danger of pesticidesused on grapes and other products.

"The government has finally con­firmed what we've been saying allalong," Cesar Chavez, UFW president,said.y

not test for methyl bromide, a chemicalwidely used on grapes and one of thepesticides the UFW wants banned aspart of its grape boycott.

Further limiting the FDA's testingprocedures is its reliance on the Environ­mental Protection Agency's data. TheFDA determines that a residue level isillegal if it exceeds the tolerance level setby the EPA (i.e., the amount of a pesti­cide the EPA says is safe to eat) or if itdetects a pesticide not registered for useon a particular crop. The EPA is cur­rently reassessing its information aboutpesticides, and since this process willtake until the 21st century to complete,the FDA will not have accurate informa­tion on which to base its tests for yearsto come.

No Penalties for Growers

Perhaps the most disconcerting aspectof the GAO r~port is its finding that theFDA does not penalize growers whoseproduce is found to be adulterated.Instead the FDA relies on growers tovoluntarily destroy adulterated food. If you are interested in obtaining aThe grower is under no obligation to do copy of the GAO report, write to: U.S.this, however, unless the produce is General Accounting Office, P.O. Boxseized by a U.S. marshal (a lengthy 6015, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20877.procedure). Ask for report number GAO/RCED-

The GAO takes note of the FDA's 86-125. The report is titled: "Pesticides:lack of power: "Ironically, growers who Need to Enhance FDA's Ability to Pro-voluntarily hold and remove food from teet the Public From Illegal Residues.

Senator David Durenber er (R-Minn.) requested the GA 0 re ort.

Business-As-Usual for Growers Chilean Winter Grapes: Beware!

A gribusiness denies that the use ofpesticides creates health risks for

consumers and workers. It says thesechemical poisons are as safe as anythingcould be.

California growers, who speakthrough their associations and who pro­duce at least 50 percent of domesticfruits and vegetables at peak season,reflect a business-as-usual attitude whenconfronted with the GAO report. This iswhat they have to say.

Pam Jones, executive director of theAlliance for Food and Fiber: "Accord­ing to the report, in no case was any levelof pesticides two times over the legallimit. Between the farm and the con­sumer, the food is washed, trimmed,peeled, cut or processed; and the chemi­cals also have a chance to break down.The report says that we have a system inplace but because of a lack of man­power, money or scientific data, theFDA isn't doing a very good job ofenforcement.' ,

Barbara Buck, Western GrowersAssociation: "We feel the CDFA isdoing a better job than the FDA. Con­sistently, 90 percent of the food samplestaken in California by CDFA are free ofdetectable levels of pesticides, nine per­cent have legal residues on them and onepercent are illegal."

David Marguleas, merchandisemanager for Sunworld, a vegetable andfruit marketing company: "We feelextremely confident that Californiagrown food is safe - I would say thatthe 2.9 percent in the GAO reportdoesn't reflect on us. But if that 2.9 per­cent is from California, then we have aproblem. If consumers will stop buyingcertain products, then we, as amarketing company, will haveproblems.' ,

6

Grape Commissioner Bruce Obbink saysthe FDA is "doing a magnificent job"- something even the FDA itselfdenies.

Bruce Obbink, president of theCalifornia Table Grape Commission:"The only thing I know about is grapes.CDFA and the FDA are doing a magnifi­cent job. You can't have a perfect sys­tem. To be 100 percent safe, you wouldneed a Nazi-like program of control ­and we certainly don't want that."

Ed Angsteadt, Growers and ShippersAssociation: "I really don't know ifCalifornia or the FDA is doing a goodjob of getting contaminated food off theshelves. I don't know if produce is testedin the fields for pesticides. I have neverseen any CDFA reports detailing whathappens to contaminated or quarantinedproduce. If the EPA isn't doing its job,then it should be challenged. If CDFA isadopting EPA safety tolerances, then itis doing so because growers have to beable to survive in interstate commerce."

Numerous other individual growerswere contacted for their response butthey either had not seen the report orrefused to'return our calls.""

W hat's true of California tablegrapes in the summer is true of

Chilean table grapes in the winter.In either case, the American consumer

gets more for his money than meets theeye - more poison. Poison in the formof invisible pesticide residues inside andoutside of the luscious-looking, cosmeti­cally doctored-up table grapes.

In late December and early January,table grapes from Chile arrive in theU.S. to take up the slack left by idleCalifornia grape growers - who wel­come imported winter grapes so U.S.consumers keep up a year-round habitof eating table grapes.

As for the pesticide habit, consumersshould be shocked by a recent reportfrom the General Accounting Office(GAO): "Pesticides: Better Samplingand Enforcement Needed on ImportedFood." The report said the Food andDrug Administration (FDA) examinesless than one percent of the estimated

one million shipments of produceimported annually. But even of thosefew samples, more than six percent con­tained illegal pesticide residues.

Last spring, the FDA found residuesof the fungicide procymidone, illegal inthe U.S., on two shipments of Chileangrapes. Chilean grapes are treated withsulfur dioxide enroute to the U.S. ports.Worst of all, they are fumigated withmethyl bromide, one of the most toxicand dangerous chemicals used 10

agriculture.Chilean grapes, which now make up

270/0 of the U.S. market, are grown withpesticides, preserved with chemicals dur­ing shipment, and then treated withmore chemicals upon arrival in U.S.ports. If that weren't enough, Californiagrowers and some produce managersreportedly box and sell Chilean grapes asgrapes from California.

Table grapes. Chilean or Californianwinter or summer: Let the buyer beware:..

Pesticides used onChilean grapes are sodangerous that work­ers must wear protec­tive gear to gaugeresidues left on pro­duce heing shipped tothe U.S.

7

Dr. Richard Jackson, chief of theCommunity Toxicology Unit, CaliforniaDepartment of Health Services: "Thecritical issue for us in the Health Depart­ment, because it affects consumers andworkers, is that we must often use inade­quate scientific data to make socialpolicy decisions about the safety ofpesticides used in California.

"To fill data gaps, California hasmandated that pesticide manufacturerssubmit trade secret and proprietaryinformation for review by CDFA. Weoversee that review. As the submittaldeadline approaches, manufacturers willlikely seek relief from this legislation.We can't allow that to happen." Y

tinues to use pesticides with ineffectiveregulation and data gaps, we cannot besafe. "

Dr. Jerome Lackner, former directorof the California Health Department:"It's disastrous that we must eat poisonsintended for insects and weeds becausestandards are inadequate or not enforced.The GAO report points to one problem.If pesticides are produced and used, thenthey will cause health problems.

"Testing is really too late to deal withpesticides because by the time it reachesthe marketplace as residue, it has alreadypoisoned factory workers, pesticideapplicators and farm workers."

9

Charles Benbrook, pesticide analystwith the National Academy of Science:"The GAO report illustrates immensegaps in pesticide testing and points torisks of unknown proportion. Usinginadequately tested, hazardous pesti­cides and then not testing for them infood is an indefensible position.

"While residue on food is serious, theproblem is dwarfed by the exposure suf­fered by farm workers, pesticidehandlers and residents of agriculturalcommunities surrounded by pesticides."

Michael Picker, director of the ToxicsCoordinating Project in Sacramento:"It confirms what we have known for along time. It's a shame that it took solong for the government to recognize theproblem.

"From now on, consumers willdistrust both the government andgrowers. As long as agriculture con-

,I

I

Deborah Schechter, director ofAmericans for Safe Food, Center forScience in the Public Interest, Washing­ton, D.C.: "The FDA is clearly not pro­tecting us. It should have greaterauthority to detain produce and assesscivil penalties.

"Sometimes a report of this kind hasa negative effect - it signals the growerthat no one from the government ismonitoring their use of poisons, thatthere isn't a policeman on the block."

labels, there is wind drift, and somegrowers just don't give a damn."

Dr. Marion Moses, National FarmWorkers Health Group: "The GAOreport shows that we have no idea aboutthe extent of pesticides in our food.There can never be enough money, testsor laboratories to make sure food is safeand free of harmful pesticides. We mustremove the poisons from the system.

"We can no longer pretend that thegovernment will protect us. Its system ofregulation is built on bad science, irre­sponsible assumptions and deceptivepractices.' ,

E nvironmentalists, doctors and con­sumer advocates view the recent

GAO report with concern. Tempered byyears of commitment to various strug­gles and professions, the following per­sons offer their reactions.

Monica Moore, executive director ofthe Pesticide Education and Action Pro­ject in San Francisco: "The system inplace to protect the public is inadequate.Grower claims about the safety of Cali­fornia food just does not bear up underscrutiny. CDFA adopts EPA standards,and like FDA, only regularly tests forabout half the pesticides used.

"Pesticide dependence will be seen inthe future as agriculture's adolescence- a stage of life on the way to a moresustainable, mature and sensible age."

Carl Pope, national political directorof the Sierra Club: "The report showsjust how inadequate the FDA's testingreally is. The notion that safety can beassured by writing detailed instructionsfor a pesticide's use is, in reality, a wildfantasy. We cannot expect that every­thing will play out as planned in thelaboratory. People misunderstand

8

FDA Protection:A Wild Fantasy

Labor leaders in Canada join a UFW picket line to protest pesticide use on grapes. Inforeground is Michael Lyons, president of the Labour Council of MetropolitanToronto (left) and Cord Wilson, president of the Ontario Federation of Labor(OFL). Behind Lyons and Wilson is Terry Meagher, former secretary-treasurer ofthe OFL.

place that will one day explode in a masspoisoning of consumers." Key activistsJane Baron and Margot Hammer bothblasted A&P for being just as guilty asgrowers in their "flagrant disregard forpeople's health."

Detroit

Two successful fundraisers wereamong several projects that kept Detroitboycotters busy during late Decemberand January, reported Arturo Mendoza,boycott director. The first was a fund­raiser at which Sister TheresaGr.ekowicz, I.H.M., was honored.Tributes were extended to Sr. Theresafor her involvement in farm workercauses promoted by the UFW, FarmLabor Organizing Committee (FLOC),and the Michigan Farm WorkerMinistry.

The second fundraiser, a Charlie Kingconcert, was held in mid-January at theUnited Auto Workers Local 600 Hall inDearborn. Key committee members forboth events were Jack Ray, MariaFlores, Elena Herrada, and MarcosZuniga."

Mid-Atlantic

Mid-Atlantic Boycott Director ArturoRodriguez and his staff recently metwith New Jersey State AFL-CIO Presi­dent Charles Marcianti and the executiveboard to seek support for the boycott.After viewing "The Wrath of Grapes,"the b.oard gave the boycott its unani­mous approval. "We've given farmworkers our support in the past, andwe'll do the same thing for thisboycott," Marcianti said.

In New York, supporters continuedpicketing against A&P supermarkets. Atone demonstration in the GreenwichVillage, Edwin Lopez, president of theSantio Iglesies Society, voiced alarmover "the pesticide time bomb Califor­nia growers have planted in the market-

A & P's refusal to stop buying and selling California table

boycott takes." Metro Toronto LabourCouncil President Michael Lyons alsoaddressed the rally.

The Ontario New Democratic PartyCouncil first viewed "The Wrath ofGrapes" and then joined the demonstra­tion. The rally was given wide coverageby four TV stations and the press.

boycott director.Assisting the L.A. staff were key sup­

porters Ramona Chacon, StephanieTomita, Diane Lujan, and volunteers atthe Catholic Worker House.

Canada

David Martinez, director of the Cana­dian boycott, reported that a flurry ofboycott activities toward the end of la'>[year was highlighted by a rally andpicket hne in Toronto attend"..! byapproximately 160 labor leaders andsupporters. "The spirit was terrific,"said Sara Bowser, an active UFW sup­porter for more than 19 years.

Gord Wilson, newly elected presidentof the 800,OOO-member Ontario Federa­tion of Labour, laughingly chided theUFW for "always starting their picket­ing in Canada in the winter." But winteror summer, he added. "Farm workerscan count on our help for as long as the

10

Boycotters BusyA few selected items from boycott

directors' reports reflect manygrape boycott actions that took placerecently throughout the U.S. andCanada.

Texas

The M. Rivas supermarket chain inthe Rio Grande Valley has agreed to stopcarrying table grapes, reported RebeccaHarrington Flores, Texas boycott direc­tor. Rivas Foods said it would "notadvertise or sell California grapes in ourstores until such time as the demands ofthe workers are met."

Los Angeles

The Los Angeles boycott staff hasbeen carrying out an intensive churchcampaign recently. "On one weekendalone, we distributed 10,000 grapeboycott leaflets at 25 churches andsynagogues," said Oscar Mondragon,

By Dr. Don Villarejo andElizabeth Martin

GUEST COLUMN

13

Lionel Steinberg, Freedman's presi­dent, told reporters, "We don't needthese single male workers anymore.There is an adequate supply of familyworkers."

These men have worked for the com­pany for 10 and 12 years. Pablo Herrerais a 12-year employee. He said, "Wehave worked here a long time. Now welive under a tree. We have nothing, andit's raining and cold. We harvest thefood that feeds the world, and we do noteven have a place to live."

The living conditions are taking theirtoll on the workers. Many are ill fromsleeping in the open air and bathing incold water. For shelter the men sleepinside or underneath a rusted boxcar. Atnight they are taunted by wild dogswhich invade their makeshift homes.

Like the homeless in this country'scities, they are losing hope. The com­pany has no plans to improve theworkers' lives. In fact, Steinberg summedup the company's feelings when he asked,"What makes these people so precious?"

Precious People

Table grape workers in California at "home." FromFuentes, Tomas Barrios, and Manuel Mendoza.

I magine the homeless. No ~ou~t y~ur

image is of people who live 10 cItystreets, people without jobs and oftenwithout hope.

Now imagine a group of men whohave steady jobs, many of whom haveheld the same position for 10 years ormore.

These images are probably very dis­parate, and they should be. But in Ther­mal, California there is a group of menwho are steady workers and who arehomeless. These men come to Thermalevery year to work in the table grapefields of David Freedman & Co. Theywork from November until June andusually stay in company housing.

Freedman's housing is inspected an­nually by the county health department.This year a health official told the com­pany to mend screens, replace brokenwindows and make other minor repairs.The company refused and instead allow­ed the camp to be condemned. Theworkers now live under a mesquite tree afew feet from their former shelter.

Is Our Water Safe to Drink?that time millions of pounds of DBCPhad ,f1~eady been used.

Now DBCP is being found in under­ground water supplies for millions ofresidents in California's Central Valley.Workers were the first to suffer fromexposure to DBCP, but now, years later,consumers have become its secondaryvictims. As usual, company and stateofficials took action after the disasterinstead of preventing it in the first place.

We in the California Institute forRural Studies (CIRS) ask the public tojoin us in speaking out against the toxicpollution of our water and in workingfor four goals: the monitoring of drink­ing water for chemicals, notification toconsumers of water-testing results, theclean-up of contaminated drinkingwater, and the promotion of agriculturalpractices that do not use toxic chemicals.

(Dr. Vil/arejo is the executive director and Martinthe pesticides project director ofCIRS. A slideshowon how consumers can protect their water can berented or purchased by writing CIRS, P. O. Box 530,

from use in the fields. Unfortunately, by Davis, CA 95617.) YThe staffand volunteers ofthe California Institute for Rural Studies and the Califor­nia Agrarian Action League. Seated are: Dr. Don Villarejo and Elizabeth Martin.Behind are (from left to right): Claudia Raaen, Kelly Gould, David Bunn, EnriqueGarcia, Edie Stanley, and Glenda Marsh.

P eople in California don't think so- with good reason.

In last November's election, by over­whelmingly passing a toxics initiative,Proposition 65, they strongly insistedthat action be taken to prevent furthercontamination of their drinking waterfrom pesticides and industrial chemicals.

An example will show why their fearsare justified. In rural California, a prin­cipal contaminant found in the waterwas Dibromochloropropane (DBCP), apesticide widely used in vineyards andorchards until banned in 1978. Workershad been told it was so safe it was noteven a "restricted use" material.

However, the manufacturer knewDBCP caused sterility in laboratory ratsbut kept that data from workers exposedto it. Only after workers became steriledid government officials ban DBCP

Minister's Legacy YOUR LETTERS

Rev. Fred Eyster

F arm workers lost a long-time cham­pion of their cause when the Rev.

Fred Eyster, a United Church of Christminister and co-director of NationalFarm Workery Ministry, died on Decem­ber 17. His death at 47, followingsurgery at Oakland's Peralta Hospital,was unexpected.

At a memorial service, farm laborleader Cesar Chavez praised Eyster as adedicated man of God "who showed ushow to live life for others, especiallythose most in need."

Shortly before his death, Eyster cli­maxed 14 years of service to farmworkers - the last four first as NFWMdirector and then co-director with Fran­ciscan Sister Pat Drydyk - by initiatinga new ministry to farm worker familiesvictimized by pesticide poisoning.

New NFWM Program

Responding to the anguish of a con­tinually rising number of deaths, steril-

14

ity, cancer cases, and birth defects fromthe pesticide poisoning of farm workersand their children, Eyster and Drydyklast year opened a Ministry Among Pest­icide Victims office in Delano, the centerof a vast table grape area in the San Joa­quin Valley.

"This is where we belong," Drydyksaid. "This is where grape growers floodtheir fields with some of the most deadlypesticides, where so many farm workersare being poisoned, where at least eightchildren have died of cancer in recentyears, and where others have sufferedsevere birth defects."

Drydyk added: "Fred would be happyto know we're hard at work not onlyministering to pesticide victims but alsoorganizing church and community sup­port to make growers and pesticide pro­ducers stop this senseless death andmisery." y

Two of the children the NFWM pro­gram helps are Salvador DeAnda (top)and Amalia Larios (bottom).

Please keep up the good work - yes,truly pioneering efforts - on the pesti­cide and related water poisoning battle.It is to be hoped that the growers andgovernment authorities do not wait untilsome of their own family members comedown sick and ailing like yours beforethey finally decide to act on such a dead­ly serious problem that really affects usall.

Harry and Ann HughesSan Francisco, CA

You can te11 the grape growers that Ihaven't eaten a grape for three months.The last ones I ate made me very sick. Ibelieve we should be using organicmethods in farming.

Martin StansburyPekin, IL

Dear Mr. Chavez,I'm here at the University of Washing­

ton doing my homework. Next year Ihope to be an engineer with some aero­space company.

I heard you speak today and wasgreatly moved. I've read about you andhave seen you in documentaries. I'veoften wondered about who was this guywho doesn't know when to quit.

I too come from a farm laboring fam­ily from Yakima. I chose to go intoengineering to get away from manuallabor. Now I pray that I never lose sightof where I came from and the strugglesof those left behind.

Thank you for coming to the Univer­sity of Washington. I hope I can be halfthe man you are.

Patricio LeonSeattle, WA

I will continue to support the UFWand the table grape boycott until therights of farm workers are respected by

the growers of the United States. May1987 be the year that this goal is finallyachieved. I want to encourage you andeveryone at the UFW to continue yourfight. My prayers are with you all.

John L. FergusonSan Luis Obispo, CA

I have boycotted grapes for the lasttwo years. I would rather deprive myselfof the pleasure of eating grapes thandeprive farm workers of their livelihood.

Fanny SchneidermanSeal Beach, CA

We must change this mentality thatmakes people expendable for the pur­pose of larger profits. A successfulboycott will do this.

The United Farm Workers' struggle toobtain justice must succeed. If we donothing to help you, it may be our turnto 'suffer next.

David M. KohlChillicothe, OH

It is a sad, sad, sad state of affairswhen business, industrial, and govern­ment leaders ignore standards of fairlabor practices, safe and proper workingconditions, and adequate protections forthe environment and human health.

Obviously, the governor of Californiagains greater satisfaction in feeding thepockets of money-hungry corporategrowers than in providing proper work­ing conditions and adequate wages tofarm workers.

I support the United Farm Workersand share in your cause to bring justiceto the laborer.

Jeffrey MoserMember, South DakotaFanners UnionWessington, SD

15

NAME

ADDRESS

01SAMUEL B TRICKEY723 NW 1"9TH STGAINESVILLE FL 32603

UNITED FARMWORKERS OFAMERICAP.O. Box 62Keene, CA 93570o YES! Pleasesend me a Ireecopy 01 "The

~~~Wag:e~;,ae~s;'format only.)