Farm wages

In a paper on obesity at UC Davis, I ran across this

"Average farm-worker earnings were $7.56 an hour for US field and livestock workers in 2000, according to a USDA survey of farm employers, and a 40 percent increase would raise them by $3 to $10.58. If this wage increase were passed fully to consumers, the 5 to 6 cent farm labor cost of a pound of apples or a head of lettuce would rise to 7 to 9 cents, and the retail price would rise by 2 to 3 cents."

That's right. A 40 percent increase in wages would result in a whopping price increase of 2-3 cents per pound of fresh produce. Something to keep in mind next time someone tries to tell you low wages for Mexicans is the reason we have access to cheap fruits and vegetables.