Cheap Fruit, Expensive People

The market loves cheap fruit. It does not love expensive people. That’s the whole magic trick.

American farms are leaning hard on “legal” migrant labor through the H–2A program. Uncapped visas. Seasonal work. And a simple leash: your legal status is tied to your boss. If that doesn’t make your stomach drop, you’re not paying attention.

In theory, it’s a fair trade. Growers get hands when local labor dries up. Workers earn more than they can back home without crossing borders in the dark. In practice, the program is riddled with fraud and abuse. The Government Accountability Office found violations in 84% of the investigations the Labor Department pursued from 2018 to 2021. That’s not a “few bad apples.” That’s the barrel.

Some contractors try to do it clean. They recruit directly to avoid fee scams. They buy housing. They stock ice machines, toilets, first aid kits. They follow heat rules and overtime rules when states require them. And then they get undercut by cheaper operators who cut corners, underpay, and treat humans like disposable equipment.

The hard part is not knowing what to do. The hard part is incentives. Retailers talk about “human rights in the supply chain” and then flinch at paying a premium. Certifications exist. Bonuses exist. Participation stays tiny. As one farm buyer put it: the market doesn’t meaningfully reward the high road.

Yoga people love to preach “right livelihood.” Cool. Try applying it to your grocery cart. Not with guilt. With clarity. If someone’s visa, housing, and return trip depend on keeping quiet, that’s not a labor market. That’s a pressure cooker. And your cherries are sitting on top of it.