Review: Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies: MIGRANT FARMWORKERS IN THE UNITED STATES by Seth M. Holmes

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 Hey Readers!

Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies: MIGRANT FARMWORKERS IN THE UNITED STATES by Seth M. Holmes 

The Regents of the University of California, 2013

    According to Seth Holmes "This book corresponds to the “follow the people” multisited fieldwork outlined by George Marcus as one way to do ethnography that takes seriously the interconnections inherent in the contemporary world"(Holmes 3). This barely scratches the surface of what Holmes encountered in his research. This emotional and perplexing story of the research Holmes conducted offers heart wrenching stories of first hand experiences of migrant farm workers in America. He shares many personal stories of people he knew and photographs of conditions and environments they endured. For those that are blind to the harsh realties that migrant workers face this research is astonishing. 

This is Holmes at a protest for migrant worker rights and the separation of families

    In his most recent book, anthropologist Seth Holmes sheds light on the Mexican migrant workers and their day to day suffering they experience. With his hard work and research Holmes was able to befriend Mexican Migrants and travel with them as they came to America for work. He revels the scrutiny they face as being migrants in America along with the atrocious treatment they receive from the government and medical professional as well. He starts his journey with going with a group of migrants bravely attempting to cross the border,"There are Mexican and American assailants and kidnappers after their money; heat, sun, snakes, and cacti after their bodies; armed American vigilantes after their freedom; and Border Patrol agents after their records"(Holmes 8) and continues of sharing the personal stories of migrant workers and the discrimination they have faced. While this book is incredibly emotional and heart wrenching at times, theses are the stories we need to hear to incite real change and better treatment of migrants workers. It starts with listening to their stories no matter how uncomfortable we feel this is the reality for these people. The real policies we can implement and solutions to these problems are explained in the last chapter to conclude the book. Filled with eye opening incites and emotional real stories Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies is an apprising story that will inform more people of the injustices that are happening under our noses. 

This is the cover of the book in translated in Spanish

    As someone that was blind to how the serious injustices happening to migrant workers, for example "Several clinicians also pointed out the difficulties caused by racism in the clinic waiting room. Physicians and nurses spoke of white patients telling them such things as, “I can’t come at that time because I don’t want to be in the waiting room with those people,” meaning Mexican migrant workers. Some white patients complained about the smell of the farmworkers after picking, and some complained that the farmworkers always brought their children with them (Holmes 129). Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies has open my eyes to the problems that need to be solved. Especially in todays world of 2021 almost 2022 these atrocities are still happening today almost 9 years after it was published. Making the audience aware of the issues at hand is what the author is trying to achieve. This vastly important story filled with photographs and personal stories is a read that one must pick up to educate ourselves of the things that are going on around us. Whether you are just starting to learn about the discrimination that migrant workers face or if you are a drone advocate for migrant workers rights Seth Holmes's Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies: MIGRANT FARMWORKERS IN THE UNITED STATES is a definite pick.  

This is a video of him telling the information that was in the book
Start 2:15


Work Cited

Holmes, S. M. (2014). Fresh fruit, broken bodies migrant farmworkers in the United States. Univ. of California Press. 

Holmes, S. (2012, February 9). "fresh fruit, broken bodies: Indigenous Mexican ... Youtube. Retrieved November 18, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY1QDUqYqps. 

Holmes , S. (2010). Seth M. Holmes. Retrieved November 18, 2021, from https://www.sethmholmes.com/.     

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