Dolores

I watched Dolores for my campus sustainability class last week and could not recommend it enough. The fight for the rights of farm workers is well known but Dolores Huerta, one of the main stars of the movement, remains underrepresented despite her tireless, invaluable work. I recall learning about Cesar Chavez and the movement in middle school but I do not recall anything about Dolores Huerta, his equal partner in the fight. Unfortunately, my experience is not unique. This film is an incredible historical and personal account of Dolores Huerta's work for farmer's rights that highlights the injustices of representation of both farm workers and women. It's a film about the fight for underrepresentation on a multitude of fronts. It's informative, it's moving, and it's important.

To further explore the topic I took a look inside my own fridge to better understand the role farm workers play in my life on a personal level. I found mushrooms and jalapeños from Pennsylvania, limes and strawberries from Mexico, and tomatoes from Canada. I live in Minnesota which means that these foods went through a lot to get to me. A lot of work and a lot of hardworking people-- in the fields, packaging, shipping, etc, to supply my local grocery stores with basic produce I take for granted everyday. I encourage you to watch this movie, to look at where you get your food from, and to take time to appreciate it and the people that are doing it all for you in conditions we couldn't imagine. It's hard to be a conscious consumer in such a globalized and convenience-focused world but it's so important. Buy locally when you can, be conscious when you can't, and give thanks and support always. We need food and we need farm workers and they deserve rights.