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archetypaldream t1_iuhn9dl wrote

Reply to comment by ledocteur7 in Giant farming robot uses 3D vision and robotic arms to harvest ripe strawberries by Anen-o-me

I have a friend in California who leaves his competitively paid tile job every year during harvest just to pick strawberries. Apparently they make a pretty penny.

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perceptusinfinitum t1_iuhwrbk wrote

This friend of yours was harvesting cannabis and lying to you about strawberries. They grow 8 inches from the ground bending up and down being paid by the weight. If you buy strawberries for $5/pint retail, the pickers are getting maybe a .25 piece. It is an insanely low paying job for the simple yet back breaking job.

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archetypaldream t1_iuii7ea wrote

No, he wasn't lying. Where we worked at the tile/granite shop was within walking distance of the strawberry fields, and there's no reason to think he was lying. There is a difference between the estimates you make sitting on your couch and real life involving real people. I did not pick the strawberries so I can't tell you exactly how its done or the profit margin or whatever, but I doubt he came up with this cockamamie story for fun every year. Also, there were plenty among us involved in the marijuana industry and zero shame surrounding it. No one would have cared if he was trimming christmas trees instead.

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avocadro t1_iui5bva wrote

Wouldn't 25 cents apiece be an insane rate for pickers? Pick one every 15 seconds and make $60 an hour?

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Arne-lille t1_iuhocvg wrote

In Denmark the farmers enjoy exploitation, and so pick up the phone, and calls the slavetraders in Poland each year.

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