2.  Gender is not biological, but rather a social construction  Although many stereotypes of masculinity and femininity change with different time periods, some remain enduring over time.  Through patriarchy femininity and masculinity are both defined and perpetuated.

3.  Agricultural media displays patriarchical families.  The machinery used on the farm is closely related to the stereotypes given to men and women - Tractor - Oven

4.  Agricultural product names, such as pesticides and herbicides, are almost always masculine. › Warrior › Prowl › Bicep › Counter Lock’n Load

5.  Kroma suggests that race is also a social construct rather than a biological one.  Agricultural product advertisements only contain Caucasians.  “Whiteness” in these advertisements is a norm that perpetuates racial segregation in the farming community.

6.  “The imagery embodied in pesticide advertisements bears out the critical feminist theoretical position that power is not a monolithic force that men, as a social group, have over women. Rather, the imagery attests to the multiplicity of relations of subordination and power that is consistently played out in the agricultural sphere: men dominate other men, just as they dominate women.”

7.  The visions and experiences of indigenous women are silenced.  Indigenous groups are viewed as lazy and unwilling to live civilized by Mestizos (the Mexican middle class).  These groups have not benefitted from industrialization or modern agriculture. - forced to migrate to urban areas - plantation hard labor

8.  Children are forced to go with their mothers to the plantations to work. -Starting at 9 years of age or younger -too poor for daycare (non-existent) -some are forced to bring their infants -accused of being negligent parents This exposes the whole family to harmful pesticides and herbicides.

9.  Indigenous families are promised adequate housing and wages.  When they arrive many times housing is still in the process of being “built” and are forced to build cardboard homes. › Fires › Water

10.  Mestizo and Indigenous women are structurally segregated. › Indigenous women are not informed about the toxicity of the pesticides. › Many times indigenous women are too poor to purchase protective gear such as gloves, face masks etc. › Mestizo women receive 2-3 times better pay and indigenous women.

11.  These structures set in place perpetuate stereotypes which “normalize indigenous women’s exclusion.  Indigenous women are neglected health care because they are too “dumb” and cannot speak Spanish.  Often times women are forced to drink water from containers used to mix the pesticides.

12.  Racing heart beat  Loss of consciousness  Pounding headache  High temperature  Nausea  Burning skin

13.  Long term symptoms have not been determined yet.  Pesticides contain “inactive” ingredients, which are not required to be tested for possible acute or chronic heath effects.

14.  What, then, is our responsibility in the North?  How can we build solidarity?  How can we raise our consciousness so that we are aware of the food we are eating, where it comes from and who, in fact, puts it on our tables?