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Photos: The workers picking your summer strawberries earn as little as $1 per hour

At the end of the day.
At the end of the day.
Image: Reuters/Edgard Garrido
By
Caitlin Hu
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Heralds of summer, fresh strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are now abundant in US supermarkets. But perfect fruit comes at a heavy price: Reuters reports that since March, the culinary world’s underclass of agricultural workers has been protesting in Baja California, Mexico, complaining of pay rates as low as $1 per hour.

In the past few weeks, hundreds of strawberry pickers have been arrested, and the strikes have resulted in tons of fruit being left to rot. Shot in the heart of Baja, these photos reveal the meager lives and rough working conditions that produce berries ripe, plentiful, and cheap.

A produce picker repairs the wall of his house in San Quintin, Baja California state, Mexico April 1, 2015.
A produce picker repairs the wall of his house in San Quintin, Baja California state, Mexico April 1, 2015.
Image: Reuters/Edgard Garrido
Fruit pickers in the Baja California peninsula of Mexico, railing against a life of grinding poverty, have blocked roads, staged marches and held meetings with lawmakers since March as frustration over working conditions boiled over.
Fruit pickers in the Baja California peninsula of Mexico, railing against a life of grinding poverty, have blocked roads, staged marches and held meetings with lawmakers since March as frustration over working conditions boiled over.
Image: Reuters/Edgard Garrido
A house, which belongs to a fruit picker, stands in San Quintin in Baja California state, Mexico April 1, 2015.
A house, which belongs to a fruit picker, stands in San Quintin in Baja California state, Mexico April 1, 2015.
Image: Reuters/Edgard Garrido
Produce pickers board a bus on their way to work in a neighbourhood in San Quintin in Baja California state, Mexico April 20, 2015.
Produce pickers board a bus on their way to work in a neighbourhood in San Quintin in Baja California state, Mexico April 20, 2015.
Image: Reuters/Edgard Garrido
Fruit pickers hold baskets of strawberries as they line up before weighing them at a farm in San Quintin in Baja California state, Mexico April 1, 2015.
Fruit pickers hold baskets of strawberries as they line up before weighing them at a farm in San Quintin in Baja California state, Mexico April 1, 2015.
Produce pickers pose for a photo with handkerchiefs tied around their faces to shield themselves from the sun and pesticide sprayed on fruits and vegetables in the farms in San Quintin in Baja California state, March 30, 2015.
Produce pickers pose for a photo with handkerchiefs tied around their faces to shield themselves from the sun and pesticide sprayed on fruits and vegetables in the farms in San Quintin in Baja California state, March 30, 2015.
Image: Reuters/Edgard Garrido
A produce picker knits in front of her house in San Quintin in Baja California state, Mexico March 31, 2015.
A produce picker knits in front of her house in San Quintin in Baja California state, Mexico March 31, 2015.
Image: Reuters/Edgard Garrido
Produce pickers wait for a bus as they travel to work in a neighbourhood in San Quintin in Baja California state, Mexico March 31, 2015.
Produce pickers wait for a bus as they travel to work in a neighbourhood in San Quintin in Baja California state, Mexico March 31, 2015.
Image: Reuters/Edgard Garrido
Produce pickers board a bus on their way to work in a neighbourhood in San Quintin in Baja California state, Mexico March 31, 2015.
Produce pickers board a bus on their way to work in a neighbourhood in San Quintin in Baja California state, Mexico March 31, 2015.
Image: Reuters/Edgard Garrido
Genaro Perfecto, 38, and his wife Cecilia Feliciano, 37, are seen inside their house in San Quintin in Baja California state, Mexico April 18, 2015.
Genaro Perfecto, 38, and his wife Cecilia Feliciano, 37, are seen inside their house in San Quintin in Baja California state, Mexico April 18, 2015.
Image: Reuters/Edgard Garrido
Produce picker Cecilia Feliciano, 37, lies down with her daughter inside her house in San Quintin in Baja California state, April 18, 2015.
Produce picker Cecilia Feliciano, 37, lies down with her daughter inside her house in San Quintin in Baja California state, April 18, 2015.
Image: Reuters/Edgard Garrido
38-year-old Genaro Perfecto, who works as a fruit picker, shows his hands which are stained with strawberry juice in San Quintin in Baja California state, Mexico April 1, 2015.
38-year-old Genaro Perfecto, who works as a fruit picker, shows his hands which are stained with strawberry juice in San Quintin in Baja California state, Mexico April 1, 2015.
Image: Reuters/Edgard Garrido