Big, tempting containers of blueberries for sale at Wal-Mart…what could be the problem? Maybe that those blueberries might have been picked by little kids.
The problems were found by the state of Michigan, working for farms that supplied the Adkins Blue Ribbon Blueberry Co. with berries. Kids as young as age five were found working on the farms. Here’s a priceless quote on the child-labor scandal from the Independent: “The children were being put to work because their small hands are more efficient at picking the tiny fruit.” NPR says that farm checks also found hazardous sewage leaks and infestations of bugs and rodents in the migrant settlements.
Footage of the wee blueberry pickers was featured prominently on Nightline last week. Kinda makes those berries not taste so sweet.