Seth Holmes’s ethnographic study, Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies: Migrant Farmworkers in the United States, examines the experiences of Triqui migrant laborers as they journey from Oaxaca, Mexico, to Washington State to pick berries and apples. The book provides a detailed account of the social, economic, and political structures that shape the lives of these workers, focusing on the hierarchical power dynamics and the embodied effects of agricultural labor.
This work is significant for its contribution to the understanding of structural violence, the ways in which social inequalities produce physical and psychological suffering. Holmess participant observation methodology, living and working alongside the Triqui people, provides intimate insight into the everyday realities of migrant life, including the challenges of border crossing, labor exploitation, and discrimination. The book offers a critical perspective on the global food system and its reliance on precarious labor, highlighting the human cost of producing affordable food.
