It is nice to see so many statistics regarding farm workers in this week's readings... but it is also quite easy to be carried away/mislead by some statistics (just a side note). Anyway, I was not surprised to read that in 1995 of all farm workers, 90% are Latinos. Naturally, this statistic has probably changed since then, but I think it's safe to assume that the general trend remains the same. Given the fact that we will be studying an area with a high Hmong population, I was wondering to what extent statistics regarding health vary by cultural group. For example, the reading mentioned that in California 81% of male and 76% of female farm workers were obese. How does this proportion change across cultures/genetics? Is obesity a big problem in the Hmong community where diet may be a bit different from, say, the Latino community?
Once again, we see how big of a concern it is for some migrants to stay in the shadows due to their citizenship status. This prevents them from seeking health education and healthcare (unless in a dire emergency). You all may find this article by Joseph Carens interesting: http://bostonreview.net/BR34.3/carens.php
I found his central argument to be extremely compelling... I highly recommend you all read it if you can!
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