Friday October 30, 2009, 9:15 pm
All will be ok as long as the people are taken care of and Monsanto stays away....
Tks Daphna

Friday October 30, 2009, 9:34 pm
Child labor is not acceptable for any reason.

Friday October 30, 2009, 11:18 pm
When I read things like this, that is when I thank God I am living in the USA It is heart breaking to see this kids out in the fields.

Saturday October 31, 2009, 6:03 am
This is not right and I cannot believe it is still happening!
Thanks Daphna

Saturday October 31, 2009, 3:04 pm
Unless they are being abused, I think it's healthy for young people to know what a days work is. I started working in the fields when I was 9 yrs old. It was hard work and I probably hated every minute of it the closer I got to being a teenager, but looking back on it, I wouldn't change a thing. I have really good work ethics now because of it. So like I said, unless they are being abused, it helps them to grow up being productive community citizens.

Saturday October 31, 2009, 3:55 pm
Wow Debra you have blinders on, nice memory. The kids in China, India and Mexico are not going to have such memories, if they live that long. This is abuse, did you miss the part about IF THEY ARE PAID, this is slavery and nothing less. I lived overseas much of my life and this is not a surprise, children are sold and used as slaves in all forms of industry. There is no easy answer, but please take some time to get educated, stop shopping at the big box stores, Wal-Mart is the worst, and think maybe there is a connection to the fact that so many people here are out of work because of things like NAFTA and WTO using other countries for all but slave labor. No easy answers but for sure these kids are not happy not getting an education and are not going to have good memories if they live long enough to think back on it.

Saturday October 31, 2009, 8:45 pm
To be honest I didn't realize that cotton was still being harvested this way, by children, and I'm ashamed to admit this. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, as child labor is still rampant in just about every other industry. Personally, I don't care for cotton for most things. It takes a lot more to wash and dry it, and it tends to become odiferous if not dried quickly and properly. When you sweat and dry, sweat and dry when wearing cotton two things happen. One is that the item you are wearing can become quite "game", making you smell game, and two, cotton when wet can become restrictive in movements.

In case anyone missed the Seinfeld episode about the NY Yankees converting over to cotton uniforms, and the inherent problems with the players running etc., it was based on fact. They went back to polyester or whatever they were wearing and all was well with the team again. Like most of Seinfeld's comedy there was usually some basis in every day living.

In defense of Debra, I think I got the gist of what she was getting at. If you have a tough life in your youth, it's not always a bad thing, (I'm not talking about the child slave labor of the article now) to have to work hard for things.

I spent a year in the Catskills, when I was 7, in a home with no heat, hot water or indoor plumbing, we had the proverbial back house. Yes I did have to walk a mile in the snow to school, and it was a four room school house. Four school rooms, one of which was a tiny library, even the old school bell in the top of the school tower.

We had a pump in the kitchen sink that could only be used in winter with a bucket of hot water to prime the pump and melt the hardend water. We had pot belly stoves and a wood burning stove, (we couldn't afford the coal that other people had.

Now I tell you all this, because I can always look back on that experience, and realize how far I've come. BTW, no I'm not in my 90's or anything, I had a mother who wouldn't ask for help, and I learned to deal with life at an early age. My mother even wrote of our year in the country, and she called it "Three In A Bed", as we all, mother brother and I slept in one bed because in the winter the pot belly stove only kept one room somewhat warm.

Well now that I have written my mini autobiography, I'll give your poor eyes a rest.

Lync

Sunday November 1, 2009, 2:17 am
Children should be in school... education is more important than cotton picking.. this could be a weekend job... but in today's world education is tops

Sunday November 1, 2009, 8:10 am
I think THAT IF THEY ARE NOT BEING A BUSED THEIR IS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT I WORK WHEN I WAS 12 YEAR -OLD CLEANING FOR A WOMAN IN HER HOUSE .AND STILL WENT TO SCHOOL;

Sunday November 1, 2009, 8:41 am
Exactly what does organic vs non-organic cotton have to do with child labour ? All this manual labour sounds pretty organic to me - perhaps this child labour is the cost of organic rather than non-organic cotton.