The Wrath of Grapes Persuasive Speech
I am speaking to you about our Wrath of Grapes Boycott.
Because I believe our greatest court, the court of last resort, is the American people. And I believe
that once you have taken a few moments to hear this message you will concur in this verdict along
with a million other North Americans who are already committed to the largest grape boycott in
history.
The worth of humans is involved here.
I see us as one family. We cannot turn our backs on each other and our future. We farm workers
are closest to food production. We were the first to recognize the serious health hazards of
agriculture pesticides to both consumers and ourselves.
Twenty years ago over 17 million Americans united in a grape boycott campaign that transformed
the simple act of refusing to buy grapes into a powerful and effective force against poverty and
injustice. Through the combined strengths of a national boycott, California farm workers won many
of the same rights as other workers--the right to organize and negotiate with growers.
But we also won a critical battle for all Americans. Our first contracts banned the use of DDT, DDE,
Dieldrin on crops, years before the federal government acted. Twenty years later, our contracts still
seek to limit the spread of poison in our food and fields, but we need your help once again if we are
to succeed.
Consumers must be alerted now that no one can actually define or measure so called safe
exposure to residual poison that accumulates in the human body as environments differ and each
person's tolerance is unique.
What might be safe statistically for the average healthy 40 year old male, might irreparably harm an
elderly consumer, a child, or the baby of a pregnant mother.
