Tomato Justice (6) - Tomato Growers

The tomato grower has several options for the use of his land. He has chosen to grow tomatoes because that is the most profitable crop. Choosing the most profitable activity is not a sin for an entrepreneur. This is also something we do all the time. We choose to work for the employer, who will pay the most for our skills. In general, using land for the most profitable activity is a good practice, because it results in the most efficient use of a limited resource.

The tomato grower could raise the wage rate paid to the tomato pickers. However, there is a limit to what he can do. If he raises the wage rate too high, growing tomatoes might cease to be profitable. He might lose his contract with McDonalds and be unable to sell his tomatoes. If this happened, he would need to switch to a different crop, in which case the tomato pickers would not longer be required. So a small increase in the wages of tomato pickers might help them, but a large increase could have the unintended consequence of making their labour unnecessary.

The supplier contracted to MacDonald pays the pickers piece rates. This is not sinful, if the workers agree to this type of payment. Many people prefer this type of payment because they get rewarded for their extra effort.

The tomato grower is not required to be generous. Christians are required to be generous. We would like non-Christians to follow our example and be generous too, but we cannot force others to be generous. Forcing people to be generous is not God’s way. Justice is not achieved by forcing people to be generous.