SoiferI VtP Annotation: Toxic subsistence agriculture

The visualization indicates a very personal form of economic pursuit: engaging in subsistence agriculture requires a lot of intensive labor. Yet this work renders a toxic product that they then must sell in order to ensure economic prosperity. On the outside the plants do not appear as toxic or dangerous per se, but rather well-tended. But they are inherently toxic, and this shows how misleading toxicity can be as visual cues fail us. Family farmers are often conveyed as being safe to purchase food from, and taking greater care to provide healthy food. Yet even the family farmers are forced to use pesticides, dismantling the stereotype of the safe family farmer, a stereotype in itself which can be misleading and toxic.