Berry picking requires a proper price

Berry picking is not a casual hobby but demanding work, and the low pay offered is a significant barrier to participation, according to a reader's opinion piece in Helsingin Sanomat. The writer observes that in the forests near Joensuu, the majority of berry pickers are retirees, along with some Russian-speaking individuals and Ukrainian refugees.

“

Most of the berry harvest is left in the forests because there are no pickers.

Harri Pullola's encouragement for retirees to pick berries is noted, but the author points out that this group, along with immigrants, already constitutes the primary workforce. A substantial portion of the berry harvest is left unpicked in the forests due to a lack of pickers. The writer recalls a time in the 1950s when schoolchildren picked lingonberries during their autumn break for school kitchens, ensuring healthy meals.

"Young people cannot be gotten into the forests for free, nor even foreign pickers, who have been incomprehensibly exploited for years, quite shamelessly," the author states. The piece argues that berry and mushroom picking, which offers healthy exercise and connection to nature, should be compensated properly and tax-free for young people and the unemployed.

“

Young people cannot be gotten into the forests for free, nor even foreign pickers, who have been incomprehensibly exploited for years, quite shamelessly.

The current pay of just a few euros per kilogram or liter of berries is deemed "incomprehensible" given that picking is "full-time work." The writer advocates for making berry and mushroom picking profitable to encourage a broader participation beyond the current demographic, transforming it into a true national movement for healthy, accessible local food.

“

Berry picking is full-time work, and blueberries, lingonberries, and mushrooms keep citizens both active and on a healthy diet.