One element of the current food system that I would like us to spend some time exploring are the lives and labor conditions of the workers who harvest the food we eat. While I’m sure Mariah will guide our conversation towards the context of Kalamazoo during week 6, I wanted to kickstart the discussion and begin by looking at the state of migrant farmworker justice on a national scale. My interest in this facet of our food system stems from both my studies in sociology as well as personal experiences working with migrant farm workers in my hometown in Illinois.
While machinery has replaced a significant amount of human labor in the agricultural sector during the 20th century, certain crops, such as tomatoes and berries, still rely on human hands to harvest. In this respect, our current food system maintains a very human element that is likely to remain unmechanized. Farmworker justice is an issue where race, class, and immigration status converge in interesting ways. In the United States, the majority of farmworkers (an estimated 70%-80% according to the Agricultural Worker Protection Act or AWPA), who harvest crops on large scale farms are seasonal workers who have immigrated to the United States from Mexico and Central America, and at least half of the individuals in this group are undocumented workers (see page 4 of the AWPA report). To get a sense of the of farmworker demographics in the U.S., check out the graphs and statistics published by the USDA in 2015: http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-labor/background.aspx (pay particular attention to the graphs in the second half of the article). These reports also provide comprehensive outlines of the state of migrant farm work in the United States:
AWPA Assessment Report
Oxfam Report and Recommendations
AWPA Assessment Report
Oxfam Report and Recommendations
Like many undocumented workers in the United States, farm workers are frequently subjected to various forms of abuse on the job including child labor violations, detrimental health hazards, wage and working hours violations, and work safety hazards from equipment, heat exposure, or pesticide use. The documentation status of migrant farm workers exacerbates the frequency and severity of abuse that occurs as these workers are often unable to seek legal assistance when violations on the job occur or speak out against supervisors who have the power to terminate their employment if complaints are brought against them. Language barriers also influence the power dynamics of these situations as English is often not the first language of many migrant farm workers, leading to many being taken advantage of due to communication difficulties. This article, (NPR Article) which details the sexual abuse that occurred on a Salinas, California farm, demonstrates how gender also plays a significant role in this issue and connects to Isabelle’s post about gender dynamics, power, and farm work.
There are currently a significant number of organizations working to combat the abuses of farm workers, such as Farmworker Legal Services here in Kalamazoo http://www.farmworkerlaw.org/ which our guest speaker Mariah will talk to us about next week. Other national and local organizations include faith based groups, 501(c)(3) NGO’s, and legal service providers (often pro bono). On the legislative level, the Agricultural Worker Protection Act (AWPA) has contributed to significant progress in the area of farm worker justice, but there are still violations that frequently occur. See a summary of the aftermath of the act in the link below. https://www.farmworkerjustice.org/sites/default/files/FarmworkerJusticeUnfinishedHarvest.pdf.
As this is a solutions based class, I want us to look at these issues in light of what might be done to improve them. In the comments section, feel free to respond to any or all of the following questions or ask a few of your own.
- How does the current political/legal climate surrounding immigration influence the state of farmworker justice in the U.S.? How does U.S. immigration policy directly influence the working conditions of migrant farmworkers?
- Who/what forces enable abuses of farmworkers to continue? At what level should interventions take place? (Federal/legislative, state, or individual farms, etc) How should individual farms be held accountable for the abuses that occur? What would justice look like in these situations?
- How might we use our various skills, knowledges, and interests to contribute to solutions to the aforementioned issues of farmworker justice (healthcare, labor, legal, environmental, etc)? *When answering this question, keep in mind the agency of farmworkers themselves and be mindful of how certain solutions might portray individuals/families as passive victims rather than active participants who are capable of shaping their lives and well-beings. Feel free to pull from past experiences and/or future goals when answering this question.
I’ve included a few other articles I came across in my research that folks might find interesting. Feel free to comment on anything you read in your response.
I think what allows the abuse of farmworkers to continue relates to what the NPR story stated: people in power taking advantage of that power. It is a vicious cycle. The more people in power abuse the more power and wealth they gain, the easier it is to abuse power. As Abby and the article mentioned, various factors like language barriers and dependence on these companies to feed the farm workers' families put them in a position where they are at the hands of the employer. It is horrifying to hear how greedy people can be that they are willing to abuse their fellow human beings in order to increase their own wealth.
ReplyDeleteI think solutions we can consider is to support organizations like the ones Abby mentioned, such as the Farmworker Legal Services here in Kalamazoo. As the article Amy shared this week about strawberries suggested, we could choose what we consume to be from reputable farms that do not abuse their workers. There is a lot that needs to be done with our government and larger structures but there are things we as individuals can do as well, something as simple as buying strawberries from farms like Amy and John's rather than Driscoll.
I agree with what Emma said. I think we as consumers can make an impact on how farm workers are treated through being aware of the practices of the companies we buy our fruit from. The way we spend our money sends a message and it is something to which companies pay attention. Spreading awareness of the treatment of farm workings and putting faces to the people who pick our food could be a strategy to engage a wider group of people in this issue.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I liked your question on how the current political/legal climate surrounding immigration is influencing the state of farmworker justice in the U.S. The words of Donald Trump and his beliefs about building a wall, etc are incredibly dangerous and inflammatory. His discussion of immigrants as animals/pests etc promotes a dehumanizing dialogue about immigrants in this country and thus the people who pick our food. The rhetoric of the republican party during this election cycle is hurting the cause for the farmworkers because it erases their humanness, their pain and instead depicts them as like the pests they remove from our food. Also the idea of immigrants being lazy erases the laborus work many immigrant farm workers put out everyday. By depicting immigrants as lazy pests those that profit from the exploitation of immigrants and from our food system are able to hide the ways they are violating human life.
I also think the use of farm worker rights in the campaigns of the left in the United States is also interesting. One instance I can particularly think of is Bernie Sanders campaign video highlighting the plight of migrant workers in Florida. It is a powerful video that discusses the work Sanders has done to try to improve the life of immigrant farm workers. The video is mostly in Spanish and is directed at Latino/a voters. Bernie has struggled this election to gain votes from both the Latino and Black populations. The video was not doubt trying to cater to that demographic, but I think it also worked to bring attention to the issue of farm worker exploitation and work against the negative stereotypes about immigrants. I do wonder though about politicians relationships with social justice issues such as farm worker rights. How effective can they be in regards to helping this issue? Is the legal system a smart or viable way to address this issue? How could it lead to good or to farm worker justice movements being co-opted by those in political power?
Abby’s comment about farm worker justice being a convergence of many deeply problematic and systemic issues (of race, socio-economics, gender, legal status etc.) seems incredibly true. This complicated tangle of problems and power-relations is the root—slow farming pun intended—of farm worker injustice’s persistence. As we’ve seen in our discussions of food systems more generally, conversations about a specific issue ultimately open an infinite number of doors to other conversations; complexity and intersectionality never end. And this makes solutions to those issues (farm worker justice included) both daunting and challenging.
ReplyDeleteBut, perhaps we can reframe that nihilistic assertion. If issues like farm worker justice touch all of us in some way, then we may all have the capacity (and therefore responsibility?) to address some aspect of it; a complex and diverse assortment of knowledges/skills/experiences might be what makes this issue so challenging and it might be the potential solution to this problem. The Farmworker Justice report made clear that a combination of strategies (legislation and legal advocacy) has marginally improved farm worker welfare as they have approached the issue from different angles (economic, political, legal, etc.). But, the report also recognized that many more gaps exist in ensuring justice. And these “gaps” (where people might have the room/power/interest to act) are multiple and diverse. Another article Abby shared spoke of interfaith/faith-based advocacy for farm worker justice. But this model of “everyone has a stake” also raises questions for me. If we segregate peoples’ interests/skills/knowledges/experiences can we still set/achieve a collective goal of justice? And if we ask each individual to remain firmly in her/his/their comfort zone are we able to truly incite change? Or does change require uncomfortability? I think truly radical change might.
I think this issue is one that is connected to so many important and difficult issues in this country that it is very hard to think of one solution without over completely changing the systems. I agree with what has been said about power and how those in power have a significant advantage, especially over undocumented workers. I think the culture of reporting sexual assault becomes near non-existent when there is a threat to job security, especially when the workers are depending on these jobs. I’m not sure how to address this other that having an appointed position that helps those being assaulted within there company. I think if this position existed (sort of like a Title IX coordinator) then this person could be in the environment making sure that when sexual assault happens it isn’t ignored because of lack of power.
ReplyDeleteAside from this is I think that as consumers we need to be aware of what is going on in the food industry. This topic is one that so often gets pushed under the rug, or is simply ignored/unknown, that its not dealt with as a problem.
The abuses of farm workers are the result of many complicated forces, certainly some are legal, political, and racially derived. I feel that these abuses are able to persist as a result of issues stemming from large corporate agriculture and a nationwide disconnect with food. The industry of agriculture is perfectly suited to benefit from the suffering of migrant farm workers in conjunction with the current climate surrounding immigration. The abusive machine is content to continue chugging along because those who suffer at its hands are robbed of any voice to cry out in protest. An educational and language barrier serves as hurdle for many workers, this compounded with the ease with which unskilled laborers can be replaced makes for a situation where even those with a voice cannot speak up for fear of losing their job. This is compounded by the fact that we as consumers are able to take the literal fruits of their labor without ever seeing a single migrant farmworker, and we are all too content to do so. I think that a large degree of the suffering of migrant farm workers is a direct result of the current agriculture industry and the culture of disrespect surrounding food in the United States. Unfortunately, as with many problems that we discuss in class, there is no easy solution, however few problems are solved with inaction. We need legislation to help secure the rights of workers, we need activists protesting for those without a voice, we need education to help inform the public of these abuses, and etc.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that the topic of farmworkers has been incorporated into this week because it has rarely been mentioned in class. While I cannot think of one perfect direction or solution, in my opinion one of the biggest obstacles is legal accountability. I do not have a lot of knowledge on this topic but have started to work with Mariah and other students for a service learning project at Farmworker legal services this quarter.
ReplyDeleteWhen farm workers are hired they often aren’t given information on their rights as farmworkers in this country or if they are, they are presented in English.
Mariah and her team were able to take a few students including myself on an outreach trip to Holland last week. During this trip we were assisting farmworkers to sign up as clients for FLS Kalamazoo and handing out materials that explained their rights. During this trip I realized that some workers did not want to put in formal complaints because of fear of being fired. Unfortunately, farmworkers who reach out to legal services or are approached by legal services are at times fired very quickly (even though this is illegal). If they are here on an H2A work (visiting) visa then they have only a small amount of time before they need to leave the country legally. This is a reason for why many are unable to file cases or take the necessary steps to make sure they are receiving proper benefits and living in proper conditions. Farm owners or the employers of farmworkers need to start being held accountable. I know that’s easy to say but if there was a way for them to be forced to give proper information and to legally follow these laws (like not firing their employees if they seek legal help, and supplying workers with proper living conditions) then we can hold them accountable. This is why organizations like Farmworker Legal Services in Kalamazoo are so important, lawyers at this organizations are currently working with clients from all over Michigan to make sure that employers are being held accountable.
I find it so interesting that in what we label a "solution-oriented class," we seem to each end our sections in question marks. What an indication of the brokenness we see in the large-scale agriculture system.
ReplyDeleteThis discussion will forever make me think back to reading The Grapes of Wrath for the first time and grasping that the plight of the migrant worker is no new phenomenon, but rather a cycle that has existed throughout history and various shifts in power. Today, with the scale of agriculture moved to such an extreme and pushed to the hands of only the "owners" it seems perverse yet sequential that conditions should continue to degrade.
As Amy mentioned in her strawberries post, we assign values to things when we choose what to consume. In a society such as our own, I feel that it is impossible to escape political action in what we choose to buy into and what we pass up. True, we are such a small cog in the machine, but a penny per pound is a small increase and amounts to a huge change in the life of a migrant worker. Can we not adapt our habits in the reverse, unlearning that we are to have all things at our fingertips at all times no matter the sacrifice in flavor, nutrient content, environmental impact, or human health and learn to be grateful for a more tempered harvest? Can we not enjoy strawberries in June at their rosiest peak and come July turn ourselves on to raspberries? It amazes me still that we have become so engulfed in taming the earth and using her up that we have been willing to lose out on so many other levels in doing so. Looking at the AFWA statutes on payment and class action caps, it is so depressing that there is a legal context for bartering over the value of human life. I see increasing this as one possible solution; $10,000 is simply too cheap, regardless of the level of pay or absent "net worth." Ultimately though I think that the cost must be absorbed by the public; not just in paying more for organics bu tin demonstrating a preference for human wellbeing over strawberry shortcake in January. As Steinbeck put it, "the quality of owning freezes you forever into "I", and cuts you off forever from the "we". ” What if we could persuade everyone to consider themselves a stakeholder in the public equity side of the bargain, and demand regulations that hold the discount on wellbeing?
I've learned a bit about some of these issues before- the many injustices farmworkers face in the fields as well as in the spaces of U.S. politics and the legal system (and these are of course not clearly differentiated/distinct spaces, but are overlapping)- but it still astounds me to read about just how bad the injustices are. The last article, from PBS, that Abby linked us to describes how "farmworkers haven’t seen a real wage increase in upwards of three decades," and that for farmworkers working for large industrial Florida tomato growers, "to make a day’s minimum wage, each worker has to pick two-and-a-half-tons of tomatoes a day." Not to mention high rates of sexual assault and abuse, and even slavery.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of a solutions-based approach, the organization that this article discusses, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is an amazing one. Founded by farmworkers in the Florida tomato fields of Immokalee, the CIW has led a range of campaigns, ranging in focus from fair food (in general) to specifically combatting modern-day slavery in the fields. Their organizing work has a wide reach too- I heard about the CIW on a weekend-long organizing retreat with another great org, the Real Food Challenge, which works mostly with college students to push their/our institutions to purchase more just/fair, local, and sustainable food. RFC and the CIW are not affiliated to my knowledge, but college students nationwide have supported the CIW's campaigns to put pressure on powerful tomato purchasing companies (esp fast food places) such as Taco Bell, Burger King, McDonald's, and Wendy's, to commit to more effective oversight of working conditions and to more fair food. I think the involvement of non-farmworkers in supporting this (I think still primarily?) farmworker-led organization is pretty rad. I'm not super up to date on the CIW's current campaigns, but that could be a direction to go in for folks who are interested in community-based (and so far very effective) political organizing. Also, CIW is in the spotlight right now and has been for a few years- they're kind of a celebrity in the world of food justice- and I wonder what other organizations are out there doing similar work.
This is an interesting topic to explore through this lens. The current legal climate seems to be lashing out at immigrants in general as people are fearful of other cultures. This can cause problems for immigrants finding work other than physical labor can be difficult so they may end up on farms where they could be abused for many reasons. Individual farms and all workplaces for that matter have the obligations to the humans that they employ to treat them as humans. Plain and simple humans deserve nothing less than to be treated fairly, employers have no defendible excuses to treat people any different based on anything such as but not limited to: gender, sex, nationality, race, ect. Large scale change does not happen in society starting with the big picture, change comes from people and individuals. As to what we can do? We need to take action if we wish to see change. Use our voices to start conversations where they are needed and use our education to help those who are less fortunate. This has gotten off topic f farming a bit but I feel this conversation is about more than just farming. As someone who is staring a farm and seeing my future industry evolve I plan on being on the forefront of farmers rights.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting topic to explore through this lens. The current legal climate seems to be lashing out at immigrants in general as people are fearful of other cultures. This can cause problems for immigrants finding work other than physical labor can be difficult so they may end up on farms where they could be abused for many reasons. Individual farms and all workplaces for that matter have the obligations to the humans that they employ to treat them as humans. Plain and simple humans deserve nothing less than to be treated fairly, employers have no defendible excuses to treat people any different based on anything such as but not limited to: gender, sex, nationality, race, ect. Large scale change does not happen in society starting with the big picture, change comes from people and individuals. As to what we can do? We need to take action if we wish to see change. Use our voices to start conversations where they are needed and use our education to help those who are less fortunate. This has gotten off topic f farming a bit but I feel this conversation is about more than just farming. As someone who is staring a farm and seeing my future industry evolve I plan on being on the forefront of farmers rights.
ReplyDeleteSince I read from Robin Wall Kimmerer's chapter titled "The Honorable Harvest" during the farm class today, that phrase comes to mind as I'm reading through these articles, which clearly delineate the dishonor inherent in our current food system. I'm sure there are solutions that could be pursued through legislation and some of those are laid out in the articles. While I DO think that we need to take collective action to stop farmworker abuses as quickly as possible, I also think that this issue shares a root with many other social injustices and that without a deeper change, policies are likely to be circumvented or to simply not go far enough to effect real change.
ReplyDeleteOur economic system is built on exploitation--of the earth and of its creatures, including humans. The conundrum for me is how do I as one individual living within this system, "restore honor to the way [I] live," as Kimmerer puts it. The only way I know how to approach this issue personally is to take a hard look at my own participation in the dishonorable harvest. I have to ask myself to think twice before I purchase something (food or other material goods) that has created suffering on its path to me. I have to ask myself if owning or enjoying that thing is worth more to me than the well-being of others. And I have to listen honestly to my own answers. If the answer is no, that I can do without that food or that thing, then I have to have the courage to do without. If the answer is yes, that I need or want that food or thing enough that I am willing to be complicit in the dishonorable harvest, then I have to own up to the responsibility that comes with that, the responsibility to use my life to change the dishonorable system.
I fail at this all the time, but I'm trying!
In my Music of World Cultures class, we have been discussing the migration of various peoples and the effect migration has on cultural sharing and exchange. This site http://peoplemov.in/ (although perhaps slightly out of date) helps to visualize the mass movement of people around the world. According to this source, and in agreeance with what you have presented, the United States is the top migrant destination, and Mexico is the country highest in emigration. While the interactive graphic does not address the push-pull factors of either country, I can only hypothesize much of the exodus has to do with America's insatiable hunger (pun intended, but very solemnly) for cheap and bottomless sources of food, and therefore labor. Certainly, the pervasive (exclusive, and outdated) idea of The American Dream paired with some semblance of temporary financial gain are the forces at play providing Big Farm with its stable workforce, but the problem is much bigger, of course. The “solution” is more like tens of thousands of smaller solutions. Most importantly, as is the case with any mass change, people must come together with a unified determination to make things right, but that cannot and will not happen without education; even something like signage around produce or labels on packaging indicating where in the world certain foods have come from and who got them where they are would be a huge step in the right direction. Pressure – by way of persistent calling, writing, protesting, or otherwise – upon local government and/or grocery chains would be one way an individual could enact change.
ReplyDeleteAn honest day’s wages for an honest day’s work. Sounds simple enough, yet our capitalist system not only robs migrant farm workers from a fair salary, but of their humanity as well. It honestly breaks my heart to see my people being exploited and treated so inhumanely. Yet, it is a blessing and a curse to be the color of the soil, though our tierra colored shades and complexions should not be the definitive marker of the only jobs we can get; our brown skin is not a resume to work the fields. Unfortunately though, when I’m back home, that’s all I see. Whether it’s in the factories or the farmlands of Los Angeles, I see parents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters all just trying to survive in a system pitted against them. It’s ridiculously ironic and disturbing that migrant farm workers and their families struggle to eat well when they are constantly surrounded by miles and miles of fresh produce. Thankfully there is hope. Migrant workers have come together to form programs like the Fair Food program, where they asked the big supermarkets and fast food restaurants to pay just a penny more per pound of tomato in Florida with amazing results. Check out the documentary, Food Chains if you want to found out more!
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, I’ve never thought about the plight of farmworkers until this class—but it’s a fascinating and terrible manifestation of the United State’s current immigration crisis. If we do not respect all people living in this country as human beings, people will continue to be mistreated and abused. Without a voice, this disrespect will only be magnified. Though I have my own problems with living in the United States, I’m thankful to have born a citizen—as opposed to coming here after I was born. I know I’ll never be able to imagine a situation in which it will be worth it for me to live in the conditions that migrant workers do. I very much respect their dedication to providing for themselves and their families.
ReplyDeleteI hope that continuing to shed light on the awful conditions to which workers are subjected will help to enact change in their lives. Hearing stories of abuse directly from the victims is a powerful tool. This is a very important lens with which we can attack the greater mistreatment of immigrants in the United States. If we’re going to accuse a group of people of ‘taking our jobs’, shouldn’t we make sure that we’d work the jobs in the first place? If that helps people realize the work should be safer, I hope it creates change.
Based on the contents of the film, Food inc., I believe that there are many illegal immigrant farm workers in the United States, especially in the south. The rights of these workers may be easily abused, as they cannot speak out the maltreatments happening in the farming industry, due to their status in the United States. Not only illegal immigrants, but both illegal and legal immigrant farm workers might be facing language barriers that prevent them from asking for help. Based on my family’s experience (we are immigrants from Japan), most people are not generous towards non-native English speakers.
ReplyDelete