Farm-Labor-to-Table: A Conversation on Agricultural Labor and Our Food System

From our organizers:

Who are the people growing our food? What are their experiences? And how, as informed eaters, can we make food choices that lead to fair wages and better working conditions?

In conversations about building a sustainable food system, labor is often ignored or overshadowed by other issues like environmental impact. This is troubling when the workers that plant, grow, and harvest the food Americans eat often work long hours for low wages and are faced with dangerous working conditions, including exposure to chemicals and high rates of sexual harassment. Farmworkers are not eligible for many of the benefits guaranteed to workers in other industries, like a day of rest and the right to organize, and many also face challenges related to their immigration status.

Join our diverse panel as they discuss different issues surrounding agricultural labor, including current conditions for workers in distinct kinds of agricultural settings, how groups of workers have organized for higher wages and better conditions and are building on that activism, and how farmers operating small farms are paid for their own labor while also managing the challenge of affording workers.