There’s a good chance you’ve thought about where the food you eat comes from, especially if you consume a plant-based, locally sourced diet. The chance that you’ve thought about the people who produce the food you eat, however, is much smaller.
California’s Central Valley produces around 25 percent of the nation’s food supply. If you’re eating fruit or vegetables in the United States, especially in California, it’s more likely than not your food is coming from the Central Valley.
In the wake of ongoing climate change, farmworkers in the Central Valley are suffering and by supporting large industrial farms that encourage poor working conditions, we are funding their exploitation.
Two of the biggest issues for workers in the fields are heat stress and air quality. Farmworkers, who are essentially all low-income and are often undocumented, are more than twenty times more likely than civilian workers to die from heat-stress-related illnesses.
Unlike many who make an hourly rate, most farmworkers are paid at a piece rate: Employers compensate them according to the number of boxes they harvest, rather than the time they spend in the fields. This means many workers fear losing income if they take breaks, which makes them less likely to request medically-necessary rest periods.
To protect themselves from the harsh sunlight and pesticides they are exposed to, many farm workers wear long clothing. This increases their risk of heat stress because protective clothing can increase the ‘feels like’ temperature by up to 27 degree Fahrenheit.
Given the lack of protection for undocumented workers, we can assume that things will only get worse as climate change progresses.
Research indicates that upon a 4 degree Celsius increase in temperatures, the average farmworker will work 62 days per year in what is classified as an “unsafe thermal environment” — a whopping 41-day increase from current estimates.
Another primary issue is the life conditions outside of work. The lack of housing infrastructure means that workers are subject to heat stress outside of the working day, as well.
A study conducted by Emory University and the Farmworkers Association of Florida in 2018 found that of those studied, 53 percent were dehydrated before their working day even began and more than 80 percent had dangerous body temperatures on at least one of the three days studied. Moreover, air conditioning is extremely scarce, which forces workers to live in triple-digit temperatures after long days out in the sun.
Housing costs, which were once covered by employers, have since become the workers’ responsibility — and 97 percent of seasonal workers listed their annual household income as less than $15,000. A survey conducted in the Coachella Valley illustrated that 30 percent of seasonal farmworkers live in situations “not meant for human habitation,” i.e. living outdoors, in cars, etc.
Living conditions for migrant farmworkers have moved beyond uncomfortable to borderline unlivable.
If conditions are already this bad for farmworkers in California, what will happen as temperatures rise and water supply dwindles? Is there anything we, as consumers, can do to intervene?
By continuing to eat the food that comes from farms that subject workers to horrific working and living conditions, we facilitate a market that promotes workplaces with inadequate protections.
Beyond advocating for sweeping climate and labor reform, you can support migrant farm workers through local community-based programs that aid rural communities in their adaptations to current conditions. These include small, ethically sourced farming initiatives.
One example is the Green Raiteros, a program in Huron, a town in the Central Valley, that provides an EV ridesharing service for people in the area. The state-funded program employs drivers at a starting rate of $18 per hour, contrasting with the gig worker model, such as a flat payout per ride without employment benefits, that companies like Uber and Lyft use.
By both reducing carbon emissions and providing sustainable jobs in the community, the Green Raiteros illustrate how efficiently resources could be used if allocated to the communities in California that are most vulnerable to climate change.
Supporting initiatives on campus that address the needs of farmworkers is also incredibly important. Get involved with 5C-wide organizations like the Claremont Colleges United Farmer Workers, or the Claremont Student Worker Alliance to help communities affected by climate change organize for better working conditions.
Moreover, vote in elected representatives that support crucial measures like increases in funding for community-based initiatives, meaningful nationwide climate reform, immigration reform and labor reform.
Cease being complicit — your participation could provide substantial support for a farmworker’s life.
Kate King SC ’27 is from Ventura, California and Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. She loves tea nights, Word Hunt games and getting piercings.
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