los angeles – the timing has been terrible for california farmworkers in 2020: wilting heat waves, wildfires spewing acrid smoke across the state and the persistent threat of covid-19. this triple threat looms large over the lucrative fall harvest of grapes and almonds, which for some seasonal laborers is the busiest time of year, until november.

kent e. pinkerton, a leading expert in farmworker health, has been worried about such a threat for a decade. the pandemic, which is expected to linger in california for months, could be an invisible killer in the fields.

“it is extremely difficult for those workers to be able to social distance themselves, and so i think it is incredibly important that the workers and those who are supervising the workers take into account some of the things that they can do to protect the workers from potentially becoming infected with coronavirus,” said pinkerton, who is the director of center for health and the environment and a professor at university of california, davis.

farmworkers say they’re vulnerable to the health effects of the novel coronavirus and wildfires, and have little means to seek treatment because many lack health insurance.

“unfortunately, we don’t have insurance, and that is one of the consequences we face as farmworkers. that is why we have to be prepared,” said veronica mota, a farmworker for 20 years and an organizer with united farm workers.

mota spoke about her children, calling them her motivation and inspiration. her daughter, who is in college and voting for the first time, is mota’s reminder to focus on herself.

“during high school, she was really into cross country, and she motivated me to have a will to live,” mota said. “when you live and work in this country, you get stressed and can stop taking care of yourself in a way. but when you look at your daughter and see that she runs and crosses a whole community, you say, ‘wow, if she can do this, so can i.’”

mota has worked in california, oregon and washington, all three affected by wildfires, and has experience picking all types of fruits and vegetables. the challenges of 2020 have created exceptional frustration and fear, she said.

“we feel abandoned and like we have no support. we work honorably, and if it weren’t for the work that we do, there wouldn’t be food on the tables,” mota said.

heat stress and exhaustion are detrimental and life-threatening side effects of hot weather – and often unavoidable. poor air quality harms everyone’s health, and farm work is time sensitive: waiting for skies to clear of smoke could mean a crop rots in the fields. but that type of exposure also can harm lungs and hearts, pinkerton said.

the coronavirus makes battling these threats even harder because keeping a safe distance while harvesting is nearly impossible.

“as advocates and an organization made up of farmworkers and their families,” said irene de barraicua of lideres campesinas, a nonprofit that advocates for the rights of female farmworkers, “we know that they live in very crowded housing, we know that they carpool to work and we know that employers are maybe at times going to do anything they can to make it safer and enforce social distancing and maybe give masks … what they don’t seem to take responsibility for is that once their workers are leaving the workplace they see them gathering in groups or getting in cars together.”

testing positive for coronavirus strips undocumented workers of their income, particularly when they are forced to quarantine with family. without the stimulus check or california coronavirus aid to undocumented immigrants, which was first come, first served, many undocumented workers are left with little assurance. often, for fear of losing work, many workers whose crew may have a small positivity outbreak move to the next farm, de barraicua said.

from 2015 through 2016, 51% of all farmworkers had work authorization, according to the u.s. department of labor. of those 51%, 29% were u.s. citizens, 21% percent were legal permanent residents and 1% had work authorization through some other visa program.

california grew more than a third of the vegetables and two-thirds of fruits and nuts in the country during the 2019 crop year, according to the california department of food and agriculture. the state accounts for more than 13% of the nation’s total agricultural value and is the leading state for cash farm receipts, according to the department.

in many parts of california, it is peak harvest season for the state’s leading crops. from the end of august through november, wine grapes, almonds and other mid-to-late season fruits are ready to harvest. in 2019, california’s top producing commodities were $6.09 billion in almonds and $5.41 billion in grapes, according to the california department of food and agriculture.

although big cities report bigger covid-19 numbers, 98% of american rural counties have reported positive cases and 75% have reported one or more deaths as of sept. 21, according to the national center for farmworker health. in nonmetropolitan areas, there have been 812,853 cases and 18,371 deaths reported as of sept. 22, according to data obtained from johns hopkins university.

fruits, nuts and vegetables are only part of california’s farming industry. one of the most significant coronavirus outbreaks among agricultural workers started on june 29 in livingston, where at least 392 employees tested positive and at least eight died due to the outbreak at the foster farms plant, according to the merced sun-star. due to more than 700 meatpacking and food processing plants experiencing outbreaks in the u.s., beef and pork production have declined by 40% during the summer of 2020, according to the national center for farmworker health.

in arizona, where the yuma area is a major producer of lettuce, the exact number of cases among farmworkers in yuma county is not reported, but “143 positive covid-19 cases in the county have occurred in or near farm labor camps,” according to the national center for farmworker health. overall, yuma county has reported 12,664 cases and 345 deaths as of friday, making it one of the top three counties in arizona for cases. one known outbreak happened on hickman’s family egg farm, in buckeye where five female prison inmates tested positive in june.

the pressure on these workers at the national level is tremendous, with demand for farm labor exceeding the actual number of farm laborers, said elizabeth strater, the director of alternative and digital organizing at united farm workers.

“given the context of the labor shortage, this time of year in california, especially when you are talking about high sensitivity or high investment crops like wine grapes, there is a tremendous amount of pressure on everybody’s part to get those crops in, regardless of what the air quality is like,” strater said.

many undocumented workers are afraid to be deemed essential workers, especially in counties hit hard by the coronavirus and wildfires. de barraicua said many of the undocumented workers she speaks with were scared to work for fear of having to show a police officer an essential worker letter from their employer.

lideres campesinas listed education surrounding the virus as one of the organization’s main concerns in its letter to the governor in april. this concern now extends to education about fires, heatwaves and smoke exposure. language and cultural differences often are barriers to health information, which is concerning because undocumented farmworkers typically are more vulnerable to poor health resulting from lack of access to care, de barraicua said.

mota, as someone who advocates for the rights of farmworkers and organizes events to spread awareness, said united farm workers has done everything possible to distribute the appropriate protective equipment and educate laborers on the best ways to stay safe.

the high levels of wildfire smoke along the west coast typically contain carbon based particles, and toxic materials or irritants might be in the smoke from the destruction of buildings and dwellings. pinkerton said all smoke can be “an irritant and potentially injurious to the lung.” eye and throat irritation, coughing and sneezing are symptoms related to particulate matter exposure.

properly fitted n95 masks offer the highest degree of protection against inhalation of the particles, pinkerton said. the maximum recommended use of n95 masks is eight to 12 hours, and they should not be worn for multiple work shifts, according to the centers for disease control and prevention.

labored breathing is a side effect of those wearing properly fitted n95 masks, and as the mask clogs with particles over time, it may become even more difficult to breathe, pinkerton said. he and other experts recommend work to be reduced to shorter time periods, and that it’s done in a nonstrenuous way.

mota said many farmworkers are not offered the proper equipment to do their jobs safely.

“because i work under a union job, it’s the union that brings those resources to the farmworkers, like me, to help us be protected in the work conditions we are in.”

the reuse of masks presents a significant risk of contact transmission from touching the surface of the contaminated respirator and can add additional discomfort to the worker when worn for too long, the cdc said.

the california department of food and agriculture directs farmworkers unable to obtain personal protective equipment to contact their county office of emergency services branch to provide information on lack of supplies.

mota, who has appeared in a campaign advertisement and has had a couple of encounters with california sen. kamala harris, who’s now the democratic vice presidential candidate, said farmworkers have received a lot of support from her.

“she focuses on the well-being of the farmworkers,” mota said.

mota also praised current california gov. gavin newsom’s state relief program to provide $500 to undocumented workers who were not eligible for federal stimulus funds.

strater said that united farm workers and harris emphasize that there is “no worker justice without climate justice.” the impacts of climate change may alter the path of agriculture’s future, including the lives of workers, even though weather has always been a concern.

with climate change there will be differences in agriculture, and among those different outcomes, a shift in the social population of workers may be one of the most intriguing. pinkerton explored the idea that workers might question their future in agricultural work.

“it could be a need to change the type of crop that is being grown, just simply because the weather is different than it has been in the past. there may be concerns about water use through droughts or desertification of lands that also creates some issues with agriculture,”  pinkerton said.

“i think also what we may see is a shift in the social population. the workers … where do they go? where do they find work?”

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this story originally was posted at cronkite news, and features additional reporting. for more stories, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.

at the feb. 13 planet forward salon on tackling the food waste and loss problem, experts chip bowling, meghan chapple, and vimlendra sharan joined host frank sesno to lead the discussion on the topic. this event brought students, professionals, and policy leaders in the field together as the conversation covered how to combat food waste and loss here in the u.s. and abroad — and the challenges and potential solutions for each.

1. food waste is personal.

everyone has wasted food, or has seen it happen. the way we grow, sell, and consume food must fundamentally change if we are to sustain our growing population and reduce the carbon footprint of food waste. a cultural shift must occur in order for this to happen. in developed countries, we waste as much food as sub-saharan africa produces in a year.

food waste is one of united nation’s sustainable development goals. partnered with the world resources institute, the u.n. aims to halve total food waste by 2030, and to do so the problem must be tackled at both production and consumption levels.

2. food loss is different from food waste.

according to un-fao director vimlendra sharan, 35% of food is lost between delivery and retail sale. produce is easily damaged en route to supermarkets, and retailers will reject food for aesthetic reasons, such as bumps on vegetables or a slight discoloration of fruits. the top three food groups in terms of share of total value of food loss are meat, poultry, and fish, followed by vegetables and dairy products.

startups like local cowboy help match food delivery services with charities and food banks in the area. on a policy level, incentives like the good samaritan food donation act encourage retails to donate food with liability protections. currently, there are no financial penalties in the u.s. for wasting food.

3. 28% of all variable land contributes to total food waste.

it’s not just the food we are wasting—it’s the water used to cultivate crops, the energy used to harvest it, and the fuel consumed to transport our food. about 1.4 billion hectares of land (about 3.5 billion acres – the equivalent of about 1.7 brazils in land mass) is used annually to produce food that is lost or wasted.

farmers like chip bowling, a third-generation farmer from newburg, md., and chairman of the u.s. farmers and ranchers alliance, know they must heed the call for more sustainable harvesting practices. “we’re becoming more transparent about how we grow and cultivate our food,” he said on the panel. “while people like farmers, they may not like how we farm.”

4. students are leading innovators of food waste solutions.

college students are on the forefront of implementing sustainable changes in their communities. last call, for example, is an organization founded by two innovators from gw: alumna erin mcgeoy and senior chloe king. last call shares end-of-the-day restaurant deals with members of the community. food that otherwise may be thrown away is sold to subscribers at a discounted rate, anywhere from 50% to 70% off, benefiting both the vendor and the consumer.

5. how we communicate the story of food waste is key.

“people aren’t thinking about how they are connected to the planet,” said meghan chapple, director of gw’s office of sustainability. food is an afterthought in urban metropolises since city dwellers are so far removed from the production of the food they eat. many colleges like gw have opened community gardens and kickstarted on-campus compost programs to bring students closer to their food.

the panel agreed: guilt and shame aren’t effective when it comes to changing behavior. telling a story on food insecurity or sharing a personal anecdote is a compelling way to convey the real challenges of food waste. all across the supply chain, we must work together to curb food waste and better appreciate what we consume.

***

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it is estimated that there are 3 million migrant farmworkers in the united states, accounting for 42 percent of all farmworkers. dependent as they are on the farms that employ them, many farmworkers face poor working conditions, starvation wages, and sexual abuse. some cases of farmworker abuse have even earned the title “modern day slavery” due to conditions such as forced labor, physical abuse, confinement, and debt bondage.

even without such extreme cases, farmworkers still encounter abhorrent conditions as the most disenfranchised cogs in a severely dysfunctional system. the average total family income for farmworkers ranges from $17,500 to $19,999, far below the u.s. poverty line, and many do not have access to social services due to their undocumented status.

and because barriers of language, power, and privilege keep them from the decision-making table on agricultural, environmental, and labor issues, they face these hardships silently and without the backing of the green community or the people who benefit from their work.

enter the fair food program, a partnership started in florida by the coalition of immokalee workers to give farmworkers more agency, more protections, and a louder voice to advocate for what they need. it has partnered with 14 businesses, including mcdonald’s and walmart, and formed legally binding agreements in which buyers commit to paying a fair food premium and suspending purchases from growers who have failed to follow the program’s rules. most of florida’s tomato growers participate in the program, as well as some others along the east coast and some growers of strawberries and peppers.

the fair food program is led by and for farmworkers. the coalition of immokalee workers leads worker-to-worker education sessions and educates workers on their rights in hopes of reducing worker abuse. there is a toll-free bilingual complaint line in operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for workers to report possible violations of the code of conduct. complaints are actively investigated, and all steps of the process are documented in a database. also, the fair foods standards council performs audits of farms in which at least half of the worker population is interviewed.

simply put, the program works. it has been called “one of the great human rights success stories of our day” by the washington post and “‘an international benchmark’ in [the] fight against modern-day slavery” by the united nations. over $25 million has been paid in fair food premiums to finance the distribution of 150,000 “know your rights” materials, the interviews of over 16,000 farmworkers, and the resolution of 1,800 worker complaints.

the proof of a solution, though, is in its replicability. the fair food program works for immokalee workers, but it is yet to be seen if it could work on a national level. or perhaps it is preferable for local communities to grow their own systems of protections organically, rather than being forced to enact new policies from the top down.

to improve the lives of farmworkers, transparency and mobilization of those most affected is key. that means having eyes on the ground monitoring farming practices and ensuring that workers are fairly treated all the time, not just when the government is paying attention. it means allowing farmworkers themselves to lead the conversation and enter spaces that are not always open to them — spaces like the planet forward salon on food and water that occurred in february. farmworkers should be a part of the conversation on agriculture whenever it occurs. we’ve been complicit in their enforced silence for far too long.

rather than treating this illness caused by diet with a pill, the innovative fruit and vegetable prescription program chooses to treat it at its root cause – the diet.

doctors prescribe their patients $1 per day per family member to spend on fruits and vegetables at farmers markets, or rather, farmacies. that’s over $100 per month for a family of four to spend on produce instead of pills.

patients participate in nutrition and exercise classes where they learn how to lead a healthy lifestyle, and are given the means to do so. a prescription for an apple a day keeps the sickness away.

story and video by annabel epstein and aishvarya kavi.

well … it’s funny how things come full circle.

my first year at middlebury college i took a class called adventure writing and digital storytelling. the course was simple — spend a month with an interesting local and tell their story. i wrote a few pages, shot a short (poorly executed) video and spent a lot of time with a wide-eyed, longhaired vermont farmer who loved dog mushing. i was hooked. the class ended, but i continued to tell stories.

fast-forward four years. i embark on the seminal post-college road trip with my roommate, benji. we were planet forward explorers — off to discover innovations in america’s food system in a mom van. in the dead of winter and without a single lead, we tracked down, stumbled upon and connected with people — following their stories as they led us across the country. we met tony in his teaching garden in new orleans, rachel as she tandem biked compost through austin, and the cooksley’s calves in the sand hills of nebraska. the road trip opened my eyes to entire new landscapes and ways of life and inspired me to continue on my quest to be a lifelong storyteller.

multiple food service jobs later, and a whole lot of moonlighting, and i’m finally, finally, working in film full time and producing my first long form documentary. the story? it’s about a dog mushing dairy farmer setting off on a cross-continent road trip.

sound familiar?

this project is a culmination of a lot of things for me, but even more for farmer doug butler. since milking his first cow on the evening of 1966, doug hasn’t left the farm for more than a couple of days. in all that time he’s had the same dream — racing his sled dogs in the world championships in alaska. today, at the age of 65, he’s on the doorstep of that adventure, and i am honored to be tagging along to tell his story. 

i invite you to follow along on www.underdogfilm.org and humbly ask for your financial support in our kickstarter effort to fund the trip to alaska.

as doug says, “you only live this life once, so let’s do something … let’s get ‘er done.”

many developing countries are challenged by poor roads in rural areas and few affordable transport options. without good transportation, access to food, farm inputs, education, and markets is limited. also, many farms have no affordable mechanical power inputs. most work is done by hand, which is inefficient.

the solution: the practical utility platform

the practical utility platform (pup) is a utility vehicle designed to provide transportation in rural areas and power to farms. it can haul up to 2000 pounds on road or off road. the vehicle can power attachments like water pumps for irrigation or grain grinders for food processing. in addition, it can pull small field implements, like tillers and planters. the pup is designed to be locally manufactured and maintained. the cost to build one is less than 2000 usd.

learn more at engineering.purdue.edu/pup/

my dog and i outside of the state capitol which the farmers market surrounds every saturday in the summer. 

i’m worried that i’ll be one of the last to hear that duck voice, and eat that fresh produce – climate change will alter everything. the farmer’s market is one of the defining qualities of madison. it truly brings out the character of the city. there is no better way to spend an early saturday morning in the summer than shuffling around the square from stand to stand. cheese curds, honey sticks and spicy cheese bread: the true staples of a madison farmer’s market diet. but this could all change in the coming decades if we, the city of madison, the state of wisconsin, the usa, the world, but especially us as individuals, don’t change our ways.

human-caused climate change will drastically change the landscape of the us, including madison, and the seemingly endless surrounding farmland that yields the crops we all love at the farmer’s market. according to the national climate assessment, rainfall and storms will increase across the entirety of the midwest leading up to the middle of the century.the nca predicts that this rising irregularity in storms will have a far more substantial effect on crops than that of rising temperatures. crops such as cherries and other fruits are left particularly vulnerable to the heightened storms.

this map shows the increase in frequency of extreme daily precipitation events (a daily amount that now occurs once in 20 years) by the later part of this century (2081-2100) compared to the later part of last century (1981-2000). (nca) 

in 2012, a late season freeze completely decimated michigan’s $60 million tart cherry crop. at $0.59 per pound in 2012, that’s a loss of over 100 million pounds of cherries, enough to make around 50 million pies. replace michigan with door county, famous for their cherries; it could easily have happened there, one of my favorite vacation spots in wisconsin.

climate change is already affecting the agriculture of the midwest, and it is foolish for anyone to say otherwise. but we can change this trend before it becomes too late. we are the generation to make a difference. we don’t want to be the generation walking around the state capitol square in 2050, reminiscing about donald duck at the farmer’s market that used to be, that we had a chance to save, but didn’t.

anna sumi is a sophomore at the george washington university majoring in political communication.

now imagine corrugated steel.  four story high grain silos.  massive combines powered by gps technology.  genetically modified seeds and nitrogen-based fertilizers. this is the landscape of harborview farms, a farm in rockhall, maryland that is not only sustainable but may be the future of farming.

harborview is run by trey hill, a third generation farmer who has taken on the challenges of modern industrial agriculture by working with environmentalists in order to make his farm more sustainable while still increasing yields.  his combines use advanced gps in order to drive themselves across the fields while mapping the yield from each section.  they can lay down fertilizer with less than 1% waste.  during the off months, he plants cover crops to protect the chesapeake bay from fertilizer leaching.  there’s even a 280,000 kw solar array on the farm!

trey doesn’t call this sustainable farming, “rather than sit here and argue about definitions […] why not just say ‘responsible agriculture’ […] which i view as just being more knowledgeable in everything.  i know what i’m doing, i know why i’m doing it and i have a reason for doing it.”  trey’s methods have spread, with harborview managing over 40 farms across the county.  his yields are up, his costs are down, and his crops are grown in a responsible way for the future.

is this is how we feed 9 billion people?

gabe salkin and mel mcintire are seniors at the george washington university majoring in journalism.

if successful, we probably could extend our experiment to different vegetable/fruit farms. perhaps the farmers could even make a little extra cash by generating electricity!