Farmworkers and Food: The Injustices Migrant Workers Face While Sustaining a Nation

by Sarah Mejia

Food is a staple of everyday life: it is a tool for health, a cultural outlet, and an opportunity for social connection. This intricate relationship means that thinking about where food comes from and specifically who harvests it is an important topic, but one that is generally disregarded. True social consciousness should consider how food practices that enrich the health of one demographic may be detrimental to another. Specifically, the habits of consumers can reinforce the negative working conditions of migrant farm workers who harvest the food that is readily available to the general population.

Labor violations against migrant workers in U.S. farms began with the Bracero Program in 1942. As a response to labor shortages in the agricultural industry, the U.S. and Mexico created an agreement to provide seasonal employment to Mexicans. The Bracero Program lasted over two decades before it was shut down as a result of unjust labor practices and rising political tensions due to racism.

In 1986, Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) which made it illegal for U.S. employers to knowingly hire undocumented migrants. This act, however, did not end the need for cheap labor: American employers utilized the IRCA to exploit undocumented workers, knowing that they would take low paying jobs out of necessity. In a study conducted by Princeton University, researchers found that “undocumented migrants earn 20 percent less, on average, than legal immigrants, while temporary legal workers earn around 13 percent less.“ Additionally, employers began hiding their hiring practices by subcontracting undocumented workers. This system allowed for plausible deniability of illegal hiring practices and further cut undocumented worker’s wages in order to compensate the subcontractor.

Seeing that the IRCA was not curving any hiring practices, Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT90) which legalized the use of foreign labor without granting permanent citizenship. Under IMMACT90, immigrants working in the agricultural sector are issued H-2A visas under the following conditions: work is temporary and the worker will return to their country of origin when the visa expires. Moreover, the H-2A visa may be extended up to three years, at which point the migrant must reside outside of the U.S. for three months before returning on a new one.

Since the H-2A visa is dependent on the employer’s willingness to keep the worker and extend their stay, employers hold all of the power. This fearbased power dynamic means that many labor violations (such as sexual harassment, unpaid overtime, dangerous working conditions, reduced wages, etc.) go undocumented due to the threat of deportation.

Correspondingly, migrant farm workers on H-2A visas have less money to spend on food for themselves and their families. According to the California Endowment, low-socioeconomic households (like that of migrant workers) are more likely to be located in a food desert. These areas are “places with large proportions of households with low incomes, inadequate access to transportation, and a limited number of food retailers providing fresh produce and healthy groceries for affordable prices.”

With limited options, migrant workers who live in food deserts struggle to achieve a healthy diet and experience negative health effects. According to a study conducted by the California Institute of Rural Studies, who interviewed 971 farm workers from California’s agricultural regions, “81% of male subjects and 76% of female subjects had unhealthful weight.” Excess body fat due to increased intake of processed foods is a risk factor for a variety of health issues including hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, and iron deficiency. The study found that the majority of interviewees faced these health issues at a disproportionate rate in comparison to the national average of U.S. adults.

To fully comprehend the magnitude of this issue, compare migrant workers’ low wages with the average expenditure on food. According to the California Agriculture journal, two of the most utilized farm labor contractors, Fresh Harvest Inc. and Rancho Nuevo Harvesting, contract H-2A migrant workers for an average of $10,922 and $8,651 (respectively) per season. Keeping in mind that H-2A visas only permit migrants to work with their assigned employer, these wages are not enough to sustain a healthy diet during periods of unemployment and application processing. This is evident in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2020 food expenditure study which found that “households in the lowest income quintile spent an average of $4,099 on food…while households in the highest income quintile spent an average of $12,245 on food.” Neither of these budgets are feasible with the wages migrant workers are making, as it represents approximately 50% of their income.

The juxtaposition between migrant workers sacrificing their physical health for the harvesting and distribution of healthy foods across the country while not being able to readily afford nor access those same foods requires an immediate solution. As consumers, we need to bring attention to this vital issue affecting members of the Latinx community by admitting that we contribute to this inequitable system. We should sign petitions, attend protests, donate money to help migrant workers, and call state legislators to advocate for immigration reform. It is only just that farm workers have a right to the same nutritious food that they work so hard to provide us all with.