Where is Home for the Holidays?

This time of year, fields where sweet potatoes were gleaned for Thanksgiving feasts are now freezing over and empty, and many migrant farmworkers and their families move on to another home, another state, perhaps another country. They pack up their belongings and what little hard-earned money they were able to save during their stay.

Little money as it may be, it’s one reason some families are victims of robbery and other crimes; migrant farmworkers are often targets of theft because their savings are in cash, or assumed to be. Their housing–trailers or houses in need of repair- is often insecure and easily broken in to. Fear of reporting crimes to the local authorities is another common factor in why farmworkers are singled out.

A tragic example of such targeted violence recently occurred in Sampson County, NC, when four homes occupied by migrant workers were burglarized and a four-year old boy was shot. The boy’s family was preparing to depart the next day for their Florida home. Now this holiday season, their home will likely be the hospital where the child is recovering from intensive surgery and remains in critical condition.

For many of us the holidays are a time for reflecting on and sharing our blessings, perhaps giving to those in need. The Farmworker Advocacy Network works closely with the national Harvest of Hope Foundation to manage an emergency fund for North Carolina farmworkers. Funds are then requested - by farmworkers, advocates or other friends working on their behalf-when emergencies like the Sampson County incident arise. To donate now to the fund, click here. Please write “North Carolina Emergency Fund” in the comments to designate funds for North Carolina farmworkers, and/or “Vargas Family, NC” to assist the family whose child was shot in the recent burglaries.

25th Anniversary East Coast Migrant Stream Forum

Guest post by Magdalena Fernandez

Last month the North Carolina Community Health Center Association (NCCHCA) was once again proud to host the annual East Coast Migrant Stream Forum.  In celebration of the Forum’s silver anniversary participants were invited to reflect on the theme, “A Rededication to Health Harvests”, as they remembered the rich history of the conference and joined together to create a strong vision for the future of migrant health.

Every year since its inception in 1988, the East Coast Migrant Stream forum has brought together a broad spectrum of migrant health professionals from outreach workers and promotoras to clinicians and administrators representing Migrant/Community Health Centers, community-based and faith-based organizations, as well as government officials from across the nation.  The conference is targeted towards participants from eastern states in order to increase communication and partnerships between organizations that serve farmworkers who migrant in the Eastern Stream.  The fellowship and camaraderie that is inspired through East Coast motivates participants to collaborate and learn from each other in order to better serve their patients. 

This year’s forum hosted 174 participants and 21 innovative workshops that covered a wide range of current issues relevant to migrant health professionals.   Popular workshops included: “Tools for Preventing HIV and STD Infection among Seasonal and Migrant Farmworkers”, “Intensive Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment Programming in Rural North Carolina”, “Building on Common Ground: How to Strengthen Collaborations among Migrant Health Centers, Hospitals, and Public Health”,  “The H-2A Guestworker Program – An Overview for Migrant Health Care Providers”, “How to Use the Pesticides and Farmworker Health Toolkit in Your Health Center: A Train-the-Trainer Workshop”, “Clinica en el Campo: Taking Medical Care and Medical Residents to the Fields”, and “Promotoras de Salud [Lay-health workers] Promoting Early Breast Cancer Detection, Health Literacy and Care Access in Hispanic Immigrant Communities”.   

In celebration of the conference’s 25th anniversary, the opening plenary featured a panel discussion entitled, “25 years: Reflecting on our Past, Envisioning our Future”.  The panel was composed of five individuals whose dedication to farmworkers has shaped the field of migrant health.  The presenters reflected on the history of migrant health and their experiences working with migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families.  They then each presented their vision for the future by focusing on five areas of farmworker health: clinical, administrative/programmatic, outreach/ lay health, research, and policy.  The insights of the panelists sparked a great deal of discussion among participants and helped to set a tone of both reflection and innovation for the conference.

Participants also had the opportunity to see a powerful performance of, “The Stories of Cesar Chavez”, performed and written by Los Angeles based actor, Fred Blanco.  Featured in theatrical venues throughout the US and Canada, the one man show employed both humor and drama to bring to life the California farmworker struggle of the 1960s.  From youthful zootsuiters and humble farmworkers to racist teamsters and angry radicals, the audience relived the struggle of the labor movement through a parade of captivating characters.  The bilingual show was developed by Fred Blanco from interviews with members of the Chavez family and other individuals including Dolores Huerta who fought alongside Chavez.  Participants left the show with a deepened appreciation for the great triumphs that came at the price of terrible suffering and sacrifice.

Mark your calendars for next year’s East Coast Migrant Steam Forum to be held October 17-19, location TBD.  It is always an incredible opportunity for migrant health education and networking with fellow migrant health professionals.  Scholarships and special rates are available for students and lay health workers.  For more information on the forum including the full program and educational session handouts, go to www.ncchca.org under calendar.

This Labor Day Consider the Laborers

By: Jennie Wilburn 

As we head into Labor Day weekend, most Americans are anticipating a Monday off from work and a time to spend with their families celebrating the end of summer with one final barbecue. However, most people do not considerwe sometimes forget the laborers themselves on Labor Day.

Most of the food that Americans buy at the supermarket has been grown and harvested by laborers who spend long hours with few breaks toiling in the fields or factories, performing repetitive tasks, bent over, often in extreme weather, with no paid holidays or sick days. For their hard work farmworkers receive very little pay, often less than $12,000 a year. For all that they do to provide those who do not farm with food, migrant workers also put themselves in danger. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, farming is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.[1] More farmworkers died due to job-related causes in 2010 than miners, roofers, police officers, or truck drivers. The average life expectancy for a farmworker is significantly lower than that of people in other professions due to heat stress, chemical exposure, unsafe transportation, and farm machine accidents.

Also, as you barbecue your chicken or cut up cucumbers for your salad, remember the that farmworkers have not only suffered physically for your food, but also suffered injustices. The majority of farm workers are immigrants to the United States, and of those immigrants about half are working legally as citizens or under guest worker laws. Most farmworkers have not completed a high school education and most speak English as a second language or not at all. This lack of education and inability to speak the language, along with the barriers of being unfamiliar with the US legal system, results in most farmworkers not knowing their rights as workers. This lack of knowledge allows corporations to exploit farmworker labor. Farmworkers may be forced to work long and unfair hours without overtime and tolerate unsafe conditions without hazard pay or insurance when they are hurt. Farmworkers are often not allowed to unionize and have few legal protections against unjust practices such as sexual harassment. Likewise, child labor laws are different for agricultural work than for any other type of work. Children as young as 12 can work in the fields with no limit to the hours that they work while not in school.[2]

This Labor Day, if you happen to be lucky enough to sit down to an American-grown meal, consider the farmworkers who harvested your food. Those workers did not get to stop and take a holiday. Furthermore, the farmworkers receive very little of the sticker price of your groceries in return for his work. Of the amount that you paid for the food in the supermarket, farmworkers receive about 10 cents for every $1 you spent.[3] After you have considered these facts, pledge to take action to help farmworkers by researching local farms that welcome unions and treat their workers well and by supporting legislation that provides farmworkers with safe conditions and fair wages. If one person considers a farmworker at each meal and pledges to make a change, then one day we will arrive at a society that not only affords basic dignity to all its workers, but also provides its workers with the same wages and protections for all people in all types of labor.

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[1] http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf

[2] http://www.ncfh.org/?pid=4&page=9

[3] http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/08/17/could-farms-survive-without-illegal-labor/the-costs-and-benefits-of-a-raise-for-field-workers

The Dangers of Agricultural Work

By Elaine Bartlett, Episcopal Farm Worker Ministry

The dangers of agricultural work have been widely reported—machinery accidents and heat stroke alone cause hundreds of farmworker deaths each year. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the fatality rate for agricultural workers is seven times higher than for all workers in private industry. OSHA recently launched a campaign to prevent heat illness among outdoor workers, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has announced it is making a “major research and outreach priority” of retrofitting older tractors – the cause of most rollover deaths – with protective structures.

However, little has been done to ensure that farmworkers are educated about and provided the means to prevent or treat another major occupational hazard of agricultural work. Skin diseases and disorders are widely prevalent among U.S. farmworkers, with an incident rate of four to six times higher than workers in all other industries. Excessive exposure to sun, as well as to pesticides, dust and fungi, combined with lack of medical treatment, contribute to a widespread problem that has a major impact on farmworkers’ quality of life. Recent research of North Carolina agricultural workers, published in the Journal of Rural Health, showed that over 95 percent of farmworkers studied were afflicted by some form of skin disease. Fungal infections and sunburn regularly affected 58 percent of North Carolina farmworkers in a 2008 study that appeared in the International Journal of Dermatology. Acne, calluses, dermatitis and tinea pedis afflicted between 40 and 67 percent of the farmworkers.

Although such problems are readily acknowledged within farmworker communities, several factors prevent effective prevention and treatment, including lack of health insurance and money for treatment. U.S. health care reform, which will be fully implemented in 2014, is not likely to have a significant impact on farmworkers’ lives. At least half of farmworkers nationwide do not have the necessary immigration status to qualify for Medicaid expansion and health insurance exchanges available to low income Americans.

Under health care reform, migrant health clinics will receive funding that will allow for an increased level of services. However, only about 20 percent of farmworkers nationwide currently utilize such clinics, according to a 2005 report by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, and the issues that limit farmworkers’ use of such clinics are ones that cannot be addressed by the Affordable Care Act. About 90 percent of farmworkers report that they speak and read little to no English, according to the Kaiser report. The vast majority of farmworkers are Latinos from Mexico and other central American countries. While the primary language is Spanish, the Journal of Rural Health study found that 10 to 15 percent of their participants primarily spoke an indigenous language, such as Mixteco or Zapoteco, that made even Spanish language health care inaccessible.

Lack of transportation to clinics and fear of missing work – and wages – can be other factors that serve as a barrier to health care.

For these reasons, it is imperative to focus on outreach services to farmworkers in our communities to cover the gaps that government funded health care cannot address.

Providing farmworkers with access to a sufficient amount of clothing and hygienic items is key in decreasing the rate of skin disorders and other illnesses related to dermal exposure, such as green tobacco illness. Long sleeve shirts, long pants and gloves provide necessary protection from sun, chemicals, and insects, as well as nicotine residue in tobacco plants. For optimal health workers must have access to several changes of clothes per day as the fabric frequently becomes saturated with pesticides, perspiration, dust and other elements. Given that up to 30 workers may share a wash tub at camp, it is not always feasible to launder regularly, increasing the need for a significant supply of clothes per worker.

Equally important is the availability of soap, shampoo and other toiletries that cleanse the skin of pesticides - and, in the case of tobacco workers, crop residues. Providing workers with full spectrum sunblock can help reduce the incidence of sunburn and, ultimately, skin cancer. Access to hydrocortisone cream and other topical treatments significantly reduces the level of discomfort associated with dermatitis, and hydrogen peroxide and bandages can prevent infection from abrasions common to agricultural work.

Farmworkers serve a vital function in our country, harvesting crops for a wage that few Americans would consider acceptable. Farmworkers often spend the majority of each year far away from their homes and families, doing backbreaking labor and living in isolated camps in often substandard conditions. In these last weeks of summer, let us consider the harvest that we have enjoyed this season and what we can do to improve the quality of life for those who have provided for us.

Elaine Bartlett serves on the board of directors of Episcopal Farmworker Ministry. EFwM, in partnership with faith communities of all denominations in North Carolina, provides work clothing, toiletries and over-the-counter skin treatments to workers in 50 migrant labor camps in Sampson, Harnett and Johnson counties. To learn more, visit www.efwm.org

The Triangle Food Frenzy – What’s Cool and What’s Not

Guest post by Erin Krauss

Food. Mmm…..the most natural of pleasures; melt in your mouth butter, delicate tastes of salt and sugar, coffee and cream…or…over-zealous, raw, freshly chopped, crunchy…....pure nourishment. Food is good, food is fun, and frankly these days, food is COOL. The Triangle can give testament to this fact. Food draws in the crowd - from locals seeking a new menu, to students shopping around for an economical fast fix. Everything from swanky restaurants to corner food trucks has exploded over the last few years in urban centers of central North Carolina, and across the state. Food-lovers are salivating at the variety of choices and all hours of the day you can obtain a taco, dumpling, raw smoothie, or NC BBQ. The recent attention on food has been accompanied by a number of “food movements” advocating for positive changes in our food system over-all; this kind of community action has gained praise and some critique.

A recent article by Sally Kohn in Salon speaks to the contradictory phenomenon of food becoming more and more popular on a national level, while the people who are responsible for growing, processing, and cooking our food, are not. Otherwise they would have fair treatment and fair wages, right? The author argues that the “foody movement” has resulted in a massive trend towards hypersensitivity for the organic, the humane treatment of animals, and the local nature of food as well as health-conscious and environmentally conscious critique of food. Kohn claims that the ironic thing missing in the popularization of cool and fancy foods is a level of genuine concern surrounding the people that make food production happen. In Kohn’s words, “In the food industry, as in America overall, the concerns of low-wage workers tend to get swept under the table...”

Kohn’s critique highlights the importance of a very needed global perspective when it comes to “foody” movements, but let’s not forget the strides we have made in NC and other communities over the last several years. As buy local and support small & organic farms campaigns have gained momentum – so have efforts surrounding environmentally sound agriculture practice, growing consumer consciousness and even some equitable prices that reflect what sustainable food and fair labor practices actually require. Local food movements and other food-awareness efforts have done a good job at educating on alternatives to multinational corporations and big agro-business. Ultimately – whether advocates are pushing for local food or quality food (organic, sustainable, healthy) the common vision often seems to be to strengthen communities over all. 

Contrary to Kohn, others argue that a problem lies not in the current focus of food-movements, but rather, what food-movements often lack. While overall, the objective of food-movements are to strengthen our communities, it’s not clear whom exactly it is that we include in our definition of community. A variety of people have a stake in food movements. However, not all the diverse stakeholders are talking together about how they are connected and how to work towards common goals. More often then not, many stakeholders (farmworkers themselves) are simply ignored & excluded from the conversation about how to create a new kind of food-system. Conscientious consumers, restaurant and stores, and small farmers have done well to make a dent in their own spheres. But how could we all work together more effectively and inclusively to make a larger impact on the agricultural machine that is the NC economy?

First, we could all reflect deeply on the fact that most of the 150,000 farmworkers and 28,000 poultry living and workers in our state community do not have a regular seat at the "food movement" table. When have farmworkers been invited to join the local food movements’ conversations? When haven’t they? And why is this so? Thinking about these questions is challenging and requires a social justice perspective that sometimes isolated food campaigns can lack. A social justice perspective means prioritizing inclusive decision making and strategizing, refusing to marginalize groups of people that historically have had the least power and have been exploited the most, and believing that the most affected should lead. If we want food movements to strengthen the whole community we all need to have a frank discussion about who is included in our definition of community, and, more importantly – who is excluded and why.

Second, we can all, no matter who we are, push for changes in the larger NC-food system that we all depend on, whether directly or indirectly by virtue of living here. Organizing new efforts around small & organic farming and socially aware business are invaluable - and we must keep up this good work. Equally important is pushing for real change in the massive, exploitative food-system we have had for so long in this southern state.  

If we all make efforts to reflect deeply on how we talk together and who is included in conversation, and if we all push for change in "alternative" and "traditional" food arenas, perhaps by next year, we will have enough diverse stakeholders to make a global food movement that benefits health, environment, local economy, and social and labor rights alike. Perhaps foodies and farmworker advocates will work together and succeed at passing the bill that failed in last year’s legislative session that would provide protections to NC child farmworkers. And maybe with this unified public support, by next year the NC Department of Labor will have leadership that is committed to enforcing NC labor laws and protecting all workers in NC – even farmworkers. Finally, if food movements can grow a stronger social justice perspective – perhaps by next year there won’t be quite as much space between the stakeholders - the “foody”, the small restaurant owner, the small farmer, and the migrant laborer who has worked in NC for decades.

My hope is that someday soon, all of us in the Triangle region and across NC will connect our food pleasures to all people that make food possible. Let us make this food-trend honor the joy that is taste and nourishment, as well as the justice & respect that food-workers deserve. If we create the product, eat the product, make profit from it, or simply live in this state that depends on agriculture - we all have a responsibility in this food chain. 

Harvest of Dignity: Film, Live Music, Trivia for Farmworkers

Join the Farmworker Advocacy Network for a night of live music, theme trivia, and the public tv debut of an award-winning documentary about North Carolina farmworkers. 

Thursday, Aug. 16, 7pm-11pm
Fullsteam Brewery
726 Rigsbee Ave., Durham NC

Click here for more info.

In 1960, legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow brought the plight of the migrant farmworker into the consciousness of many Americans through his shocking “Harvest of Shame” documentary that aired on CBS primetime. Fifty years later, Minnow Media (http://www.minnowmedia.net/) produced “Harvest of Dignity,” a half-hour program that reveals many of the same social, health and labor injustices faced by those working in the U.S. agricultural system today.

Filmed in North Carolina, the new award-winning documentary combines interviews with area farmworkers, advocates, faith leaders and educators, documentary photos, and interviews collected by Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF). It was commissioned by SAF and funded by the North Carolina Arts Council, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and Oxfam America. “Harvest of Dignity” makes its debut on public television (UNC-TV) on August 16th. 

Two local bands--Bluegrass band Down River (www.reverbnation.com/downriverbluegrass) and Americana/Folk-Rock outfit Mary Johnson Rockers and the Spark(www.reverbnation.com/maryjohnsonrockers) will kick off the event at 7pm. Trivia will start at 9 followed by the documentary broadcast at 10. Come on over if you’re a trivia regular and are up for a challenge on a new topic, are a fan of homegrown music and locally-brewed beer, or simply if you want to know more about agricultural and poultry workers in North Carolina and ways to get involved in a campaign fighting for safe places for them to work and live, and stronger enforcement of existing laws designed to protect the people that bring the vast majority of our food to our tables.

A Heavy Burden

By Claire Carson, Toxic Free NC/Superfund Research Center Intern 

Several weeks ago, we visited the home of a farmworker, a teenage girl who was nearly four months pregnant. It was a sweltering afternoon, and we sat around the family’s kitchen table snacking on pickled pork rind dusted with chile and lime. When asked if she was taking care of herself during pregnancy, the girl replied that yes, instead of working a full day, she’d only work half days in the fields. I can only imagine the discomfort of working in the fields while pregnant, not to mention the hazards of doing so. Being around pesticides harms anyone at any age, but pesticide exposure presents a greater danger to pregnant women, who could jeopardize their child’s health in addition to their own.

It’s pretty easy to find research connecting prenatal pesticide exposure to all kinds of awful health risks. Many recent environmental health journals include studies on the effects of pesticides on a developing brain. Common pesticides can lead to an increased risk of leukemia, brain tumors, and lymphoma.They also affect brain function, leading to slower reflexes and mental development, as well as a greater risk of Autism and ADHD. Prenatal exposure leads to more miscarriages and birth defects in our population. Since these chemicals are designed to kill living organisms, it’s no surprise that they harm developing humans as well.

In fact, the organophosphate class of pesticides was designed to kill more than just the insects that eat our food; they were developed during World War II to be used as nerve agents (http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/about/types.htm). Chlorpyrifos, one of the most well known organophosphates, appears in numerous studies to determine how it affects the human nervous system. Last year, the New York Times drew attention to a UC-Berkeley study showing that higher exposure to Chlorpyrifos lowered a child’s IQ (http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/pesticide-exposure-in-womb-affects-i-q/). Closer to home, Duke’s Dr. Ted Slotkin researches the effects of pesticides on brain development (http://sites.nicholas.duke.edu/superfund/?page_id=122), and has shown that prenatal Chlorpyrifos exposure leads to newborns with abnormally-shaped brains. After being banned from residential use, Chlorpyrifos remains in use in the fields, although use has declined over the past decade. 

Even if she does not work in the fields, a pregnant farm worker can still run the risk of pesticide exposure. Standing in the backyard of that same home near Wilson, the pregnant girl’s mother swept her hand across their backyard of commercial sweet potato fields. A few years ago, when the fields were planted with tobacco, planes would spray pesticides that the wind carried through their house (Even though the EPA’s Worker Protection Standard (http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/worker.htm) specifically prohibits pesticide handlers from spraying pesticides in a way that causes direct human exposure). Had this girl been pregnant while the fields behind her house were planted with tobacco, her exposure would have been many times worse.

For most American mothers, shielding their kids from pesticides is a personal lifestyle choice. Expectant mothers can choose not to use insecticides and herbicides in their homes and gardens to limit prenatal exposure. Later, they can send their children to daycares and schools committed to using Integrated Pest Management (http://www.toxicfreenc.org/informed/factsheets/whatisIPM.html) instead of traditional insecticides. Most American mothers cannot 100% ensure their kids stay away from pesticides, but they do have a certain level of control over their kid’s exposure. Farmworker mothers don’t have any of this control– these women and their children breathe, eat, and live in pesticides every hour of every day. It’s incredibly unfair that farmworker women must risk the health of their future children in order in earn the money they need to live. Farmworkers already carry the burden of harvesting America’s food– why should they carry the burden of a higher risk of chronic illness as well?

Harvest of Dignity in Western North Carolina

By Nathan Dollar, Vecinos Inc. 

In Western North Carolina we are intensifying our efforts to raise awareness and get folks involved in issues that affect farmworkers.  In February of this year we held a screening of Harvest of Dignity on the campus of Western Carolina University followed by a discussion on farm labor in our communities. The event was successful with a concerned and enthusiastic crowd of over 100 people in attendance.  This gave us the idea to begin forming an organization based out of WCU focused on farmworker issues – The Western Carolina Coalition for Farmworkers.  While based out of the university it is our vision that this organization be of and for the broader WNC community. 

Here in WNC we have strong communities and we take care of one another.  Building on this strength, it is our goal to foster inclusion and full participation of farmworkers in our communities.  Every member of our community deserves a safe place to work and live.  We hope that together we can make this happen.  The Western Carolina Coalition for Farmworkers is being organized by Vecinos Inc. Farmworker Health Program, Student Action with Farmworkers, WCU students and faculty,  and other community members.  We will be holding another event in September with the date TBA.  If you are interested in learning more and getting more involved, please contact Emily Williams or Osiel Gonzalez Alanis.