海角大神

National Farmworker Awareness Week聽(March 24-31) concludes on Cesar Chavez Day, which commemorates the legacy of one of the most influential activists聽in American history.聽In the United States, more than 2 million men and women work on farms,聽providing聽the fruit, vegetables, and other crops that feed聽consumers around the world. Unfortunately, those same consumers聽often overlook聽farmworkers and their contributions.聽

The聽U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention聽ranked the agriculture industry as one of the most hazardous workplaces in the U.S. While in the fields, experts say, farmworkers are at risk for both fatal and nonfatal injuries, lung and skin diseases, and certain cancers associated with chemical use and prolonged sun exposure. In 2011, the聽U.S. Department of Labor聽reported at least聽one farmworker death per day, as well as hundreds of injuries due to work-related accidents鈥攁n injury rate 20 percent higher than that of the private industry.

Farmworkers are typically socioeconomically vulnerable immigrants with聽low levels聽of formal education. They receive low wages鈥攊n 2012, the聽U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics聽reported that agricultural workers earn an average annual income of US$18,910鈥攁nd聽one-quarter聽of the farmworker population live聽below the national poverty line. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, almost half of farmworkers lack work authorization, which, in addition to deficient聽resources, has created a population with little power to speak for themselves.聽

As a Mexican-American migrant worker, Cesar Chavez spent his career empowering聽his fellow farmworkers. Chavez聽founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962聽(now the聽United Farm Workers),聽and organized protests, marches, and boycotts to demand improvements in the treatment and economic status of farmworkers. In聽a聽1984 speech聽to the Commonwealth Club of California, Chavez declared his vision to 鈥渙verthrow a farm labor system in this nation which treats farm workers as if they were not important human beings.鈥�

Despite Chavez's impact, the struggle for improved farm working conditions continues, and has been the subject of recent revelatory films. The 2014 documentary聽Food Chains聽offers an inside look at the hurdles facing a group of Florida farmworkers as they take on the US$4 trillion global supermarket industry. The short film聽Pesticide Lake聽reveals聽the tragic聽consequences of toxic pesticide use on those working in fields.

Organizations like聽Farmworker Justice,聽the聽Farmworker Advocacy Network, the聽Coalition of Immokalee Workers, and the聽Farm Labor Organizing Committee聽work to further Chavez's vision. Not only do these groups combat聽issues facing farmworkers, but they provide聽ways聽for consumers to聽take action and聽encourage fair treatment of those whose toil聽brings food from the field to the kitchen.