Globally, most of the people who plant, grow, harvest, pack, process and serve the food around the world do not earn enough to meet their own basic nutritional needs. They are among the lowest paying jobs in any country.
Bread for the World
In low and middle income countries, 33% of the workers are employed in agriculture and in the poorest nations, it can be as high as 80%.
World Bank
There are approximately 2.9 million agricultural workers in the United States.
National Center for Farmworker Health
These workers travel and work throughout the U.S., serving as the backbone for $1 trillion agricultural industry.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Foreign Workers
70% of agricultural workers in the U.S. are
foreign born.
National Center for Farmworker Health
63% of all agricultural workers in the U.S. were born in Mexico
National Center for Farmworker Health
15% of agricultural workers in the U.S. identify as migratory, while 85% are settled.
National Center for Farmworker Health
Of the foreign workers, 7% are immigrants who have obtained U.S. citizenship, 19% are other authorized immigrants (primarily permanent residents or green-card holders), and the remaining 42% hold no
work authorization.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
9 of the 18 U.S. industries with the highest percentage of undocumented workers are related to the food system.
Pew Research Center
Strict immigration laws passed in several states have demonstrated the severe impacts of farm labor shortages. For example, a University of Georgia study found that House Bill 87, adversely affected the state’s agricultural output. Georgia lost over $181 million in less than a year due to increased
labor shortages.
National Center for Farmworker Health
Pay
The median annual wage for agricultural workers is $34,790 or $16.73 per hour
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
20% of agricultural worker families have family income levels below the national poverty guidelines.
U.S. Department of Labor
In addition to low wages, agricultural workers rarely have access to worker’s compensation, occupational rehabilitation, or disability compensation benefits.
National Center for Farmworker Health
Although many agricultural workers meet income guidelines for programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), very few are able to secure these benefits because of different state eligibility requirements and having families with mixed immigration statuses.
National Center for Farmworker Health
Race
Farming is the 2nd whitest occupation in America (after property appraisers). Only 1.3% of US farmers are African American.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
African American farmers have routinely been denied loans for which they were qualified or experienced lengthy delays. For example as recently as the 1990’s the average loan processing time was 220 days for black farmers and 60 days for white farmers.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Land Tenure Center
Health
Farm work is one of the most dangerous occupations in the country. Exposure to toxic chemicals leads to high rates of respiratory illnesses and cancers. Up to 3,000 U.S. farmworkers suffer from acute pesticide poisoning every year.
Farmworker Justice: Occupational and Environmental Health
Obstacles to adequate health care include: limited means of transportation, language and cultural barriers, no health coverage, cost of services, the lack of time-efficient healthcare delivery methods and the medical referral system.
California Institute for Rural Studies
The top 3 health issues for farm workers are:
- Obesity
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
Health and Resources Services Administration
Housing
Most agricultural worker housing is often substandard or overcrowded. For example a study conducted in North Carolina found that about 89% of the agricultural worker labor camps had more than one condition that violated the Migrant Housing Act.
American Journal of Industrial Medicine
Gender
26.4% of farmworkers in the U.S. are women.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
80% of female farmworkers report that they have been sexually harassed or assaulted by coworkers
or employers.
Northeastern University of Law
Education
The average level of completed education for farmworkers in the U.S. is 9th grade.
National Center for Farmworker Health
Unions
Less than 5% of all farmworkers are covered by
a union.
United States Department of Labor
Child labor
There are approximately 99 million child laborers worldwide and almost 50% of these are between the ages of 5 and 11.
International Labor Organization
In every world region, more than 50% of all child laborers work in agriculture and 85% of African child laborers work in agriculture.
International Labor Organization
Poverty is the root cause of child labor in agriculture. For example, in some of the largest cocoa producing nations, the average farmer earns about 50 – 84 cents a day.
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
International law allows children to work in family enterprises if they are at least 12 years old, the work is not hazardous, and they are not kept out of school.
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
More than 66% of child laborers attend school. However they perform poorly compared to nonworking peers.
University of Chicago Press
Child laborers are more likely than peers to suffer from malnutrition before age 2.
Journal of Public Health
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