La Isla Network and Environmental Defense Fund are collaborating on an upcoming report which highlights the extreme risks from heat facing farmworkers all across the US.
In the US, the health risks of occupational heat disproportionately affect farmworkers. A third of farmworkers live below the poverty line and experience economic pressure to work longer in increasingly hotter temperatures. Additionally, almost half of farmworkers are undocumented, meaning that many instances of heat stress go unreported (by both employers and farmworkers) due to fear. The hard reality is that the entire American food economy is scaffolded by precarious, low-wage, and occupationally hazardous labor conditions disproportionately burdened on Black and Brown workers. The climate crisis is rapidly making this situation much worse.
We look forward to utilizing our findings to drive meaningful change for farm workers across the US. Stay tuned for further updates.
