The juices from cut celery can cause a number of skin reactions that vary from person to person. When celery comes into contact with the skin, it creates a toxic sensitivity to sunlight.
After, even a small amount of subsequent sun exposure can cause severe blistering.
In addition to celery, carrots and dill frequently trigger photoxic reactions.
Cucumber, squash and okra plants have nearly-invisible hairs that not only irritate our skin but can also float into our eyeballs and cause severe inflammation.
The video below is actually from last fall (pre-COVID) but look how the celery workers cover their skin, including hands and face. To prevent phototoxic injuries celery workers will be completely covered up, no matter how hot it is.
CORRECTION:
Our apologies, Edgar confirms this video is from last week.
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We have grave concerns about the ongoing desperate struggle of farm workers in the wake of Hurricane Helene, and we are deeply afraid of the destruction headed for Florida farm workers as Hurricane Milton approaches. 1/
Helene left a path of destruction, with many migrant farm worker labor camps struggling with minimal shelter, without power or communications, relying on a system of mutual aid volunteers for the bare basics.
Volunteers continue to check on labor camps and deliver supplies.
Florida brings more than 50,000 H2A foreign guest workers to work the fields each year.
Tens of thousands of H2A and domestic seasonal workers are in Florida right now. Many are in substandard or improvised housing, without vehicles, unable to self-evacuate.
On Feb 21 in Buffalo, NY, farm workers are rallying alongside community and labor allies outside the U.S. Courthouse.
The court will be hearing New York Vegetable Growers Association v. Hochul.
At stake: Do farm workers in New York have a right to organize?
Farm workers are mostly excluded from federal labor laws. In 2019, NY passed the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act which gives farmworkers the right to unionize in NY state. Since then we’ve won certification at 5 farms so far, with more pending. theguardian.com/us-news/2023/j…
Rather than recognize their workers choice to unionize the growers banded together to sue the state and stop the law. They target the fact that many workers who want to unionize are H2A workers. They want to overturn the whole law and strip ALL NY farm workers of their rights.
Much of the USA is under heat warning. Heat is a deadly threat for farm workers, and conditions are getting worse.
There are a myriad of dangers caused by extreme heat that most people don’t consider when they open the refrigerator in their air conditioned kitchen. 1/
Even one shift of outdoor agricultural work in hot weather can be detected in bloodwork — heat strain causes acute kidney injury. https://t.co/pklc8GQtEGoem.bmj.com/content/74/6/4…
One of the symptoms of heat stress is a decline in cognitive function. This means a worker may not recognize they’re in danger before developing lethal heat stroke.
Cesar Chavez followed Dr King’s career since the 1950s Montgomery bus boycott. Whenever newspapers carried accounts of #MLK battles, the stories "would jump out of the pages at me," Cesar said. MLK reaffirmed Cesar's commitment to nonviolent struggle & inspired UFW's boycotts. 1/
Although the two never met, they corresponded. Dr. King preached that genuine equality was not possible without economic equality. "What does it profit a man to be able to eat at an integrated lunch counter if he doesn't have enough money to buy a hamburger?" #MLK declared. 2/
Only one month before his death, Dr. King joined in solidarity by sending a telegram to Cesar, who was then fasting for 25 days in Delano CA, to rededicate his farm workers' movement to the principles of nonviolence practiced by #MLK and Gandhi. 3/
As you shop and prepare your #Thanksgiving meals, we'd like you to know a little more about the work behind the ingredients and the people doing that work to put food on our tables.
Here's a thread for everyone who wants to thank a farm worker this week.
Sweet potatoes are mostly unearthed by harvesting machinery but then cleaned and sorted by hand. Here’s a video Raquel sent from Livingston, CA. #WeFeedYou