Thread by @UCSUSA

We're wrapping up National Farmworkers Awareness Week with a thread! Farmworkers make our food system run. But they shoulder a lot of risk. Daily life is full of dangers for the estimated 2.4 million farmworkers in the US, most of whom are Hispanic and Indigenous. #NFAW2023

Working outdoors is hard, dangerous work: Farmworkers die of heat-related causes at a rate 20 times greater than other professions. In hot agricultural centers like California's Central Valley, that number is even higher. act.ucsusa.org/3wju1lg

Rising temperatures increases the risk of another ever-present danger: pesticides that threaten farmworker health. act.ucsusa.org/3FobLeL

Outdoor farmworkers are also at particular risk of the effects of poor air quality from pollution and smoke, like asthma and heart attacks. act.ucsusa.org/3oJd2Uf

For women, working in the fields can carry added risks. A recent study suggests that workplace sexual harassment is common in the fields, with women experiencing it more severely and frequently, and few perpetrators facing consequences. escholarship.org/uc/item/214550…

Despite taking on essential and demanding labor we all depend on, farmworkers are some of the lowest-paid workers in the United States, with average family incomes between $25,000 and $29,999 in 2020.

While farmworkers harvest thousands of pounds of food every day, they may not be able to put food on their own tables. The little research we have suggests anywhere from 47-80% of farmworker families experience food insecurity. act.ucsusa.org/3Xq7NJf

So what can you do? You can learn more about issues impacting farmworkers by following farmworker organizations like @FWAFL @UFWupdates @FarmwrkrJustice and support legislation that would help protect farmworkers: act.ucsusa.org/3pHpF28

And you can advocate for fair treatment and justice for farmworkers in the next food and farm bill. Farmworkers make our food system run and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. act.ucsusa.org/3kNOnjj