On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, award-winning labor journalist and photographer David Bacon discusses his 30-year career covering the struggles of farmworkers and migrant communities through oral histories, articles, and photographs.
More than 500,000 California farmworkers play a critical role in providing Americans with the food that nourishes and sustains their health. Yet, for those workers, their own health is too often in jeopardy. From exposure to the elements and harmful chemicals to unsafe working and living conditions, farm workers face a myriad of health risks and injuries. Last month’s deadly shooting at two Half Moon Bay, California mushroom farms put a national spotlight on the living and working conditions of the state's farmworkers.
What will it take to improve the health and safety of farmworkers?
Guest:
David Bacon, journalist and photographer covering farmworkers, labor, and immigration, and author of More Than a Wall / Mas que un muro
Web Resources:
Capital & Main: Ill Harvest: California Farmworkers and the Struggle for Health Care
The Nation: Why Farmworker Legalization Failed
The San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Living in shipping containers’: Half Moon Bay shooting reveals poor conditions on California farms
The Mercury News: Who was responsible for livable housing at Half Moon Bay farms? County officials deflect after mass shootings reveal ‘deplorable’ conditions
Associated Press: Half Moon Bay Farmworkers Processing Shooting As Jobs Resume
The Fresno Bee: California’s ‘most disadvantaged’ workers have widespread chronic health issues, study finds
