Farmworker Awareness Week: Do You Know Who Picks Your Produce?

It’s National Farmworker Awareness Week, a time to remember that 85 percent of the fruits and vegetables we eat here in the U.S. are hand-picked. That’s right — the healthy veggies for our healthy lifestyles, sweet fruits for snack-time and even the flowers that brighten our tables. Farmworkers across the globe are out in the fields from dawn to dusk, working hard to feed the world. But at what cost?

A new report from the Los Angeles Times paints a rather disturbing picture of what some laborers face — unsanitary and unsafe conditions, poor housing, exposure to harmful chemicals, debt bondage, and in some cases child labor.

These realities exist, and we must both acknowledge and work to change them. At the same time, we also have to remember that there are many farms out there doing good. For every disheartening reality we see or read about, there are farms working hard to support their workers and directly combat the conditions outlined by the LA Times.Thanks to certification programs like Fair Trade, these farms and farmworkers are empowered to create safe, sustainable, vibrant farming communities.

How is this possible? Let’s examine how the Fair Trade model honors farmworkers, not just during a single week, but all year long.

Continue on to full article at TriplePundit.com