Introduction

Agriculture is a very important means of production and provides residents in the United States with a large amount of the fresh foods they eat. One might not think about what goes into this form of food production. When people are buying these foods, they are looking at the prices, and the nutrients, deciding on what they should get for dinner, however, this food comes with blood, sweat, and the exploitation of immigrant farm workers. These are not common thoughts because these are subjects that are not often discussed outside of the farmlands. California, in particular, produces much of the fruits and vegetables sold in the United States. With production lasting all year round, farmworkers are constantly working to pick fruits, vegetables, and nuts, in the hot sun with little time off. (Cheney, et al., 2022). Farmworkers are hardly given rest and care while working one of the most harmful jobs there is. This project is aimed at bringing awareness to the dangers of agricultural jobs in the United States and the environmental injustices that stem from it. With a more narrowed focus on work in Southern California and its huge impact on Latino immigrants, many being from Mexico, readers will get more insight into how they are specifically affected and what makes this an environmental injustice.

Agricultural jobs are important to the country because they provide large amounts of fresh food but these jobs are extremely harmful to the workers. Pesticides are being sprayed all over the fields and the employees work tirelessly. They are spending hours in the hot sun with pesticides entering their bodies through their skin and lungs. The extreme heat and ultraviolet rays are constantly beaming on their bodies. None of these occurrences are good for a person’s health as they could potentially lead to chronic health issues, cancer, or lifelong pain. With 50 percent of farmworkers in California being undocumented citizens, as of the beginning of 2023 according to the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, it can be extremely difficult for them to access and afford healthcare (2023). Farmworkers are at an extreme risk for untreated illness because many can not afford healthcare or have access to a healthcare facility. Also, many of the farmworkers, due to their undocumented status, are exploited by the employers who threaten them with being deported or firing them. This is a huge issue that many workers cannot get around because they are trying to make a life here and provide for their families. Even if a Mexican farmworker is a documented citizen, they can still face prejudice that will provide them with little help. Minkoff-Zern (2019) explains to their readers that some documented farmworkers who have been interviewed have expressed that they are not given land ownership or support to start their own agricultural businesses because of prejudices within the government and the fact that the paperwork is in English, (p.5). Without support from the government, Mexican farmworkers will only have the option of working for large agricultural producers who exploit them. The label that should be used to define what is happening to Mexican immigrants is environmental injustice. According to Mohai, et al., (2009) this term is used to describe when “ethnic minorities, indigenous persons, people of color, and low-income communities confront a higher burden of environmental exposure from air, water, and soil pollution from industrialization, militarization, and consumer practices, (p.406). The health issues, exploitation, and lack of access to healthcare are deepening the already existing environmental injustice, where primarily Mexican immigrants are being directed toward one particular job that is threatening their health and taking advantage of a specific group of people. 

Employees are getting little benefits and rarely see changes done to improve these working conditions. It can be very hard for immigrants to find work, especially if there are language barriers, lack of education, financials that decide where you live, and more. This project will look deeper at the health issues farm workers face, lack of health care, exploitation, what can be done to help create change, and the history of Mexican immigration and farmwork.