Serving Justice – new food label certifies workers’ rights on
U.S. farms In the early morning hours at Swanton Berry Farm in
Pescadero, Calif, president Jim Cochran ensures each farm worker
completes a half-hour of strength exercise before a day of
strawberry picking. And just five minutes down the Camarillo
Highway, apprentices at Pie Ranch reside in cool yurts and meet
regularly with the owners for “honey millet,” where they share
their good (honey) and bad (millet) experiences on the farm. But
it’s clear that not all farms care for their workers’ mental and
physical health in this way. Reports of heat-related deaths in
central California, sexual assault of female farm workers,
inadequate payment and shelter serve as testament to the
disparities in working conditions across farms. Abominable
working conditions are not yet a thing of the past. There is a
constant push to produce more in the U.S. agricultural market,
along with few laws protecting farm worker’s rights and a system
which holds labor contractor