Food and Farm Labor

SAN RAFAEL, CA - OCTOBER 01: Nutritional information is printed on the wrapper of a McDonald's Egg McMuffin October 1, 2008 in San Rafael, California. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation Tuesday that makes California the first state in the U.S. to require chain restaurants to reveal calorie information on standard menu items. The law goes into effect in July 2009. (Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The Field Report: Ranking Chain Restaurants on Animal Welfare

By Lisa Held

January 26, 2022

Plus: WOTUS is back, surveying young farmers, threats to Indigenous foodways, and more.

Many Restaurants Pay Tipped Workers Next to Nothing. Does that Violate their Civil Rights?

By Greta Moran

January 20, 2022

Female restaurant worker with her back to us with three pizzas in her hands on the restaurant terrace

Op-ed: Indian Farmers Won Their Revolution, but the Fight’s Not Over

By Indra Shekhar Singh

January 19, 2022

Indian farmers shout anti-government slogans during a protest against new farm laws in December 2020. (Photo by Yawar Nazir/Getty Images)

Farmworkers Bear the Brunt of California’s Housing Crisis

By Gosia Wozniacka

January 18, 2022

Taking Stock And Looking Forward: Food Justice

By The Civil Eats Editors

December 27, 2021

low angle view of african american man with scarf on face holding placard with racism is a pandemic lettering against blue sky

Taking Stock And Looking Forward: Food Access and Nutrition

By The Civil Eats Editors

December 24, 2021

Taking Stock And Looking Forward: Food Access and Nutrition

Taking Stock And Looking Forward: Food Workers and Labor Organizing

By The Civil Eats Editors

December 23, 2021

Immigrant Agricultural Workers Critical To U.S. Food Security Amid COVID-19 Outbreak

Taking Stock And Looking Forward: Food System Overhaul

By The Civil Eats Editors

December 22, 2021

Shot of two young women working on a farm

We All (Still) Quit: What Happened After Fast Food Workers Walked Out

By Cindy Lange-Kubick, Flatwater Free Press

December 10, 2021

Kylee Johnson poses outside the Burger King in Lincoln’s Havelock neighborhood. Johnson was part of the restaurant's crew that resigned en masse from this Burger King in July. She says she and others who quit have gone on to better things. (Eric Gregory for Flatwater Free Press)

An Inside Look at Union Organizing in the Fast Food Industry

By Lela Nargi

December 7, 2021

A worker protesting Chipotle holds a sign while marching outside the store. (Photo by Jake Price)

Op-ed: As Striketober Becomes Strikesgiving, Stand in Solidarity with Food Workers and Farmers

By Julie Keown-Bomar

November 5, 2021

DAVENPORT, IOWA - OCTOBER 15: Striking workers picket outside of the John Deere Davenport Works facility on October 15, 2021 in Davenport, Iowa. More than 10,000 John Deere employees, represented by the UAW, walked off the job yesterday after failing to agree to the terms of a new contract. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

COVID Was Far Worse for Meatpacking Workers Than Previously Reported

By Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest

November 2, 2021

workplace food industry - factory butchery for the production of sausages - butcher cuts meat

Can Hatch Green Chiles Survive the Climate Crisis?

By Wufei Yu, High Country News

October 29, 2021

Workers harvest green chile around Hatch, New Mexico.

Craft Beer Faces a Gender and Race Reckoning

By Beth Demmon

October 19, 2021

Brienne Allan pouring a beer at notch brewery. (Photograph by Iaritza Menjivar, provided by Brienne Allan)

A Native-led Land Trust Is Working to Empower Indigenous Youth Through Kelp Farming

By Judy Bankman

October 13, 2021

Sugar kelp remnants from Native Conservancy's test site in Simpson Bay, Prince William Sound. (Photo By Tesia Bobrycki)

‘Fruits of Labor’ Provides an Intimate Look at the Life of a Teenage Farmworker

By S.e. smith

October 4, 2021

Ashley Pavon, a Mexican-American teenager in California and the subject of

Planting a Life—and a Future—After Prison at Benevolence Farm

By Stephanie Parker

September 30, 2021

Keia Blount in the fields at Benevolence Farm. (Photo courtesy of Keia Blount)

Fires Fuel New Risks to California Farmworkers

By Liza Gross, Inside Climate News

September 24, 2021

CALEXICO, CA - JANUARY 22: Farmworkers pick broccoli in a field on January 22, 2021 in Calexico, California. President Joe Biden has unveiled an immigration reform proposal offering an eight-year path to citizenship for some 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally as well as green cards to upwards of a million DACA recipients and temporary protected status to farmworkers already in the United States.(Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

‘In the Struggle’ Chronicles the Roots of California’s Food Justice Movement

By Nancy Matsumoto

September 16, 2021

From left: food justice and farmworker justice Ernesto Galarza, Janaki Jagannath, and Isao Fujimoto

USDA Offers Farmworkers and Meatpacking Workers $600 in COVID Relief

By Lisa Held

September 9, 2021

Portrait of female butcher using digital tablet with face mask at a meatpacking plant

Op-ed: The Ban on Chlorpyrifos and the Power of Community Organizing

By Margaret Reeves and Ángel García

September 2, 2021

a sign warning in english and spanish about pesticides being applied

California Eyes Vote-from-Home Rules for Farmworker Union Elections

By Grace Gedye, CalMatters

September 1, 2021

CALEXICO, CA - JANUARY 22: Farmworkers pick bok choy in a field on January 22, 2021 in Calexico, California. President Joe Biden has unveiled an immigration reform proposal offering an eight-year path to citizenship for some 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally as well as green cards to upwards of a million DACA recipients and temporary protected status to farmworkers already in the United States.(Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

Concerns About Workplace Safety as Meatpacking Plants Recruit Foreign Visa Workers

By Luis Velazquez, Investigate Midwest

August 27, 2021

a meatpacking plant worker uses a saw to cut through a slab of meat

Guest Workers on North Carolina’s Tobacco Farms Are Fighting a ‘Green Monster’

By Da Yeon Eom, Investigate Midwest

August 13, 2021

A worker in a North Carolina tobacco field in 2020. (Photo provided by anonymous worker)

20 Solutions-Focused Food and Agriculture Stories for your Summer Inspiration

By The Civil Eats Editors

August 2, 2021

Food and Farm Labor

The Field Report: Ranking Chain Restaurants on Animal Welfare

Many Restaurants Pay Tipped Workers Next to Nothing. Does that Violate their Civil Rights?

Op-ed: Indian Farmers Won Their Revolution, but the Fight’s Not Over

Farmworkers Bear the Brunt of California’s Housing Crisis

Taking Stock And Looking Forward: Food Justice

Today’s food system is complex.

Taking Stock And Looking Forward: Food Access and Nutrition

Taking Stock And Looking Forward: Food Workers and Labor Organizing

Taking Stock And Looking Forward: Food System Overhaul

We All (Still) Quit: What Happened After Fast Food Workers Walked Out

An Inside Look at Union Organizing in the Fast Food Industry

Op-ed: As Striketober Becomes Strikesgiving, Stand in Solidarity with Food Workers and Farmers

COVID Was Far Worse for Meatpacking Workers Than Previously Reported

Can Hatch Green Chiles Survive the Climate Crisis?

Craft Beer Faces a Gender and Race Reckoning

A Native-led Land Trust Is Working to Empower Indigenous Youth Through Kelp Farming

Thank you for being a loyal reader.

‘Fruits of Labor’ Provides an Intimate Look at the Life of a Teenage Farmworker

Planting a Life—and a Future—After Prison at Benevolence Farm

Fires Fuel New Risks to California Farmworkers

‘In the Struggle’ Chronicles the Roots of California’s Food Justice Movement

USDA Offers Farmworkers and Meatpacking Workers $600 in COVID Relief

Op-ed: The Ban on Chlorpyrifos and the Power of Community Organizing

California Eyes Vote-from-Home Rules for Farmworker Union Elections

Concerns About Workplace Safety as Meatpacking Plants Recruit Foreign Visa Workers

Guest Workers on North Carolina’s Tobacco Farms Are Fighting a ‘Green Monster’

20 Solutions-Focused Food and Agriculture Stories for your Summer Inspiration