The Impact of Immigrants in the Food Industry and the Way They Are Treated

The Impact of Immigrants in the Food Industry and the Way They Are Treated
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The Impact of Immigrants in the Food Industry and the Way They Are Treated
The introduction of machinery to the farms has enabled the mechanization of the production of crops, especially corn and soybeans. The use of heavy machines with in-built computers has automated the planting, spraying, and harvesting of farm produce. Fewer people are required to operate the machinery, which reduced the need to employ more workers. However, mechanization has not been successful in areas that rely primarily on human labor. For instance, the production of vegetables, poultry, and fruits needs more workers. In the United States, a majority of these farm and food workers are immigrants, many of whom remain undocumented. Most of these workers operate in harsh conditions and are often poorly remunerated. The exploitative conditions in the agricultural industry are not anything new, considering that the practice dates back to slavery. At the same time, restrictive immigration policies are making it challenging for undocumented immigrants to operate effectively. Despite the huge contribution of immigrants, exploitative practices continue to dominate the food industry.
History of the U.S. Food Labor
The U.S. has relied on immigrants to sustain the food industry. The 1600s saw indentured servants taken from England to work on the fields and be rewarded by a passage to the New World. The supply of workers from England could not meet the growing demand for the farms, which prompted the owners to turn to the African slave trade to fill the gap (Angeles, 2013). The use of African slaves went on legally for about 200 years until the Civil War in 1865. The war led to constitutional amendments that prohibited any form of slavery while at the same time allowing the slaves to gain citizenship. Despite the new dawn for the slaves, the passage of the Jim Crow laws in the 1890s disfranchised the African Americans.
The high level of discrimination ensured that the former slaves continued to work in the same farms for decades so that they could survive and pay off their debts to the whites. At the same time, farming was becoming a booming business hence demanding more laborious. The farm owners shifted to China and the Philippines to meet the increasing demand for labor. However, the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 banned immigration workers from China, which saw a drastic drop in the workforce from Asia. During World War I, the U.S. turned to Mexico under the guest worker program. Henceforth, U.S. growers have continued to rely heavily on immigrants to produce most of the food consumed in the country (Nesheim et al., 2015). Immigrants work in farms, processing plants, grocery stores, and restaurants.
The Impact of Immigrants
Farmworkers are essential workers because, without them, America has to rely on the importation of food to meet the increasing food demand of the population. Imported food can sometimes be expensive and may not meet the required quality standards. Without farm labor, it would be challenging for Americans to put food on their tables and support the nutritional needs of the communities. With farmworkers being essential workers, they have a critical role in American society. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (2020), immigrants working in farms form about 73% of the agricultural workers in the U.S. Immigrants work in jobs related to growing, harvesting, processing, and the distribution of food products. With immigrants representing a larger share in food-related occupations, their role in the food industry cannot be ignored. The food supply chain heavily relies on immigrants to meet the daily food needs of the American people.
Additionally, the involvement of immigrants in the food industry ensures that America can reduce reliance on the importation of food. The importation of food has adverse effects on local production since it tends to lower prices, hence discouraging local growers (Gérard et al., 2011). The lower price also could lower the incentive for farmers to invest in agriculture, hence further increasing dependence on foreign grown food. In the American system, the inability of local farmers to produce food due to cheap imports could hurt production. With cheap imports, more people working in the food-related industries could lose their source of income, which would increase unemployment and lower the standards of living. Overreliance on food importation is risky for the recipient country. The amount of food imported largely depends on the whims of policymakers in the growing nations. Hence, the supply could be altered, leading to unpredictable food prices. The U.S. should work towards producing food locally to avoid overreliance on imported food products that can be grown locally (Huff, 2015). With immigrants at the heart of the food industry, they play a major role in ensuring that the country remains food secure.
Furthermore, agriculture requires great skills and dedication. Farmworkers have to spend a lot of time learning about agricultural-related activities. Similarly, individuals working in restaurants and grocery stores need to be highly skilled to meet the high demand for food. Agricultural work is also exhausting and can sometimes be extremely dangerous (Orrenius & Zavodny, 2009). Farmworkers have to spend long hours planting and harvesting crops in unfavorable weather. The risk of injuries from the machinery is high. At the same time, exposure to pesticides can lead to diseases. The farmworkers are critical in the food and agricultural sector since, without their sacrifice, America will not manage to feed the high population. Immigrants working in the food sector spend their energy sustaining the entire population by providing Americans with food. This allows the country’s workforce to concentrate on other critical areas of the economy.
In addition, America continues to face a shortage of labor in the food industry. According to a study conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation (2021), agriculture requires between 1.5 and 2 million hired workers each year. The gap originates when a majority of the migrants who start their careers as farm laborers shift to other sectors that are less demanding after some time. The shift forces the growers to bear the economic cost of employing more workers. Farmers sometimes struggle to fill the positions with suitable workers. The labor gap has been accelerated by the reluctance of adequate U.S. citizens to apply for the positions (Kitroeff & Mohan, 2017). The aging population also contributes much to the shortage of laborers on the farms. With the current workforce in the food industry aging, there is a need to replace them wi...