Agriculture Archives

What We’re Talking About in November

Agriculture, Child Labor, Construction, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking

New Report on Slave Labor in the Built Environment Design for Freedom’s new report urges professionals working in the built environment to examine where their building materials come from and who made them. The report includes an article by Shawn MacDonald,...

U.S. Department of Labor Releases 2020 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor

Agriculture, Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking, Manufacturing, raw materials

Few reports have as much significance in the world of labor rights as the bi-annual U.S. Department of Labor’s List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, the latest edition of which was released on September 30.

What We’re Talking About in July

Agriculture, China, Corporate Social Responsibility, Discrimination, Diversity, Food and Beverage, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking, Human Rights, Labor Supply Chains, Manufacturing, Migrant Workers, raw materials

Why Saying “Black” With a Capital B Isn’t Enough | A Response to Verité’s Report Into the Challenges for Workers in the Coffee Industry Due to COVID-19 | US Government Issues Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory | Amid Virus Crisis, U.S. Bars Imports of Malaysia’s Top Glove Over Labor Issues

COVID-19 in the Coffee Sector: Challenges for Workers and Farmers

Agriculture, Child Labor, COVID-19, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking, Health and Safety, Latin America, Living Wages

In many countries, including major producing nations such as Brazil and Colombia, workers in the coffee sector have been defined as essential workers who must continue to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent weeks, Verité has been engaging stakeholders in The Cooperation On Fair, Free Equitable Employment (COFFEE) Project to learn about the impacts COVID-19 is having on coffee farmers and farmworkers and to explore potential actions that could mitigate the effects of the pandemic on them.

Case Study: African Migrants in the Strawberry Fields and Greenhouses of Spain during the Pandemic

Africa, Agriculture, COVID-19, Europe, Food and Beverage, Health and Safety, Labor Supply Chains, Migrant Workers, Sub Saharan Africa

Labor conditions in the strawberry fields of Andalusia, Spain are harsh for all workers regardless of their nationality: Salaries below the minimum wage, unpaid overtime, long working hours without breaks, and exposure to dangerous agrochemicals without protection are among the issues experienced by workers. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased these workers’ vulnerability to labor exploitation and creates even greater, possibly lethal, health risks.