Invisible No More: The Impact of COVID-19 on Essential Food Production Workers

• Published in: Journal of agromedicine 2020-10, Vol.25 (4), p.378-382
• Main Authors: Ramos, Athena K., Lowe, Abigail E., Herstein, Jocelyn J., Schwedhelm, Shelly, Dineen, Kelly K., Lowe, John J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - psychology; ethics; Farmers - psychology; Farmers - statistics & numerical data; Farms; farmworkers; Food; Food industry; Food production; Food Supply; Human Rights; Humans; Industrial plants; Meat; Meat processing; Meat-Packing Industry - statistics & numerical data; Meatpacking; Occupational Health; Prevention; processing; Public health; Public Health - statistics & numerical data; Well being; Workers
• ISSN: 1059-924X; 1545-0813
• DOI: 10.1080/1059924X.2020.1814925

From the farms to the packing plants, essential workers in critical food production industries keep food on our tables while risking their and their families' health and well-being to bring home a paycheck. They work in essential industries but are often invisible. The disparities illuminated by COVID-19 are not new. Instead, they are the result of years of inequities built into practices, policies, and systems that reinforce societal power structures. As a society, we are now at an antagonizing moment where we can change our collective trajectory to focus forward and promote equity and justice for workers in agriculture and food-related industries. To that end, we describe our experience and approach in addressing COVID-19 outbreaks in meat processing facilities, which included three pillars of action based on public health ethics and international human rights: (1) worksite prevention and control, (2) community-based prevention and control, and (3) treatment. Our approach can be translated to promote the health, safety, and well-being of the broader agricultural workforce.