Local food systems need to prioritize job quality alongside ethical food production, says researcher

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Local food systems need to prioritize job quality alongside ethical food production, says researcher

The local food movement has gained momentum as people seek to support more sustainable and ethical food production practices. Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture

Local food systems are often viewed as alternatives to the global food system to stress their “

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.”

Research supports several benefits associated with local food systems, although

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. These benefits include their ability to

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,

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, support local producers and

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.

But many myths have also been debunked, such as the “

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“—the belief that just because it is “local,” it is more ecological, just or ethical.

Poor salaries and underpaid labor

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that any alternative to industrial labor practices are better. Based on an analysis of job openings in alternative food systems in the ******* States during the 2010s, one

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and did not pay competitive salaries.

The local food movement often argues that low conventional food prices do not include the “

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” of food production. But, if local food systems rely on poor salaries, they fail to address this issue as well.

The issue of migrant farm labor is a complex one in North America. In the U.S., legislation made great strides to protect migrant farm workers from abusive labor contractors through the 1983

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However, there ******** an

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and keeps farm workers in general in a precarious situation,

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.

This exceptionalism also applies to Canada. Canada issues

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to temporary agricultural workers without a secured pathway to permanent residence, unlike other work permits.

Its temporary foreign worker programs are “a fertile ground for contemporary forms of slavery,”

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What is surprising, however, is that local food systems also seem to increasingly rely on this type of labor

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. This reliance on migrant farm workers also questions how “local” the products really are.

Reliance on unpaid work

Local food farms, which are

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and

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, rely heavily on unpaid labor from volunteers to stay in business.

A

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raised a critical question: when does unpaid labor become exploitation? This is a valid concern, as volunteers themselves (including family members, community members and consumers) may find satisfaction in supporting local agriculture without expecting payment.

Biewener looked at the balance in these relationships and the benefits for both parties involved. For instance, an unpaid intern who ends up shouldering most of the workload without guidance or learning opportunities could be considered to be in an exploitative situation.

The use of unpaid work for new local farms is understandable, but the long-term reliance on this kind of labor puts into question their social and economic sustainability.

Family labor issues

It’s not just farm workers and volunteers that can be exploited; farmers can be as well. Local food systems are very labor intensive and

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. Although they experience

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from their participation in local food systems, farmers sometimes need to pursue additional jobs to make ends meet.

Local farmers sometimes accept lower incomes or forgo wages to help their communities or keep the business running in a form of

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.

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found that some local producers in Iowa sacrificed their income to meet the increased demand from consumers seeking local alternatives to globalized food chains during the pandemic.

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, every three days a child ***** from a farm-related incident. These incidents often involve machinery, motor vehicles or drownings. Out of 893,000 youth living on farms in 2014, about half worked on these farms, while more than 265,000 children working on farms were non-resident.

Unfortunately, child labor, a

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, hasn’t been studied much within the alternative food movement.

One recent exception is

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that looked into the occupational health and safety perceptions of parents and children on small, local farms. Both the parents and children who were interviewed believed the smaller size and less mechanized nature of their farms made them safer.

The study also found that the parents believed they were better equipped than regulations to protect their children. It does not seem that local food systems try to challenge the dominant

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justifying child farm labor.

Gender dynamics

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recognizes a certain potential of alternative food systems to transform gender relations in agriculture. Local food systems appear to be attracting

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than conventional agriculture.

However, this potential is limited by

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, notably stereotypes regarding who is considered a “real farmer,” which often exclude women. Women also face institutional barriers, work-family balance issues since they often bear the brunt of domestic labor, and fewer financial opportunities than men.

Gender-related labor issues also manifest among consumers in local food systems. These systems

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, particularly women. Many of the customers frequenting local markets for fresh produce are women.

Given the additional unpaid care work related to food provisioning in alternative food systems, this can lead to a “

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” scenario. The “third shift” concept describes the additional unpaid work women undertake on top of their professional responsibilities and household duties when preparing fresh produce.

Improving local food systems

Local food systems offer a vision of a more sustainable food system, but we must confront their labor challenges not only for farm workers, but for virtually everyone involved. The issue raised here is structural.

For decades, the

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(the price adjusted for inflation) has declined

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of the environment and all those working in agriculture.

The rise of the local food movement has been driven by consumers looking to support more sustainable and ethical food production practices.

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.

However, the higher prices paid for local foods are still not enough to cover the true costs of production, which must include fair wages for farmers and workers.

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, local food systems must be able to provide not only good food, but also good jobs. By confronting these labor challenges head-on, we can move closer to a food system that is not only sustainable, but also socially just.

Provided by
The Conversation

This article is republished from

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under a Creative Commons license. Read the

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Citation:
Local food systems need to prioritize job quality alongside ethical food production, says researcher (2024, June 5)
retrieved 6 June 2024
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