Groups like the Yakima, Washington-based Northwest Horticultural Council are saying they can’t find enough people to pick fruit. The heavily agricultural area has been the epicenter of a breakout in the state. Covid-19 safeguards designed to protect workers have also made it impossible for some farmers to bring in the number of workers they require, according to the council.
Fewer COVID-19 cases in agriculture in Yakima County, but advocates remain concerned
Farmworker advocates still feel there is cause for concern, namely because farmworkers, especially foreign guest workers, might not feel comfortable speaking out about safety concerns.
During the peak harvest season, the Northwest Justice Project’s farmworker unit does a robust outreach to check in on farmworkers, especially H-2A workers working in guest worker housing.
Such outreach has been much more difficult this year given restrictions due to COVID-19, said Michele Besso, senior attorney for the farmworker unit of the Northwest Justice Project in Yakima. Many housing facilities are limiting visitors.
Social and Environmental Justice Activists React to EU Farm to Fork Strategy
The European Commission launched a new Farm to Fork strategy in an effort to reduce the social and environmental impact of the European food system. It is the newest strategy under the European Green Deal, setting sustainability targets for farmers, consumers, and policymakers.
“Farmers are under extreme pressure,” Stefan de Keersmaeker, European Commission Spokesperson for Public Health and Food Safety, tells Food Tank. “But our environment and health are under pressure.”
The strategy aims to reduce the use of chemical pesticides by 50 percent, increase the proportion of land used for organic farming to 25 percent, and reduce nutrient loss by 50 percent before 2030. It is also working to tackle food waste, loss of biodiversity, and unfair wages in the food chain.
Indigenous Peoples Hold the Past and Future of Food in Their Hands
August 9 is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples – a celebration of the uniqueness of the traditions of Quechua, Huli, Zapotec, and thousands of other cultures, but also of the universality of potatoes, bananas, beans, and the rest of the foods that nourish the world. These crops did not arise out of thin air. They were domesticated over thousands of years, and continue to be nurtured, by Indigenous people. On this day we give thanks to these cultures for the diversity of our food.
26 Organizations Working to Conserve Seed Biodiversity
Collecting and organizing genetic diversity as a conservation strategy emergedin the 1960s and now plays an important role in ensuring the world’s collective food security. Seed saving organizations have helped secure over 100,000 seedsduring wartime in Syria, preserve 13 million seeds from over 70 species of native trees in the United Kingdom, and contribute to over US$77 million in pastoral agriculture revenue in New Zealand. As the climate crisis continues, seed preservation may also be critical in research and innovation to help farmers adapt to changing conditions.
Read more here.