Immigrants have long played a key role in the creation of the national food supply. Previously, the US faced a labor shortage in the food industry before COVID, only to have it exacerbated by the pandemic. According to a July 2022 report from the American Immigration Council, the existing labor shortage consists of two key parts: “an increase in retirements as the baby boom generation reaches retirement age, and lower labor participation rates since the pandemic.”
Immigrants’ positive impact on the food supply can be noted in their contributions to the dairy and meat industries. The American Immigration Council states that “many dairy farmers rely on immigrant workers—often undocumented—to milk and tend to the cows” and “retail milk prices would nearly double if farmers lost foreign-born workers.” Immigrants hold a similar significance in the meat industry. In particular, the meatpacking industry, where over 50 percent of workers are immigrants, has historically depended on immigrant workers since the 1880s.
Immigrant workers’ have proven their necessity to the meatpacking industry through the labor shortage, which sparked a rise in meat prices as well as a rise in online job postings; from 2017 to 2021, the number of these postings rose by 86.4 percent. The American Immigration Council reports that “meat producers have called for the federal government to expand the H-2B visa program to allow year-round visas in addition to the seasonal visas allowed today.” The current H-2A and H2-B allow for employers to hire temporary foreign workers for seasonal industries such as those of dairy and meat. The H-2A visa regards temporary agricultural workers (such as tending livestock), and the H-2B visa regards temporary non-agricultural workers (such as butchering meat).
Despite the significant value that immigrant workers bring to the national food supply, they face multiple large obstacles, such as unsafe working conditions and inequalities due to their status as immigrants. The conditions of extreme heat environments and weather-exposed industries put these workers at risk. According to the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), “heat-related illnesses are the leading cause of death for farmworkers, who are 20 percent more likely to die from them than are other workers.” The recent heatwaves this year and this summer only exacerbate the issue of unsafe working conditions, as workers are still expected to perform under increased exposure to wildfire smoke and other dangers.
Jose, a Massachusetts factory worker, said, “It is still very difficult to know if my job will be safe. The Amazon warehouse work is drying up because of this problem. The drought we’ve had this summer also isn’t helping. I would go back to Florida and try my luck in the orange groves, but it’s not much better there.”
An immigrant’s status as a resident in this country also plays a large role in their eligibility and access to rights. CLASP states, “workers whose homes may have been impacted by wildfires or flooding may be ineligible for economic or housing assistance due to their immigration status. Immigrants who develop health conditions from exposure to toxic chemicals at work are often not eligible for health care coverage.” Especially for immigrant workers in the meatpacking and farming industries, their status makes them more susceptible to labor abuses, including insufficient legal protections for farmworkers, less benefits, and lower wages.
Luisa, who declined to offer her city or place of residence, said, “I think you should understand that it’s not going to get better any time soon. Your fresh fruit will get more expensive. Your dairy and meats will also keep going up in price. You will have to choose between less healthy alternatives and processed food or go to the high-priced stores and pay three times as much for a third of what you usually received. Don’t even get me started on the fact that those stores are never located anywhere near where frontline food workers live or work.”
The positive impact of immigrants is overcast by their disadvantages in the food supply industry. By filling the labor shortage but not being given equal rights, immigrants are burdened with responsibility and hardship. In the future, the US should find a way to consider expanding temporary work visa programs and implementing policies that will protect all workers across the food supply industry, support immigration rights, and make our agricultural system match the invaluable status of our human resources: the people who bring food to our tables.
