Strengthening the backbone: Local food, foreign labour and social justice

Abstract

Increasingly social-justice oriented food movements have been paying attention to a long-neglected and largely invisible aspect of "local" food production- the lives and wellbeing of the "imported" workers who make labour intensive agriculture possible, and profitable, for many operations. Indeed, many farmers acknowledge that migrant workers are the backbone behind their industry. This chapter explores the contemporary use of migrant workers in agriculture and the social and community movements aimed at improving their conditions, rights and health. The chapter first outlines the use of migrant workers globally, with a focus on Europe and the United States, including an examination of both guest worker and visa programs as well as undocumented work. It then delves into the case study of Mexican and Caribbean workers in Southwestern Ontario agriculture. Drawing on over a decade of ethnographic and interview-based research, it highlights some of the key issues (both positive and negative) facing this population-including economic and livelihood gains, living and working conditions, family separation, health, rights, and social integration-highlighting recent controversies and struggles, as well as the social and rights-based movements that have arisen to address these challenges. The use of migrant workers in Canada is only growing amid a climate of intense competition in which flexible and reliable migrant agricultural labour has become ubiquitous in the global agri-food system. Rather than pitting farmers/employers, workers and social justice advocates as serving oppositional purposes, the chapter argues that improving workers' health and rights can benefit not only migrant labourers, but also strengthen the integrity of a food system that has become dependent on their use.