ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the justice issues faced by workers in conventional agriculture. One of the biggest occupational hazards faced by farmworkers is exposure to pesticides, and the resulting illness and death. Not only are pesticides extremely dangerous, but often the symptoms of illness related to them also lurk as other things, such as a cold or the flu; long-term and chronic disease caused by them is almost impossible to trace to the source. The Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) report noted a yearly average of 475 cases of agricultural pesticide poisoning statewide from 1997 to 2000. While pesticide exposure is one of the greatest and most studied risks faced by farmworkers, housing and hunger are also justice-related issues associated with their status as a marginalized and often poor population as well. Most recent data from National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) indicates that 72 percent of farmworkers in the United States are male.
