They feed the world, but food workers are Earth’s most exploited

An IPES-Food report warns that workers in the global food system face high exploitation in keeping the world fed. Credit- Busani Bafana-IPS

Every meal depends on the labour of people who grow, harvest, process, transport, sell, cook, serve, and deliver our food. Yet the people who feed us are among the most exploited workers in the world.

Nearly 1.4 billion people – two out of every five workers worldwide – work in food systems, making this the world’s largest workforce. Yet food systems also exploit more workers than any other sector. These essential workers face widespread low pay, wage theft, forced and child labour, discrimination, dangerous working conditions, and exclusion from basic protections.

Food Work: The workers behind our food and the exploitation they face, a landmark new report from IPES-Food, exposes the systemic exploitation running through the global food chain.

This is no accident. Today’s food systems are built around keeping labour cheap and workers disempowered, leaving migrant workers, women, and other marginalised workers particularly exposed.

And conditions are worsening. Climate change, corporate concentration, and new forms of digital surveillance are making food work increasingly hazardous and exploitative.

But exploitation is not inevitable. Food workers have repeatedly organised to win better pay, safer workplaces, and stronger rights. IPES-Food sets out five priorities for dignified food work – from strengthening worker power and labour protections to guaranteeing equal rights for migrant workers and reining in corporate power.

The people who feed the world deserve safe, fairly paid, and dignified work. - Third World Network

https://ipes-food.org/they-feed-the-world-but-food-workers-are-earths-most-exploited-workforce/