"The Fair Food Program works to boost farmworker safety by appealing directly to major brands and consumers".

"WASHINGTON - Heat records have repeatedly been toppled in recent weeks, just when farms in some of the hottest parts of United States are at their busiest.

That has Lupe Gonzalo worried.

"A lot of places in the field, you don't have access to shade, to clean and fresh drinking water," said Gonzalo, a senior staff member with the non-profit Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), who works with farmworkers across several southern states.

For years Gonzalo picked tomatoes, berries, sweet potatoes and other produce, and the heat was always an issue. But her concerns are mounting.

"It's getting hotter and hotter as climate change continues, and it will continue to be an issue for workers," Gonzalo, 43, told Context."

Carey L. Biron reports for Thomson Reuters Foundation July  9, 2024. [2]