Imagine working in a frigid, frenzied poultry plant. The floor is “often wet and slippery from dripping blood, guts, and the ‘chicken juices’ found throughout the facility.” The maximum line speed is 140 chickens per minute, which means that you are probably doing the same motion over and over to …
We know that international human rights law guarantees the right to decent work that provides fair wages: essentially, a living wage. Governments thus must protect, respect, and take steps to fulfill this right to decent work. (Wages also implicate other rights that governments must protect: as the UN Special Rapporteur …
Around the world, we depend on farmworkers to grow and harvest our food; we just don’t want to pay them enough so that they can afford the food themselves. As discussed last week, international human rights law guarantees a right to decent work, which includes fair wages that enable workers …
Last week, the South African Labour Minister announced a 52 percent increase in the minimum wage for farmworkers. The government’s decision followed months of farmworker protests and strikes in the Western Cape, a province that provides key exports of fruit and wine. Starting March 1, farmworkers must be paid at …
Farmworkers in the United States and around the world provide critical labor for our food system. They are also frequently migrant laborers, underpaid, underappreciated, and under constant threat of deportation. Last week, U.S. Senators announced a bipartisan plan to overhaul the country’s immigration system. President Obama followed a day later …
In the past two weeks, I’ve written briefly about litigating against agribusiness corporations, and discussed the origins of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). As I noted, the ATS is not a perfect vehicle for accountability, but it is one still of the most important tools that we have at our disposal for …
Last week, I mentioned the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). The ATS is currently one of the most important American laws for pursuing accountability for grave human rights abuses. It is also, unfortunately, in danger of being significantly narrowed by the US Supreme Court. But what is it? Below, I’ll explain …
Agribusinesses can directly and indirectly affect human rights. People concerned about agribusinesses’ negative behavior have a range of options for engagement. Some involve rather amiable collaborations, such as partnerships to improve corporate social responsibility. Other options are more combative, ranging from “naming and shaming” reports to litigation in the court …
Recent news from around the globe related to (or with implications for) the intersection of food, the law, and human rights: In Brazil, the Superior Tribunal of Justice (the highest appellate court for non-constitutional federal questions) held that a decision in the class action lawsuit brought by Brazilian farmers in …
COSATU, South Africa’s main union federation, has called them worse than apartheid or slavery. Namibia tried to ban them altogether (until the Supreme Court stated that a total ban was not allowed). NGOs have linked them to labor trafficking and forced labor. Labor contractors – also known as labor brokers, …