Children don't belong on the night shift

There is little or no regard for the well-being of animals on factory farms, and this callous attitude also reflects how agribusiness mistreats disempowered workers. In addition to exploiting immigrants and incarcerated people, farms and slaughterhouses also exploit children. Child labor violations have increased, but instead of improving workplace conditions, industry is working to remove legal protections for minors, including in Iowa. How we treat the most vulnerable among us says a lot about who we are.

The U.S. Department of Labor recently investigated and found that Packers Sanitation Services, Inc. (PSSI), which provides cheap labor to corporate agriculture, illegally employed under-aged workers to clean slaughterhouses. Child labor was documented at 13 meat processing plants in eight states involving more than 100 children. These minors faced dangerous conditions at facilities operated by agribusiness giants like Tyson, JBS, and Cargill. Investigators found children as young as 13 “were working with hazardous chemicals and cleaning meat processing equipment, including back saws, brisket saws, and head splitters. Investigators learned at least three minors suffered injuries while working for PSSI.”

Labor violations at PSSI were “systemic” and reflected “corporate-wide failure” according to Jessica Looman, an official at the Labor Department, who points out, “These children should never have been employed in meat packing plants and this can only happen when employers do not take responsibility to prevent child labor violations from occurring in the first place.” The truth is that industrial agriculture has a long history of cutting corners, avoiding responsibility, and externalizing the harm of their unethical conduct at the expense of innocent victims and society. While it is encouraging to see the Department of Labor’s work on this case, much more must be done.

For decades, and continuing today, agriculture has depended on a plentiful supply of cheap labor. Still, the industry faces a chronic shortage of workers, which can incentivize unethical businesses to bend the rules, including by exploiting minors. Incidents of child labor violations have increased since 2015, along with more investigations by the Department of Labor. Still, there are likely ongoing violations with children working on farms and in processing plants that continue outside of public view.

Agribusiness wields excessive undue influence over federal, state, and local legislatures, and it has succeeded in preventing basic regulatory oversight and accountability over its unethical practices. In addition to inadequate enforcement and minimal penalties for legal violations, this entitled industry has lobbied to exempt itself from labor, environmental, animal welfare, and other laws that apply to other enterprises. Industrialized animal agriculture operates outside the bounds of acceptable conduct.

People who purchase meat, dairy, and eggs don’t think enough about the inhumane and unjust practices they’re unwittingly supporting. Consumers are appalled to learn about the harsh realities behind factory-farmed foods, so the industry actively works to conceal its misdeeds. They have lobbied to pass “ag-gag” laws, for example, to thwart undercover investigations and prevent public discourse about systemic abuses. At the same time, the industry orchestrates sophisticated marketing campaigns, often in conjunction with government agencies, that distract and obfuscate the fact that we are violently slaughtering billions of innocent animals while exploiting vulnerable workers, including children, in unsafe conditions.

Cheap food comes at a high price, especially to animals and workers, including children, and it also hurts family farms and rural communities. Our food system is extractive, cruel, and unsustainable and needs to be reformed. The change will require transforming laws and policies and acting as conscientious consumers who “vote with our dollars” to support practices that are better aligned with our values and interests.

The Farm Bill, which will set farm policies for the next five years and direct over 700 billion dollars in federal spending, is coming up for discussion in Washington, DC. This massive piece of legislation impacts us all, and we need to pay attention. Conscientious citizens concerned about health, justice, and environmental sanity are pushing for needed policy reforms, but this will be an uphill battle. Factory farming interests are powerful and entrenched, and they will fight to maintain the corrupt status quo.

Laws are supposed to maintain basic standards of decency and prevent unacceptable cruelty, so it is disturbing to see legislators in Iowa have considered moving in the opposite direction and removing legal protections for children. Industrial farms and other abusive entities need to be held to account, and if lawmakers fail to do their job, conscientious consumers can make a difference by avoiding factory-farmed products and supporting local farmers and businesses we know and trust.

Gene Baur is president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, the world’s first farm animal sanctuary and advocacy organization.