Barriers to Farmworker Justice & Environmental Issues
Introduction
Mily Trevino-Sauceda and Irma Durand are two women who have worked to advocate for farm workers nationwide. Mily Trevino-Sauceda co-founded Lideres Campesinas- an organization in California advancing the voices of farmworker women and youth and is known as one of the founders of the Farmworker Women's movement. Inspired by her experience as a farmworker from a young age, she has dedicated her life to this movement and co-founded Alianza Nacional de Campesinas. Irma Durand works through Grupo A.M.O.R. as a community outreach specialist. Additionally, she is a project coordinator for the Rural Coalition and co-leads the working Pesticide Group for Alianza Nacional de Campesinas.
The experiences shared by these women are just a few among many. By engaging in conversations and community gatherings, they aim to distribute precise and relevant information that many farmworker women fail to receive from their employers. The diffusion of information is not enough, though. Mily and Irma and their comrades strive to pressure government bodies such as their local legislators, the Department of Health, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to listen to the communities most impacted by their existing policies and the current global conditions.
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During this Earth Day week we seek to raise awareness of our world’s current environmental issues and those most heavily impacted by them. The United States has experienced over 370 climate disasters since 1980. These issues greatly impact farmworker women, from lack of disaster relief to pesticide usage, and heat stress. Despite their countless obstacles, farmworker women have been extremely resilient and have brought visibility to the needs of their community when faced by unprecedented disasters like floods and wildfires which have led to food shortages, lack of water and electricity, job insecurity, and health needs. When one thinks of climate change and global warming, farmworker women are forgotten. However, we need to foreground their contributions, as they are often the first to respond to disasters as they occur in their communities, while also serving an essential and vital role in agriculture.
As temperatures rise across the nation, our agriculture fields need to be sprayed by pesticide even more frequently than normal. What does this mean exactly? Pesticides are used to control weeds, insects, and diseases in the fruits and vegetables that farmers grow and that we ultimately consume. Since climate change results in warmer temperatures yearly, pesticides evaporate quicker, so they are sprayed more often to keep up with the warmer temperatures and produce higher good crop yields Pesticide usage may sound like a beneficial and harmless practice in our agriculture system, but it has devastating effects on the environment and people who are directly exposed to them in the fields, or who live near farms. For farmworker women particularly, pesticide exposure poses a great threat to their reproductive systems and their health in general. According to a study, farmworker women are twice as likely to develop pesticide caused illnesses and conditions compared to farmworker men. Another study examined the associations between high levels pesticides and adverse reproductive outcomes in women and found that exposure to pesticides can raise the risk of infertility, preterm birth, stillbirth, and many more reproductive problems.
Through an interview with Irma Durand, she explains the large amounts of women who suffer from child loss due to pesticide exposure. Likewise, Mily Trevino-Sauceda also described how one of the women she worked with faced severe pesticide exposure while living and working in the fields. This woman was pregnant and ended up in the hospital giving birth prematurely, and unfortunately she passed away due to her exposure. It was a traumatic and extremely impactful moment in Mily’s life, as she knew this should not be happening. Women face significant challenges related to pregnancy, and their children are also more likely to experience cognitive development issues and reduced motor skills from birth.
The Stories of Mily and Irma
Mily Trevino-Sauceda: From Fieldwork to Advocacy
Mily Trevino-Sauceda's activism is deeply rooted in her own experiences growing up in a migrant farmworker family. From age 8 she was exposed to the harsh realities of farm labor, beginning her days before dawn in Idaho, handling heavy irrigation pipes in the biting cold. The family later moved to California, where Mily encountered even more severe conditions, such as extreme heat and dangerous exposure to pesticides.
A turning point in Mily's life came with the tragic death of a pregnant coworker due to pesticide exposure. They were directly sprayed by pesticides when their employer used a plane to apply the chemicals on the fields. This event cemented her resolve to fight for better safety standards and health conditions for farmworkers. Mily’s activism gained momentum when she and her family joined the United Farmworkers and then while working with legal services, helping to file complaints against wage theft, unfair housing conditions and providing pesticides poisoning prevention. Her leadership as an organizer and helping form Lideres Campesinas and later Alianza Nacional de Campesinas has been transformative, providing a platform for farmworker women to advocate for safer working conditions, pesticide regulations, and greater empowerment.
Irma Durand: Battling Pesticides and Promoting Community Health
Irma Durand's advocacy also springs from firsthand experiences with the injustices faced by farmworkers. Working in Compton, Florida, Irma has seen the direct impacts of pesticide exposure on her community, particularly on women. Her involvement with Grupo A.M.O.R. (a member group of the Rural Coalition and Alianza) has enabled her to lead initiatives around community gardening, support for small farmers, and campaigns on various issues, including workers’ rights and violence against women.
Irma speaks passionately about the need for better information and protection from pesticides, as well as broader social support such as fair wages and improved living conditions. Her work is a testament to the power of community-level organizing to drive change and building awareness on critical issues affecting farmworkers. She expresses the need for allies through different spheres of the government that prove they care about farmworkers through the introduction of legislation that reflects the real and dire needs of the community.
Shared Struggles, Collective Strength
Both Mily and Irma highlight the specific challenges faced by women in the fields, from gendered violence to reproductive health risks due to pesticide exposure. Their stories underscore a harsh reality: while farmworkers are essential to the agriculture industry, they are often the most vulnerable and least protected.
Through their tireless efforts, Mily and Irma have brought national attention to these issues and driven significant policy changes and improvements in worker protection standards. Their work involves educating farmworkers about their rights, advocating for legislative changes, and empowering women to take leadership roles in their communities.