A Conversation on Farm Worker Health & Well-Being
Farm workers help ensure our families are fed — yet their own health and well-being are too often placed at risk. From extreme heat and pesticide exposure to isolation, injury, and long-term illness, the cost of feeding America is carried in human bodies and lives.
In this recorded webinar, the National Farm Worker Ministry convened farm worker leaders, advocates, and board members for a timely conversation examining the full scope of health challenges facing farm worker communities — and the systems that too often fail to protect those who harvest our food.
About the Conversation
This discussion explored how farm worker health is shaped by working conditions, environmental exposure, and gaps in labor protections. Panelists reflected on the physical and mental health impacts farm workers face, the long-term consequences of pesticide exposure and heat stress, and why worker-led advocacy is essential to advancing meaningful protections and care.
Together, the panel named both the urgency of these health challenges and the pathways forward — centering farm worker leadership, community-based solutions, and the role people of faith and conscience can play in standing alongside those who feed us.
Host & Featured Speakers
- Rev. Nathan Hosler
Board President, National Farm Worker Ministry -
Elizabeth Rodriguez
Director of Farm Worker Advocacy, National Farm Worker Ministry -
Irene De Barraicua
Director of Policy & Communications, Líderes Campesinas -
Mily Treviño-Sauceda
Executive Director & Co-Founder, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas -
Amy Tamayo
National Policy and Advocacy Director, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas -
Hormis Bedolla
New York Regional Organizer, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas
Highlights from the Q&A
Learn More & Take Action
Farm worker health is deeply connected to living conditions, workplace protections, and access to justice. Explore the resources below to learn more about the issues discussed during this conversation and how you can continue standing in solidarity with farm worker communities.
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Pesticide Exposure in Farm Worker Communities
Understand the health risks tied to chemical exposure and ongoing efforts to strengthen protections. - Heat Stress and Farm Worker Health
Explore how extreme heat affects farm workers and the fight for meaningful heat protections. - The Impact of Substandard Housing on Farm Worker Health
Learn how unsafe and unstable housing conditions contribute to long-term health challenges. - Trafficking in Farm Worker Communities
Learn how labor trafficking impacts farm workers and the systems that allow exploitation to persist.
