Short video docuseries exposes the human stories behind climate crisis in agriculture and illustrates the urgent need for collective action

Today on Earth Day, the UFW Foundation premiers the first episode of Farm Worker Voices, a groundbreaking new docuseries spotlighting the impact of climate change on farm workers. From record high temperatures to the increasing frequency and strength of natural disasters, farm workers are on the front lines of climate shifts placing them—and our country’s food security—at risk. The five part, one-minute episode docuseries highlights the stories of farm workers who are directly affected by climate change impacts. Through Farm Worker Voices, viewers gain first-hand perspectives on the challenges farm workers confront and the resiliency they demonstrate in the face of adversity. 

Each episode will be released on the UFW Foundation’s social media channels every Monday until the last episode posts on May 20. Each episode encourages viewers to take action against the effects of climate change on farm workers. This includes advocating for legislative changes and donating to support farm worker causes. The UFW Foundation hopes the videos will bring much needed attention to legislation and policies that would alleviate conditions exacerbated by the changing climate.

Erica Lomeli Corcoran, UFW Foundation’s Interim Chief Executive Officer, said:

Climate change is a serious threat to farm workers everywhere. Rising temperatures can cause heat exhaustion and death. Extreme heat creates more weeds and attracts pests, resulting in more pesticide use. The changing climate produces more intense storms and floods impoverished farm worker communities, causing lost wages and property damage. With this docuseries, we urge law and policy makers to get serious about climate change and to enact legislation and policies that invest and protect farm worker lives and communities.

Lorenzo Sarabia, a farm worker from Georgia who is featured in the docuseries and has witnessed colleagues lose their lives in 112-degree heat, said:

Not many people know how much climate change affects people who work outside, which is why it is important for someone like me to help tell my story in this docuseries. People need to know that there are actual human beings here who have to work in these conditions in order to support our families. We face a lot of hardships from our jobs, we don’t need to add more to it. I just hope that people throughout the country get to see this and understand that climate change is real and it affects real human beings.

Elizabeth Talamante, a farm worker from Arizona who was fired after giving her crew a break to cool-down from the heat, said:

We need employers to realize that climate change is real, and it affects workers in a real way. Last year all over the country, we had several farm workers, including a few here in Arizona, who died from extreme heat. It’s a real issue and it’s not hard to provide basic protections for workers—shade, water, and other things—to help farm workers during the heat. They will go a long way to protect human life. Employers need to remember that we are human beings, and we deserve dignity and respect.

Adela Leon, is a farm worker from California who has endured strong pesticide smells and often experiences nausea and headaches when exposed to the chemicals, said:

Our stories are important, and they must be told, which is why this docuseries needed to be made. Most people don’t understand that climate change is more than just heat. It also includes storms and natural disasters, wildfires, and many other things we don’t think about when we think about the climate. This docuseries is vital because it lets people know the risks and dangers of climate change for people like me, who help feed families throughout the country in order to help feed our own families. We have to take this seriously and do what we need to lessen the impact.

Elizabeth Ramirez, a California farm worker who has lost work due to storms and flood conditions worsened by climate change, said:

This docuseries is unique because it shows how climate change affects all aspects of our life, such as our health and our ability to work. We cannot work when the fields are flooded from these recent storms we’ve been having. That means we make no money at all until the fields dry off. I have a husband in the hospital with valley fever, so any day that I cannot work is less money to take care of my family. We need our lawmakers to help us by providing emergency relief to farm workers during times of flooding.

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The UFW Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, advocates for labor rights and protections for farm workers across the U.S. and provides educational outreach and critical services such as immigration legal services to low-income rural California communities. For more information, visit ufwfoundation.org