Eat Smart to Save the PlanetFor release 9/1/23 contact demarines@sustainableeartheating.org
Labor Day: Worker Safety
Meat Packing injuries… Your dinner might be costing someone an arm and a leg, research shows
Washington, DC. An average of 27 workers a day suffer amputation or hospitalization, according to OSHA data from 29 states, the Economic Policy Institute reports. Meat and poultry companies remain among the most dangerous.
As we celebrate Labor Day, it is pertinent to know some workers suffer mightily for their jobs providing U.S. consumers meat and food, according to data from government and academia, said Sustainable Earth Eating, a Washington-based non-profit that promotes diet-climate awareness and compiled the research. The question remains: how safe are workers who process or grow our food?
· Meat and poultry companies continue to be among the most dangerous. (Source: BLS) compared to other industry statistics. BLS data report 26,600 non-fatal injuries—the recordable cases rate for 100 full-time workers was 5.4, higher than the rate for all private industry (3.0) and manufacturing (3.8)
· This industry hires many undocumented workers and provides them “employment at will.” The workers fear for their jobs, and OSHA’s typical worker protections do not cover the methods, like the need for breaks, that would improve employee safety and reduce injuries. Employees say, the accidents always happen when they are tired, or working frequent overtime hours. Meat factories work 24/7 shifts.
Fears of deportation halts reporting of hazardous work conditions/practices
Employees do not report hazardous conditions for fear of being deported, the study’s narrative reported. “Also, because profit margins are thin, the pace of work is hazardous, when you combine machinery with sharp knives and equipment—it is a deadly situation.”
Farm workers injuries…78% undercounted, one third are youth!
In addition, a study supported by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture by Penn State researchers, found that the agricultural sector is the most dangerous in America with 573 fatalities or an equivalent of 23.1 deaths per 100,000 workers. (BLS data from 2015-2020.) Their research showed that nearly one third of ag-related injuries involved youth.
Their research showed 62,079 people were treated in emergency rooms over a 5-year period for non-fatal, agricultural-related injuries. The study revealed the true magnitude of the agricultural-related injury problem. (The researchers said BLS captures only nonfatal occupational injuries through its Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), but its data excludes self-employed farmers, and workers on farms with fewer than 11 employees: the estimated undercount of occupational injuries and illnesses in agriculture by about 78%, according to the study author (Judd Michael, Penn State professor of agricultural and biological engineering).
“We were surprised at the sheer number of farm related injuries and concerned by the high number of youths who were injured,” Michael said.
Climate impact of Meat
Meat and Dairy: heavy hitters in climate impact. A Washington Post/Maryland Center for Democracy and Engagement report that if globally three-quarters of people adopted a plant-rich diet, by 2050, they could avoid release of more than 100 gigatons of emissions.
Sustainable Earth Eating provides a similar measure: “If everyone in the U.S. gave up meat for just one day/per week, for one year, it would be equivalent to taking 25 million gas-powered cars off the road.” *
“Responsible, accurate measurement and monitoring is needed,” said Jane DeMarines, executive director of Sustainable Earth Eating. This data points up the need for improvements in employee safety, especially for youth.”
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*SEE calculations assisted by Univ of CA (Berkeley) PhD researcher.
*Economic Policy Institute https://www.epi.org › blog › an-average-of-27-worker...3/30/23
**The poll was conducted by The Post and the University of Maryland's Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement from July 13 to 23. The sample of 1,404 U.S. adults was drawn from the NORC AmeriSpeak Panel, an ongoing survey panel recruited through random sampling of U.S. households. Overall results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
About Sustainable Earth Eating
Sustainable Earth Eating is a nonprofit organization that engages in outreach, advocacy, and educational initiatives to provide accurate information on the outsized contribution of animal agriculture to climate change.
www.sustainableeartheating.org
