Climate change, long shifts, harmful chemicals make food workers among most exploited

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day, reviewed by our editorial team. Read the full piece on Sustainable Views or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Workers across the global agrifood system face widespread exploitation, with low wages, long shifts, hazardous chemicals and climate-related pressures threatening their safety and wellbeing
• The sector spans farming, processing, manufacturing, retail and hospitality and is one of the world's largest sources of employment

🔭 The context: The report says the agrifood industry employs nearly 1.4 billion people, equivalent to around two in every five workers globally
• Almost a third of food-system workers earn less than a living wage, while farm workers are particularly exposed to poverty and dangerous working conditions

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Climate change is adding pressure to an already vulnerable workforce through heat, changing growing conditions and other environmental risks
• Protecting workers is therefore increasingly intertwined with building food systems that can remain resilient as climate impacts intensify

⏭️ What’s next: Improving wages, workplace protections, chemical safety and climate resilience will be critical across food supply chains
• For companies and policymakers, the challenge is to address labour conditions alongside the environmental sustainability of food production

📈 One stat: Nearly 1.4 billion people work across the global agrifood system — about two in every five workers

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