Child Labor in U.S. Commercial Agriculture:
Consumers’ Perspectives and Objections

 

National Consumers League

August 2005

 

Executive Summary

 

 

Introduction

An estimated 400,000 to 500,000 children toil in America’s fields, often working ten to twelve-hour days in intense heat, doing work that few adult Americans are willing to do. Many suffer from pesticide exposure and are injured by hazardous machinery, tools, and livestock.

 

Agriculture is consistently one of the top three most dangerous industries in the United States. Children working in agriculture are not immune to the dangers. Children account for about 20 percent of all farm fatalities each year. Children working in agriculture constitute about eight percent of working children, but comprise 40 percent of child work-related fatalities.

 

Current U.S. law allows children to work as young as 10 years old in commercial agriculture, while they are prohibited from working in nearly all other industries (with only a few exceptions like delivering newspapers).  Therefore, while a 12-year-old would be prohibited from working in retail or restaurants, that same child could legally work in agriculture, one of the nation’s most dangerous industries.

 

The National Consumers League commissioned Opinion Research to conduct a random sample of American adults to study consumers’ perceptions and opinions on child labor in commercial agriculture within the United States. The telephone survey of 1,016 adults over the age of 18 was conducted in February 2005.

 

The margin of error for this survey is +/- 3 percent.

 

 

 

Major Survey Findings

  • Americans would support equal treatment of farmworker children under the child labor laws.
    • Nearly three out of four respondents (74 percent) agreed that child labor laws should apply equally to all working youth in the United States, regardless of whether the work is in agriculture or in some other industry;
    • Nearly nine out of 10 respondents (89 percent) said they find it important that children who work in agriculture are covered by the same laws as children who work in fast food restaurants.

 

  • Americans are concerned about improving conditions for adult farmworkers as well.
    • Nearly nine out of 10 respondents (88 percent) said that they find it important that agricultural workers who harvest our nation’s fruits and vegetables should receive minimum wage and be covered by social security and unemployment laws.

 

  • Americans have higher standards for their own children.
    • Only four percent of respondents said they would allow their own children to work in agricultural fields as a hired farmworker under the age of 13, despite the finding that nearly half of the respondents (46 percent) agreed that it is okay for children ages 12 and 13 to work in agriculture. 
    • More than half of the respondents (55 percent) said the earliest age range in which they would allow their children to work in agricultural fields as a hired farmworker is ages 16 and 17.
    • Most respondents (72 percent) said the earliest age range at which they would allow their children to be employed to operate a tractor or other farm machinery is ages 16 and 17.

 

  • Americans agree that child labor is an important concern for them as consumers.
    • Nearly seven out of 10 respondents (67 percent) said it is important that children under the age of 14 have not harvested the products they purchase.
    • More than half of respondents (59 percent) agreed that products made or harvested in the United States by children under the age of 14 should not be allowed to be exported to other countries.
    • Additionally, 64 percent of the respondents agreed that products made or harvested overseas by children under the age of 14 should not be allowed into the U.S.

Perceptions of Child Labor in the United States: An industry-by-industry comparison

 

Survey respondents were asked to rate how large a problem they think child labor is in various American industries. The scale ranged from 1—Not at All a Problem to 5—A Serious Problem

 

The following shows the level of response of 1 or 2 (indicating not at all a problem or a slight problem) regarding child labor in selected industries in the United States by the survey respondents:

Industry

Percent of “not at all” or “a slight problem” responses

Retail stores

74

Construction work

74

Grocery stores

72

Restaurants, including fast food restaurants

62

Garment industry

53

Selling candy or magazines on the street or door-to-door

47

Agriculture

46

 

       

                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following shows the level of response of 5 (indicating child labor is a serious problem) in selected industries in the United States by the survey respondents:

Industry

Percent of “serious problem” responses

Selling candy or magazines on the street or door-to-door

23

Agriculture

17

Garment industry

13

Restaurants, including fast food restaurants

10

Construction work

9

Grocery stores

6

Retail stores

5

 

 

 

 

 

Summary

There is consensus among Americans that child labor laws should apply equally to all working youth in the United States, regardless as to whether the work is in agriculture or in some other industry. The response is even stronger (nearly 9 out of 10 respondents) when asked about a specific industry in comparison (i.e., agriculture work and work in fast food restaurants). 

 

Less than five percent of the respondents said they would allow their own children to work in agricultural fields as a hired farmworker under the age of 13.  Two-thirds of respondents said it is important to them that children under the age of 14 have not harvested products they personally purchase.  And, about 9 out of 10 respondents said it is important to them that agricultural workers benefit from the same labor protections and benefits that all other workers enjoy.

 

Survey findings suggest that American consumers would be in favor of reforms to current labor law that would equalize protections for youth working in agriculture, bringing them to par with their counterparts in other industries. Respondents’ general tolerance of allowing young children to work alongside parents in the fields is offset by their preference for not personally buying products harvested by young children or allowing their own children to work in agriculture at a young age.  It is clear that respondents are troubled by the child labor situation in the United States and would support reform.

 

For complete survey results, visit www.stopchildlabor.org or www.nclnet.org.