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Introduction to the symposium: Bienestar—the well-being of Latinx farmworkers in a time of change

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Abstract

This symposium explores the well-being of Latinx farmworkers living and laboring in the United States. Our primary aim is to take a deeper look at the lived experiences of farmworkers. In the introduction, we explore the various ways in which well-being is framed in diverse academic disciplines, and how the concept of well-being has been employed in previous research on Latinx farmworkers. We argue that ethnographic methods have potential to represent farmworker experiences in a more nuanced manner than many other social science approaches. We advocate further research and action in terms of farmworker safety, health (including mental health and access to care), food security and food provisioning, rural isolation and access to housing, poverty and job security. Finally, we argue that farmworkers should be considered active and important actors in the context of global environmental change. Ultimately, the well-being of farmworkers is co-dependent on global environmental health and sustainability.

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Notes

  1. In this introduction, we use the term Latinx as a gender-neutral term to refer to individuals and communities of Latin American descent. We have chosen to use Latinx in order to be inclusive of multiple and pluralistic gendered identities and sexual orientations, while also recognizing the complicated and contested nature of all terms. Other terms, including Latino/a, Hispano/a, Mexicano/a, also appear throughout the articles, particularly when quoting research participants and discussing how they describe their own ethnic and racial identities. While Mexican-origin workers make up the majority of the workers discussed in this symposium, workers from other countries are included and we wish to emphasize that some experiences of im/migrant status and racialization are similar while others vary based on country of origin and other markers of identity.

  2. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-labor/.

  3. The idea of “emic” research is contested in the field of anthropology. In this discussion, we use the term “emic” to signify that our research, via ethnography, seeks to privilege as much as possible farmworker perspectives. Experience-near approaches are used across the social sciences to value local expertise and opinion, as opposed to privileging only or primarily the knowledge and expertise of researchers. And, with this in mind, we make no claims that we are able to represent fully the beliefs, ideas, feelings or experiences of the farmworkers with whom we work (neither individually nor as a community).

  4. https://www.npr.org/2015/12/24/460959623/small-town-set-to-swear-in-idahos-first-all-latino-city-council.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Christopher Torres at Boise State University for research assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Service, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID, 83725, USA

    Lisa Meierotto

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Vermont, 509 Williams Hall, 72 University Place, Burlington, VT, 05405, USA

    Teresa Mares

  3. Division of Society and Environment (UC Berkeley), Joint Program in Medical Anthropology (UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco), Alameda County Medical Center, Berkeley, USA

    Seth M. Holmes

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Meierotto, L., Mares, T. & Holmes, S.M. Introduction to the symposium: Bienestar—the well-being of Latinx farmworkers in a time of change. Agric Hum Values 37, 187–196 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-019-09964-9

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