Florida’s Migrant Farm Workers Struggle After Irma Damaged Homes, Crops

"Jobs, homes and lives are at risk when extreme weather strikes the communities that grow America's food."

"Hurricane Irma knocked millions of dollars worth of oranges and grapefruits to the ground. Its high winds mowed down thousands of acres of sugarcane, toppled nursery plants, and decimated the avocado crop.

The damage will cost the state's agricultural industry billions, but for the migrant workers who pick these crops and work in the fields, the storm means real hardship that will test lives already on the edge.

'If you listen to the news coverage about Irma, you'll hear about damage to the farms. You don't ever hear about impact to farm workers,' said Jeannie Economos, the pesticide safety and environmental health project coordinator with the Farmworker Association of Florida. 'And there's a critical piece—an intersection of climate change and living and working conditions for migrant workers.'"

Georgina Gustin reports for InsideClimate News October 16, 2017.