Their labor benefits us — it’s time we stand up for them

Re: “Unenforced Labor,” Sept. 1 Denver Post special report

Thank you for this timely report on how we get our food here in Colorado. Congratulations to the newspaper and especially to Sam Tabachnik and the team. This series is why good investigative journalism is so important and why we continue to subscribe to The Post.

We need to know the conditions under which we get our food. These workers are our neighbors and deserve decent wages, living conditions, and a clean, safe working environment, as well as respect and dignity.

We were glad to read about the Fair Food Program and hope that more growers will participate in it. We wonder how much Kroger, Safeway, and Sprouts inquire into the conditions under which their suppliers treat their workers.

Patricia Gilman, Denver

This Labor Day weekend I was reminded of why I had read The Post. If I needed my daily fix of political trash talk, I could find it, but more importantly, I learned a lot about issues that affect the decisions I make every week, especially how I spend my money.

I am one of those people who, in the 70s, boycotted table grapes and orange juice. More recently I have advocated for buying locally sourced products. I know that, inadvertently, I have purchased products that are produced under sweatshop /slave labor conditions, and I count on good journalism to inform me so that I can avoid doing so as much as possible in the future. I was sad to hear that I have purchased meat and produce from Colorado suppliers that have been abusive of their workers and I appreciate The Post not only calling them out but also highlighting farmers and ranchers who are humane in their treatment of workers. I applaud The Post and local grocers who help me purchase from food providers that align with my values.

l am privileged to live a relatively “rich” quality of life and I know that it is made possible by the hard work of so many workers who are otherwise invisible. Thanks for telling their story.

A. Lynn Buschhoff, Denver

Kudos to Sam Tabachnik for his investigative reporting regarding the H-2A visa workers brought to the United States for agricultural work and who are subsequently abused by one in six employers who do not comply with federal and state laws and regulations designed to protect them.

I understand the need for farmers to make a decent living and how they are caught between the costs of doing business versus the cost of food. I am alarmed that the average age of a farmer today is 57.5 years and that younger people are not keen to take on farming.



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