Page - 501 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

CHAPTER E-5 Worked to the Bone: COVID-19, the Agrifood Labour Force, and the Need for More Compassionate Post-Pandemic Food Systems Sarah Berger Richardson* Abstract The coronavirus pandemic has rendered visible the previously invis- ible labour that gets our food from farm to fork for minimal pay and at great personal risk to workers’ health. From grocery clerks working on the front lines without protective equipment, to truckers denied entry to restrooms, to temporary foreign workers forced to sign liabil- ity release waivers, to disease transmission at meat processing facili- ties, the virus is revealing the frailties and the inequities of our food system. Although the coronavirus pandemic is unprecedented, the ways the global food supply chain has responded to the crisis were, in fact, predictable. For years, scientists and food policy experts have been warning that our food system is broken, and that policies geared towards efficiency and cheap food are exploitative of the agri-food labour force, the animals we raise and slaughter for food, and the eco- systems we inhabit. This chapter focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on labour, with particular emphasis on the meat processing industry. It also seeks to illustrate the interconnectedness of all actors across the supply chain and the need for greater compassion as we rebuild post- pandemic food systems. * Assistant professor, Faculty of Law (Civil Law Section), University of Ottawa. The author gratefully acknowledges the research assistance of Nicole Camacho.