New video is liiiiiiive youtu.be/B3bBvPXPCyg
I did a thread on Bluesky a week or two ago about "how to work when it's hot & humid & not die" and people liked it. So I made a video.
With bonus info on how Heat Stroke Is Political!
Heat is in the news bc a lot of places are getting Heat Stroke Weather, that don't usually have that!
But did you know: farm workers have been dealing with Heat Stroke Weather forever.
That's how food gets to your table! No matter where you live! And it'll still be, after heat is out of the news!
Which means! Farm workers know a LOT about dealing with the heat.
We have tips for you!
And, heat waves are a good chance to get informed on what farm workers are dealing with, and how we can keep them from getting heat stroke on the job.
Since farming in the US is kind of an upper-class pursuit at this point, you'd be amazed how many farmers.......don't really understand working in the heat that well.
Which makes it hard to supervise a crew responsibly! 🙃
Which makes worker protection laws REAL IMPORTANT!
And we ain't gonna get those worker protection laws, if everybody's too scared of "offending farmers" to do it.
And before someone gets in the comments with "Well if a farmer is wealthy & doesn't have experience with manual labor, they're not a REAL FARMER!"
Look bud. If they're hiring farm workers... it doesn't matter what virtue-signalling-based filter we use for "real farmer."
That's a farmer!
I have never, once in my LIFE, seen or heard a farm worker say "Actually, WE'RE the real farmers."
Or engage in a pissing match over who "counts" as a "real farmer." If they're hiring farm workers, that's a farmer!
Don't make this more complicated than it has to be!
What farm workers ask for is WORKER PROTECTION LAWS.
Not "Hey, could you guys argue some more over what the definition of a farmer is?"
Arguing over "who's the real farmer" is just.... so far removed from the actual point.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk 🙏
Reminds me of my confusion the first time I saw an industry article using "miner" to refer to a mining company.
The point of saying that the real farmers are those who work the farm, is to advocate for land reforms ("the land belongs to those who work it").
So, I'm not sure that it's so far removed from the actual point ?
@lienrag That might be true in some places, but not the US.
What Americans generally mean when they say "the workers are the REAL farmers" is it's a quick way to stop uncomfortable conversations about how farmers are behaving badly.
We have a culture that farmers are sacred & can't be spoken ill of. So instead of holding farmers accountable, we just do word games about "Who's a REAL farmer?" and call it a day.
It's a good way to SOUND pro-worker, while doing absolutely nothing for workers.
@lienrag I would also point out- as a farmer who is married to a historian- land reform movements are way more likely to end in horrific bloodshed for the peasants they're supposed to "help," than to actually help anybody.
"Don't take muh land!" is the one threat wealthy landowners are actually well-prepared to respond to & fight back on.
It seems like people who actually care about helping peasants might pay attention to that.
@lienrag Wealthy landowners are often incompetent at everything else, like "putting their property to work effectively."
Which means that basic measures like "Yes, you have to pay inheritance tax. Yes, on your land too. Yes, really" are way more likely to break up estates, make farmland accessible, etc over the long term than the more dramatic tactics that people usually mean when they say "land reform." In the USA certainly, & likely elsewhere as well.
@lienrag My feeling is if one is serious about breaking up estates & other land reform goals, it's best to wage that campaign on territory wealthy landowners struggle on (putting their property to work).
Rather than try the one approach that wealthy landowners have a good history of winning on, e.g. the conventional approach of "we're taking your land."
@lienrag Which brings this discussion full circle!
"Workers are the real farmers" feels smart to the person who says it! But if its main benefit is pushing for land reform, which is a tactic with a weak track record of success & a strong one of getting farm workers killed...
Who are we really saying "Workers are the real farmers" for?
It's almost like... there's a reason farm workers, at least in the US, DO NOT go around telling people "We're the real farmers." It's a tactical dead end!
But we do live in this world now…
"Details of Scott Bessent's soybean farms revealed" https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/12/21/treasury-secretary-scott-bessent-sold-soybean-farm/87830117007/
@sarahtaber Florida repuglicans actually passed a law saying employers don't have to give heat/water breaks to employees working out in the heat/sun...or something to that effect 🤬
@PeasLuvnJustice Yep..... 'tis why I just made a whole video about how heat stroke is both real, AND political.
As a farm worker I approve this rant.
@Sea1Am @PeasLuvnJustice 💪💪💪❤️❤️❤️
@sarahtaber good video! I like “heat stupids” and “heat clumsies“ and can totally relate to the whole “I’ll just finish this one more section before I take a break” meanwhile I’m deteriorating. Great points on smaller breaks sooner.
@sarahtaber
9:16 When I was hiking in the backcountry, another hiker said, "Crankiness is one of the first signs of dehydration." It's become a mantra.
So now I think, "That's my secret, Cap, I'm always dehydrated."
@sarahtaber This is excellent. Thank you! It is especially helpful that you speak from personal experience. I am part of a farm worker cooperative in Colorado. We work on local organic farms, in upper 80s/low 90s dry weather, often in long tunnels. I try to keep hydrated but I have been experiencing all the symptoms of the heat stupids lately and, lacking a concept, blaming myself. Just knowing the standard signs of heat stress/stroke doesn't help you deal with the problem when you should.
@sarahtaber Thanks for this! I work outside most of the day as a dog walker for a local service and this is super helpful. Some of it I knew, a lot I didn't. I'll also be sharing it with my team to help keep them safe too!