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Coronavirus

The Trump Administration told an Illinois health department to leave Rochelle Foods alone. Then a second COVID-19 outbreak struck the plant.

By Derek Kravitz, Brown Institute for Media Innovation; Georgia Gee, Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism, Columbia Journalism School; Madison McVan, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting; and Ignacio Calderon, USA TODAY Network Agriculture Data Fellow | January 18, 2021

A May 1 conference call with federal, state and local health officials sent one message: Despite a COVID-19 outbreak amongst it workers, Rochelle Foods was to remain open. This fall, a second outbreak at the plant wasn’t publicly reported.

Coronavirus

COVID-19 deaths go uninvestigated as OSHA takes a hands-off approach to meatpacking plants
By Kyle Bagenstose and Rachel Axon, USA TODAY; Sky Chadde, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | January 12, 2021
Normally, a workplace death in the United States is met with a swift and thorough response. By law, employers must report a death within eight hours to the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration. An inspector from OSHA typically arrives within a day to interview workers, review the site of the incident, and determine whether the […]
How we did it: ‘They think workers are like dogs.’ How pork plant execs sacrificed safety for profits
By Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | December 29, 2020
With support from the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, we deeply examined the outbreak at Triumph Foods, which sickened hundreds of meatpacking workers and killed at least four. Here's how we did it.
GRAPHIC: Poultry plants were already dangerous. Then came COVID-19.
By Sky Chadde, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | December 16, 2020
There had been about 8 deaths a year on average across the poultry industry — until this year.

Wellness on the Farm

Long distances and stigma: Telehealth seen as way for farmers to access needed mental health assistance
By Marissa Plescia, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
Mental health providers said online therapy offers more confidentiality to farmers and spares them from driving long distances to access care.
After #MeToo, This Group Has Nearly Erased Sexual Harassment in Farm Fields
By Vera L. Chang

Nely Rodríguez stands in front of 43 farmworkers and supervisors who sit side by side at picnic tables wearing various protective workwear—hats, ski masks, bandanas, socks as sleeves.

Rodríguez, a member and worker-leader of the Florida-based Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), points to a drawing of a female farmworker bent over picking tomatoes while a male supervisor stands over her saying, “¡Mamacita, qué rico te vez!” or “Hot momma, you look so sexy!”
Homegrown relief: Farming communities tackle rise in suicides
By Stephanie Hanes
This story was originally published by the Christian Science Monitor LIME RIDGE, WIS. One humid afternoon this past July, on the gravel driveway of Lime Ridge Ag Supply in the rolling green heart of America’s dairy land, a small group of masked volunteers delivered sugar cones and goody bags to farmers in big trucks. The […]

Agribusiness

Lawsuit Alleges Farmworkers Sickened After Pesticide Exposure
By Dana Cronin | December 10, 2020
In late July 2019, a group of migrant farmworkers from south Texas was working in a cornfield in DeWitt County, Ill., when suddenly a crop duster flew overhead, spraying them with pesticides. Panicked, the crew, which included teenagers and a pregnant woman, ran off the field with clothes doused in pesticides. Their eyes and throats burned and some had trouble breathing.
‘Buy it or else’: Inside Monsanto and BASF’s moves to force dicamba on farmers
By Johnathan Hettinger, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | December 4, 2020
Internal company records show the companies knew crop damage from their weed killer would be extensive. They sold it anyway.
Trump EPA removes tool states use to protect farmworkers, environment
By Johnathan Hettinger/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | November 20, 2020
The Trump Administration took a step on Friday to severely weaken state regulation of pesticides, taking away a tool that state regulatory officials say helps protect farmworkers and the environment.

Dicamba on Trial

Federal judge upholds dicamba ruling but reduces damages owed to Missouri peach farmer
By Johnathan Hettinger, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | November 30, 2020
A jury awarded Bader Farms $250 million in punitive damages after finding Monsanto and BASF knew dicamba would harm crops. A judge reduced the amount.
EPA documents show dicamba damage worse than previously thought
By Johnathan Hettinger, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | October 29, 2020
The pesticide harmed tens of thousands of farmers, overwhelmed state agriculture departments and damaged research plots across the United States, according to documents the federal agency released Tuesday. Wide swaths of natural areas and rural communities were also poisoned.
EPA allows use of dicamba through 2025, with new restrictions
By Johnathan Hettinger/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | October 27, 2020
Environmental groups pledge legal action to challenge decision.

Government

Midwest Center sensors find potentially hazardous pesticides near schools, parks and homes
By Claire Hettinger and Johnathan Hettinger, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
For one year, the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting periodically sampled for pesticide drift in five locations surrounded by agricultural fields in Central Illinois, where large numbers of corn and soybeans are planted. Five air sensors put up by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting from June 2018 to July 2019 found the presence of pesticides near schools, parks and homes where vulnerable populations live.
Without federal oversight, some states protect workers from COVID-19, others shield businesses from lawsuits
By Frank Hernandez, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
Advocates have said safety measures need to be enforceable in order to protect workers. Without the feds, some states have stepped in and done so.
Plagued by COVID outbreaks, the meatpacking industry could be forced to change under Biden
By Sky Chadde, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting; Rachel Axon and Kyle Bagenstose, USA Today
While president-elect Joe Biden has not announced any specific plans to protect meatpacking workers, advocates believe there are things he could, and should, do.

Environment

Despite hundreds of millions in tax dollars, ADM’s carbon capture program still hasn’t met promised goals
By Johnathan Hettinger, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | November 19, 2020
Archer Daniels Midland, one of the world's largest agribusinesses, has yet to make good on its promise to capture a million tons of carbon a year at its Decature, Illinois, facility.
EPA takes steps to allow continued use of pesticides linked to cancer, brain development issues in children
By Johnathan Hettinger, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | September 24, 2020
The Trump administration in recent days took steps toward continuing to allow the use of two popular pesticides linked to developmental issues in children. In both cases, the agency weakened its metrics for assessing human health protections. On Sept. 18, the EPA approved the continued use of atrazine, the second most commonly sprayed herbicide in […]
EPA Inspector General: Covid-19 could affect agency’s ability to communicate health risks to communities
By Samuel Trilling, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting | June 25, 2020
Covid-19 could hamper the EPA’s ability to inform communities of health risks, according to a report released this month from the agency’s Office of Inspector General. Specifically, the inspector general’s office worried the EPA might not be able to inform residents who live near facilities with emissions that could cause cancer. In a separate report […]