Health Risks To Farmworkers Increase As Workforce Ages (npr.org)

An anonymous reader shares an NPR report: More than 90 percent of California's crop workers were born in Mexico. But in recent years, fewer have migrated to the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Researchers point to a number of causes: tighter border controls; higher prices charged by smugglers; well-paying construction jobs and a growing middle-class in Mexico that doesn't want to pick vegetables for Americans. As a result, the average farmworker is now 45 years old, according to federal government data. Harvesting U.S. crops has been left to an aging population of farmworkers whose health has suffered from decades of hard labor. Older workers have a greater chance of getting injured and of developing chronic illnesses, which can raise the cost of workers' compensation and health insurance.

Comments

Thanks captain obvious?!

[the_skywise]

I'd be more surprised if industries that required hard physical labor did NOT result in more health risks as people age. Like firefighting or mining. Will slashdot post an informative article about the increasing costs of health benefits of professional skateboarders when they get around 45?!
Watch me do this half pipe - ooops there goes me dentures!

Re:Thanks captain obvious?!

[WrongMonkey]

you are going to be paying for that increased price

No we won't. If the cost to harvest certain crops in the US becomes prohibitive, we'll just import from some cheaper country. Or we'll switch to crops are that more amenable to mechanical harvesting.

Re:The typic of the one true house.

[ichthus]

Not seeing what the fuss is about.

...Or, more to the point,

*clears throat*

Why the FUCK THIS IS ON SLASHDOT.