Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has widely been discussed as a global crisis, that had impacted daily life worldwide, including food supply (chains). In this crisis, providing food became an even more essential service, agricultural work became an essential activity, and with this, farmworkers became so-called essential workers. In Germany, this topic was broadly taken up by local and national newspapers. Due to massive media interest during the first lockdown, the working conditions in the food sector and especially farmworkers marginalized statuses were made visible to a broader public. This paper analyses the discourses and how food production in times of the pandemic affects pre-existing workers inequalities and lack of workers’ rights, constructing migrant workers as one of the most vulnerable groups in the German food system. Concluding it shows, that the mechanisms of Covid-19 exacerbating existing inequalities in the food sector during the pandemic, are part of a structural socio-economic and socio-political crisis, that must be regarded in the context of global capitalism and intersectional inequalities.
Presenters
Carolin KüppersProfessor Gender and Social Work, Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Institute for Gender Studies, University of Applied Sciences Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Food Production and Sustainability
KEYWORDS
Farmworkers, Food Supply Chains, Food And Pandemic, Working Conditions Food
