About 416 million people working across the global food system earn too little to meet their basic needs, according to a new analysis by the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food). The report estimates that 30% of the sector’s workforce is inadequately paid, while widespread informal employment, forced labour and child labour expose millions to further risks.
The food system employs about 1.4 billion people across farming, fishing, food processing, supermarkets and delivery platforms, but the report says the sector accounts for a third of recorded workplace deaths worldwide. Around 2.1 million people are estimated to be subjected to forced labour in agriculture, while six in 10 children engaged in child labour globally work on farms or elsewhere in the food chain. Nearly 90% of agricultural employment and between 60% and 80% of non-agricultural food work is carried out without contracts, according to the analysis.
The report, Food Work: The Workers Behind Our Food and the Exploitation They Face, argues that the situation is being worsened by climate change, discrimination based on gender and race, weak enforcement of labour laws, corporate concentration and digital business models such as food-delivery platforms.
Raj Patel, an economist specialising in the global food crisis and an IPES-Food researcher, said working conditions had not recovered even after the pandemic. “The conditions have not recovered, not even after the pandemic, and many forces are coming together at this moment that are making the situation worse: climate change, the rise of the far right and its harsher migration positions, which can reduce the ability of foreign agricultural workers to demand rights,” he said.
Migrants are among the most vulnerable groups. They represent about a quarter of the global agricultural workforce and face disproportionately high levels of exploitation, according to IPES-Food. Migrant workers are estimated to be three times more likely to become trapped in forced labour and face significantly higher risks of injury, illness and death than workers born in the country where they work.
Temporary migration systems can deepen that vulnerability. IPES-Food argues that seasonal and temporary visas designed to meet short-term labour shortages can prevent workers from establishing long-term residence, allowing employers and states to avoid responsibilities associated with permanent residency. In Canada, the report notes, fewer than 6% of seasonal agricultural visa holders obtained permanent residence even after a decade of work.
Climate change is adding another layer of danger. More frequent and intense episodes of extreme heat, wildfires and flooding are making agricultural work increasingly hazardous. Workers paid by the task rather than by a fixed wage may continue working through dangerous conditions because stopping during a heatwave or when wildfire smoke makes air unsafe can mean losing income. The International Labour Organisation estimates, according to IPES-Food, that agricultural workers will account for about 60% of all working hours lost globally to heat stress by 2030.
The consequences extend to fishing, where shifting or declining fish stocks can force vessels to travel farther and remain at sea longer. IPES-Food warns that this may increase exploitation among migrant workers subjected to systems of servitude in industries including Thailand’s fishing sector.
The panel says exploitation is “rooted in a system designed to secure cheap labour and maximise profits at the expense of workers’ wellbeing”. It recommends stronger collective bargaining and unions, ending visas tied to a single employer, expanding labour inspections and making major companies responsible for abuses in their supply chains.
Patel acknowledged that stronger protections could increase consumer costs but argued the effect would be small. “Yes, it costs money not to exploit and steal from workers,” he said, citing tomatoes in the United States that cost a cent more per pound under protections designed to eliminate labour exploitation.
