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Letter: Farmers work to grow food safely despite pandemic

by Submitted Jon DeVaney
| August 3, 2020 12:06 AM

In a recent article, a candidate running for office incorrectly suggested that farmers are not acting to protect agricultural workers from COVID-19 and attacked local legislators for a “cavalier response” to this crisis. I would like to refute these claims.

Our governments have defined food production as essential to the common good of the United States and the world. To maintain the food supply, farmers and their employees were asked to continue working even as others were ordered not to. This was particularly challenging during the early stages of the virus’s spread when surging demand for masks and other personal protective equipment meant they were simply not available. This is no longer the case. We have worked closely with the governor’s office to acquire and distribute needed PPE, including hundreds of thousands of masks, to ensure that farmworkers are protected.

The state has also developed clear safety protocols to protect agricultural workers. These requirements aim to decrease and ultimately eliminate transmission of the virus, to achieve the overall goal of a safe workplace. While stakeholders representing both agricultural producers and workers had the opportunity to provide input, these emergency safety rules were enacted by the governor and executive departments, not by the legislature. Because of the importance of these issues, Sen. Warnick and Reps. Dent and Ybarra joined in commenting on these rules, and their engagement was thoughtful and responsible. All three consistently emphasized the dual imperatives of maintaining access to essential goods and services while also ensuring worker safety.

Washington farmers are rising to the challenge of unprecedented disruption with unprecedented focus on their missions to protect workers and deliver nutritious food to consumers. We appreciate the support of our state’s elected leaders as we work to fulfill these responsibilities.