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The term “ag-gag” refers to state laws that intentionally limit public access to information about agricultural production practices, particularly livestock production. Originally created in the 1990s, these laws have recently experienced a resurgence in state legislatures. We discuss the recent history of ag-gag laws in the United States and question whether such ag-gag laws create a “chilling effect” on reporting and investigation of occupational health, community health, and food safety concerns related to industrial food animal production. We conclude with a discussion of the role of environmental and occupational health professionals to encourage critical evaluation of how ag-gag laws might influence the health, safety, and interests of day-to-day agricultural laborers and the public living proximal to industrial food animal production.

Objectives: Aquaculture encompasses a variety of species in both freshwater and marine settings and can combine elements of agriculture and fishing, two recognized hazardous occupations. Efforts are underway to expand the aquaculture sector in the United States (U.S.), and should be informed by occupational safety and health (OSH) research. The objectives of this review paper are to: i) describe the U.S. aquaculture sector, ii) summarize statistics, peer-reviewed studies, and reports focused on U.S. aquaculture OSH, and iii) describe the policy landscape specific to U.S. aquaculture OSH. Methods: Literature searches employed databases and Internet search engines to identify relevant peer-reviewed articles, reports, and other resources. Due to the expected U.S. expansion of marine aquaculture and paucity of peer-reviewed U.S.-based OSH literature in this sector, additional searches for international research on marine aquaculture were conducted. Results: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated high rates of illness and injury among U.S. aquaculture workers in 2014 and 2015. Peer-reviewed literature on aquaculture OSH identified numerous physical, chemical, and biological OSH risks depending on production methods and settings. Significant policy gaps exist regarding U.S. aquaculture OSH surveillance, reporting, and regulation. Conclusion: This review identifies a critical need for research, surveillance, and best practices information, specific to the major types of aquaculture in the U.S., to augment and inform worker safety and health efforts in this expanding sector.

With “stay at home” orders in effect during early COVID-19, many United States (U.S.) food system workers attended in-person work to maintain national food supply chain operations. Anecdotally, many encountered barriers to staying home despite symptomatic COVID-19 illness. We conducted a national, cross-sectional, online survey between 31 July and 2 October 2020 among 2535 respondents. Using multivariable regression and free-text analyses, we investigated factors associated with workers’ intentions to attend work while ill (i.e., presenteeism intentions) during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, 8.8% of respondents intended to attend work with COVID-19 disease symptoms. Almost half (41.1%) reported low or very low household food security. Workers reporting a higher workplace safety climate score were half as likely to report presenteeism intentions (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.37, 0.75) relative to those reporting lower scores. Workers reporting low (aOR 2.06, 95% CI 1.35, 3.13) or very low (aOR 2.31, 95% CI 1.50, 3.13) household food security levels had twice the odds of reporting presenteeism intentions relative to those reporting high/marginal food security. Workplace culture and safety climate could enable employees to feel like they can take leave when sick during a pandemic, which is critical to maintaining individual and workplace health. We stress the need for strategies which address vulnerabilities and empower food workers to make health-protective decisions.

A qualitative pilot study was conducted in Baltimore City with the aim of documenting specific occupational safety challenges of small-scale urban retailers, or "corner store" owners. Semistructured interviews with a small sample ( n = 4) revealed significant challenges for owners and workers, and revealed potential areas for occupational health intervention.

BackgroundAs “stay at home” orders were in effect, many US food workers attended in-person work during early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, charged with maintaining normal operation of the national food supply chain. Despite establishment of a novel national paid sick leave policy, anecdotal evidence suggests that many U.S. food system workers encountered barriers to staying home when ill.MethodsUsing quantitative and free-text analyses from a national, cross-sectional, online survey deployed from July to October 2020 among 2,535 respondents, we explored workplace and non-workplace factors associated with U.S. food system workers’ intentions to attend work while ill (i.e. presenteeism intentions) during the first four to six months of the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsOverall, 8.8% of workers surveyed reported intentions to attend work while ill. Both quantitative data and free-text responses suggest that aspects of workplace culture influenced workers’ decisions to attend work while ill. Workers reporting a high workplace safety climate score had half the odds of reporting presenteeism intentions (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.37, 0.75) relative to those reporting low scores. Workers described cultural barriers, including retaliation and penalties, that reduced paid sick leave access. Workers reporting low (aOR 2.06, 95% CI 1.35, 3.13) or very low (aOR 2.31, 95% CI 1.50, 3.13) levels of household food security had more than twice the odds of reporting presenteeism intentions.ConclusionsThis study offers insights into opportunities for reducing presenteeism related to illness among food workers both during the COVID-19 pandemic and in other infectious disease scenarios. Addressing vulnerabilities like food insecurity and empowering food system workers to make health-protective decisions is important both for optimal worker health outcomes and maintaining a functioning food system.

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