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Written by Alianza Nacional de Campesinas

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One rainy morning in February, Elvira Carvajal finds herself surrounded by crops in the Florida fields where she labored intensively for years as a farmworker.  Today, she continues to center her efforts and dedication in agricultural communities, although Elvira now employs different tools for her work. In her position as national organizer for Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, she now works not only with farmworker groups and local organizations, like the Farm Worker Association of Florida (FWAF), but also with organizations around the country, advocating on behalf of communities and to advance the rights of farmworker women.  

On this day in particular, she prepares to speak with a group, give an interview with Univisión about her history as a farmworker woman, and discuss the dangers of exposure to pesticides that are applied to crops. 

Pesticides have not always been used at the levels seen today.  It is estimated that in the United States, 1.1. billion pounds of pesticides and herbicides are sprayed on crops annually. Elvira regularly offers testimonies about the effects of chemicals on farmworkers that live close to agricultural sites. 

In the agricultural city of Homestead, Florida, she Elvira how approximately ten people died due to chronic illnesses like cancer and skin diseases. Three or four were members of the Farm Worker Association of Florida.  She remembers in particular one young man who passed away from stomach cancer at just 19 years old and other children with health problems. Not far from Homestead in the town of Immokalee, she also met women who gave birth to babies suffering from health complications and birth defects -- cases that generated substantial press coverage.  But the changes needed to protect farmworkers have failed to materialize. 

Working in a greenhouse amid orchids treated with pesticides, Elvira was not always aware of the dangers, although she took precautions against the sun that also helped protect her from chemicals.  She remembers one morning at work when she began to feel intense cramps in her stomach and feet. Upon feeling these pains, she alerted her supervisor, but her symptoms were ignored and she was not told to seek medical attention.

After hearing about pesticide poisoning and experiencing it herself, Elvira would accompany farmworker women to health clinics and to the Department of Agriculture to testify about the chemicals’ harmful effects to farmworkers who were exposed at work.  “I felt that I had a duty to help inform people about the changes that have occurred in agriculture and the relevant dangers.” 

How can we protect ourselves, raise awareness and improve conditions for our communities? Elvira highlights the importance of eating healthy foods that are not bathed in chemicals, and that production should be concerned not only with profits but also with the health of those harvesting the food.  She will continue her work fighting for farmworker women and all of the issues that affect them in the fields, raising her voice. “We have to continue fighting, sharing clear testimonies and advocating for systemic changes that protect the human rights of agricultural communities.”