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Multiple Texas Farms Shut Down After ‘Almost 100%’ Of Workforce Vanishes Overnight | animalplanethq.com (animalplanethq.com)

submitted 3 hours ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

16 comments fedilink

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/32291701

The reason is simple: an increase in immigration enforcement, including high-profile ICE raids, shook Texas farm workers to their core. The news filtered fast that workers—regardless of legal status—chose safety over a salary.

Farmers, who had been working with their crews for decades, described the loss as “devastating” and “unprecedented.” This is alarming as most farms are founded upon immigrant labor, both legal and illegal, creating a domino effect for the food system as a whole.

. . . When farm workers vanish, the effects are felt far beyond the fields. Livestock is untended, crops go unpicked, food production declines, and food prices dramatically increase. In Texas alone, where specialty vegetables and fruits must be hand-picked, worker shortages jeopardize entire harvest seasons.

This results in fewer foods on grocery store shelves, higher prices for families nationwide, and a greater reliance on imports. Threads on Reddit and YouTube are already predicting price hikes and empty produce shelves.

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Are ya ready skids? (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

3 comments fedilink

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Texas closed a loophole that made it almost impossible for some sexual assault survivors to seek justice (www.cnn.com)

submitted 5 hours ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

0 comments fedilink

cross-posted from: https://kbin.melroy.org/m/[email protected]/t/1030806

At issue was how Texas sexual assault law outlined lack of consent. It did not specifically include victims who have been voluntarily intoxicated, making their cases nearly impossible to prosecute.

Exhausted, [Willis] looked across the street and realized she was standing directly across from the site where she said she was raped 10 years ago at a University of Texas at Austin fraternity party. Prosecutors say what happened to her would likely not legally have been considered sexual assault because of a state loophole: she accepted the drink she was handed at that party – which she believes was laced – before she was raped by another person.

Johnson said she and her colleagues with the state’s Sexual Assault Survivors’ Task Force have been workshopping legislation to close the intoxication loophole for at least the last six years, but each time it’s been derailed, previously passing in the House but not the Senate.

On that February day after the race, Willis “was just physically devastated,” Johnson said. Ravenous, Willis snacked as the lawmakers talked to her about the legislation they had in the works and pitched her an idea.

“Would you be willing to let us name this the Summer Willis Act? Would you be willing to come back and testify to get it passed?” Johnson asked.

Texas Rep. Donna Howard authored the bill, which passed unanimously that night.

Despite her victory in Texas, she’s disheartened by what happened with the bill in New York. No one ran. No one bled. But advocates there shared their experiences, just as she had. Is it enough for assault survivors to simply tell their stories and ask for help?