New documentary film depicts lack of agricultural child labor protections in America

I recently received a call from Susan MacLaury, executive director and co-founder of Shine Global, a non-profit film production company dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of children through films. She and I had a great conversation about her upcoming documentary about agricultural child labor in America. I agreed to help Susan promote the film and raise awareness of the issue.

The Harvest (La Cosecha) tells the stories of children (between the ages of 5 and 16) who work 10-plus hours a day, in poor working conditions, in the hot sun and without the protection of child labor laws. This film depicts the lives of more than 400,000 children farm worker who pick America's produce instead of going to school to receive an education.

 

The Harvest (La Cosecha), produced by Shine Global



The goal of the film is to raise awareness and get the U.S. Congress to pass the Fair Labor Standards Act, which address the gap in child labor protections that all other American children enjoy. Somehow, the U.S. Congress has granted the farming industry this loophole.  

The documentary is produced by Shine Global and is expected to be released in early 2011. To learn more about the film, visit Shine Global's Website.