Mexican Farmers Need to Speak Up

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Social responsibility is a process of continuous improvement. Produce growers in Mexico like myself have an opportunity — indeed, a responsibility — to work together to ensure all of our workers are treated with the respect they deserve. Through our trade associations, we can create informational resources and educational programs, and deliver industry guidance.

It's time for our industry to embrace opportunities to change. The challenges facing the farms covered in the "Product of Mexico" series are clear and, fortunately, very solvable. The fact is that the majority of Mexico's fresh produce growers hold the most stringent social responsibility certifications in the world. We can bring our peers forward.

Although many of Mexico's farms are large and technologically advanced, most are still family owned and operated

And our families' legacies are defined by a respect for the people who help us grow. Yet few Mexican growers share stories about their multi-generational family farms or their personal commitment to their workers' health and safety. It's time to tell our stories to one another — and to the consumers who also care about our workers' health and safety.

Eduardo Leyson Castro is the owner of Agrícola San Isidro de Culiacan, a vegetable grower in Culiacan, Mexico.

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