Walk into a supermarket at any time of the year in the United States and shoppers are likely to find fresh berries, tomatoes, or cucumbers. On the plastic clamshell packaging, the labels declare them “fair trade” and “Responsibly Grown,” but behind the labels, the workers who harvest these fruits and vegetables live and labor in conditions they dub “twenty-first century slavery.”

This report examines human and labor rights abuses in the agro-export enclave of Mexico’s San Quintin. Through sustained ethnographic research, this report gathers the words of workers on plantations selling to these brands, plantations which are certified “fair trade” by Fair Trade USA and “Responsibly Grown, Farmworker Assured” by the Equitable Food Initiative. These certified products are found in the supply chains of two major companies, Driscoll’s and Andrews & Williamson. The latter is less of a household name, but sells berries under the Good Farms and Heritage brands to Costco. Over two hundred interviews with workers helped shape the findings of this report, with the testimonies and perspectives shaping a narrative that belies the claims of both brands and certifiers.

Further, this research situates the workers’ words within the context of the rollout of these certifications within the fresh produce industry and current research into the ways that such multi-stakeholder initiatives fail to protect human rights.

Read or download the full report here.