More from the OpEd ...

... In 1943, Abraham H. Maslow revolutionized our understanding of human needs by organizing them into a pyramid, with the most essential at the base and higher-order needs at the top.[1] At the foundation of this hierarchy lie the most fundamental human necessities: food and water.

This underscores the significance of agriculture, a cornerstone of societies throughout the history of civilization. For thousands of years, agriculture was a primary human activity -- however, the advent of the Industrial Revolution transformed this landscape, turning it into a more specialized activity. Gradually, the workforce shifted away from farming, becoming less agricultural and more urban in character.

Today, most Americans live in cities and are largely disconnected from the labor-intensive processes that bring food to their tables. Urban dwellers would be hard-pressed to answer questions such as:

- - - Whose hands are harvesting fresh produce in the U.S.?

- - - Where do they come from?

- - - What paths do they take to get there?

This paper explores these and other questions and explains the huge role played by immigrants in the U.S. agricultural sector.

It begins by describing the problem of farmworker shortages. It then analyzes the role that different kinds of workers play in agricultural production -- from foreign farm laborers, both undocumented and legal, to highly skilled foreign workers -- and the available visas.

It also outlines the rise in food imports from Mexico. Finally, the paper concludes with a general reflection on the consequences of ignoring the deepening agricultural labor shortages and the threats they pose to the nation as well as the need for immigration policy reform to sustain agriculture in the U.S. ...