Immigrant Children as Young as Seven Work in NC Tobacco Fields
The state's child labor laws allow children as young as seven years old to work in the tobacco fields of North Carolina. Nicotine poisoning is common, as most of the kids don't use protective gloves and often don't even wear shoes as they harvest the leaves.
Migrant worker children have no recourse against the big corporate farms, since many of the parents are afraid that immigration officials will deport the families or take their children.
Farm lobbying groups have made it difficult for the children to have any reasonable representation. The AFBF (American Farm Bureau Federation) doesn't seem to care about these conditions.
A National Public Radio exposé looks into this situation in Kinston, NC.
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