A reflection from EFI’s summer marketing intern, Zoe Hartman.
Organic certification already represents a commitment to the environment, including soil health, elimination of synthetic inputs and less harm to the land. After attending the 2026 Organic Produce Summit, I was reminded that organic can mean something even bigger. It’s connected to a larger set of values such as transparency, accountability and social responsibility. In the educational session titled “Organic & Beyond: Integrating Worker Well-Being Into Organic & Regenerative Farming,” a panel of women leading the charge in this work talked about how ethical labor practices are becoming a defining pillar of what organic and responsible farming actually means.
Investing in Workers
The point that stuck with me most is that worker well-being isn’t just about compliance. Rather, it’s tied directly to the ethics, quality, safety and long-term success of an operation. With threats like a changing climate, investing in the people behind our food is quickly becoming an operational necessity, not a “nice to have.”
Panelists spoke about what happens when farmworkers are given a real seat at the table, and how they can be the true eyes and ears of an operation. Amanda Kuhn, Produce Buyer with Costco Wholesale, made a point I kept thinking about: Workers are assets, and retention is closely tied with how seen and supported people feel in their roles. When farmworkers are given the space and skills to speak up about what they’re noticing in the field day to day, the effects are clear. Harvest seasons are safer, with fewer injuries and better quality produce moving through the supply chain. It seems like a simple idea, but hearing the emphasis in this session allowed me to see the bigger picture, and just how impactful it can be for workers and businesses.
Jane Kuhn, Senior Director of Sustainability and Strategic Sourcing at Once Upon a Farm, made a point that reframed organic for me. People tend to talk about organic as better for consumers and better for the environment. While that’s true, she also pointed out how often the people doing the growing are overlooked. Reduced exposure to harmful inputs is a direct health benefit for farmworkers, which made me think about how ethics and safety should not be separate conversations.
Culture Above Compliance
Working as an intern at EFI this summer, I learned more about EFI certification and the Ethical Charter Implementation Program (ECIP). The “Organic & Beyond” session clarified how a framework can turn values into action. A couple of panelists pointed to EFI’s certification and ECIP as examples, and one panelist described EFI’s certification as more than boxes being checked. The certification tells more about the culture of a field or packhouse, providing more holistic insight into an operation and quality of the products.
What stayed with me were anecdotes about what the resulting culture shift looks like in practice. Panelists talked about workers building communication skills, being given real space to raise concerns and discovering capabilities they didn’t know they had, skills that can follow them home.
Key Reflections
It can be easy to talk about ethical labor practices in the abstract. Much more useful is to hear specific stories about how a certification and a company’s commitment to values actually change daily life for the people behind the food I buy.
This conversation isn’t going away; if anything, regulatory pressure and consumer expectations around labor practices in agriculture will keep growing.
I think it is reason enough to commit to investing in workforce engagement to improve the daily lives of workers, but I left the session convinced it’s also good business. Engaged workers build safer harvests. Safer harvests lead to better quality, and better quality builds the kind of trust that consumers are increasingly seeking—proof that the food on their tables was grown and picked with care, not only for the land but for the people who tend it.