Life on the Other Border: Farmworkers and Food Justice in Vermont

by Teresa M. Mares

In her timely new book, Teresa M. Mares explores the intersections of structural vulnerability and food insecurity experienced by migrant farmworkers in the northeastern borderlands of the United States. Through ethnographic portraits of Latinx farmworkers who labor in Vermont’s dairy industry, Mares powerfully illuminates the complex and resilient ways workers sustain themselves and their families while also serving as the backbone of the state’s agricultural economy. In doing so, Life on the Other Border  exposes how broader movements for food justice and labor rights play out in the agricultural sector, and powerfully points to the misaligned agriculture and immigration policies impacting our food system today.
 

Genres: Nonfiction, Food Writing

238 pages, Hardcover

Published April 16, 2019

Reviews

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

THATS MY PROFESSOR!!!!! WE LOVE YOU TERESA

[Charlie Deichman-Caswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mares’ research is eye-opening and important, especially reading as a college student in Vermont. Many of the purchases I make in my daily life intersect with the Vermont dairy industry, and thus it is shocking to read about the issues plaguing migrant farmworkers. I hope that this thought-out and well-cited research can help lead to real change in the industry.

[Ronan Block · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this ethnography for my Cultural Anthropology class. It’s written by the professor and was a required reading. Overall, it’s very well written and nicely structured. I learned a lot about migrant labor and food injustice through reading this book. It’s not my typical read, but still, it was interesting and well done.