Watch my friend Oscar Collazos and I take the series undercover for the first time in the tobacco fields of North Carolina

part 1:

part 2:

In 2013, Human Rights Watch interviewed 141 children who were working on tobacco farms in the United States. The children ranged between the ages of 7 and 17, and were a small sampling of child agriculture workers in the U.S., which is estimated in the hundreds of thousands. The report that Human Rights Watch released the next year was based on these interviews, and it also included extensive research detailing the illnesses, injuries, and injustices that these children faced. It was well covered by the press, and had large tobacco companies scrambling to reassure the public that they were going to do everything they could to protect children on American farms. Well, that was back in 2014, and I thought it was time for a progress report, so I called up my friend Oscar Collazos, a Colombian-born stand-up comedian here in New York, hired him to be my translator, and we headed down south to try to take Where I Don’t Belong undercover for the first time. Watch the full episode to see how our adventure turned out!

Resources:

This article by Gabriel Thompson appeared in The Nation in 2013, and subsequently inspired this episode. Please check it out, it's an amazing read.

You can find out more about my intrepid Co-Producer Oscar Collazos by visiting his website at www.oscarcollazos.com

The Farm Labor Organizing Committee is still working hard to unionize farmworkers. Click here to learn how you can help.

The National Labor Relations Board is where to go if you have questions the Labor Relations Act. Extra credit if you call your congressmen and women to let them know that expanding the Labor Relations Act is important to you as a voter!

Learn more about the hazards of Green Tobacco Sickness by visiting OSHA's website.

This article by Amanda Holpuch for The Guardian and this piece by the Editorial Board of the New York Times provide more information and insight on child labor in tobacco in the United States.

Check out The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website for more information about the H2A Visa Program.

Here's where I found my USDA pricing data for tobacco and sweet potatoes.

Click here to learn more about the U.S. Tobacco GAP Program.

Click here to view the report released by Reynolds American that says that all of their growers and farmers are at almost 100% compliance with GAP guidelines in 2015.

Music:

I was lucky enough to find some AMAZING music by up and coming artists for this video. Check out all of them at the links below!

“I am running with temporary success from a monstrous vacuum in pursuit” by Chris Zabriskie

“The Roads that Burned Our Boots” by Jahzzar

“Back to the Woods” by Jason Shaw

“Plantation” by Jason Shaw

“Blazing Day” by MC Cullah