For civilization to persist, each subsequent generation must be equipped
by the previous one with the knowledge and skills to grow food, which
traditionally occurs on family-scale farms from parent to child, or from
seasoned expert to young amateur. But new labor laws being proposed by
the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) would prohibit children from
performing many of the routine farm chores they have been involved with
for centuries, which some see as a direct attack on small-scale
agriculture.
The Daily Caller reports that the DoL, under
the guidance of the Obama Administration, is proposing that child labor
laws be modified to prohibit children under the age of 16 from working
with animals, for instance, or from being allowed to work with food
storage bins. The proposal also seeks to prohibit children from "being
employed in the storing, marketing and transporting of farm product raw
materials," which essentially makes it a crime for farmhands to touch
produce once it has been picked.
Originally put forward by Labor Secretary Hilda Solis last fall as a way
to further protect children from unsafe working conditions, the
proposal threatens unprecedented government overreach into the normal
operating procedures of private farms. And while the new provisions
would reportedly contain an exemption for children working on farms
owned by their parents, they would still drastically limit the freedom
of children to learn about agriculture from a young age.
You can view the DoL's proposal announcement here:
http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/whd/WHD20111250.htm
