Young people on tobacco farms

Thank you for beginning this debate.Because the Pro side has already put forth an argument in favor of the position that “child labor should be illegal on tobacco [farms]”, I will offer a few arguments against that idea.First, let’s begin by defining our terms. The word “child labor” has two distinct meanings – the first referring to “involving children in work that deprives them of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful.” [1] That definition, which serves as the basis for most child labor law, is very value-laden and defines child labor as necessarily harmful. The second meaning is much less negative and is simply “any work performed by a child.” Whereas mowing the lawn or cleaning one’s room would not qualify as child labor in the first sense, in the second sense – child labor is any form of work performed by a child. For the purposes of this discussion, the scope is limited to child labor in the second definition strictly on tobacco farms in the United States (US only because the Pro side has already mentioned that laws vary state-by-state, which I assume is in reference to US states).First, at many points in history, including even in the United States today, children regularly die from lack of basic necessities – or, for whatever reason, not having what they need to survive. The child may even be an older sibling, seeking ways to make sure his or her siblings survive as well. To stop a child from working to satisfy his or her basic needs on the basis that it should be illegal is, on its face, morally questionable. You have to ask yourself why a child would be working on a tobacco farm in the first place unless the child had absolutely no alternatives in getting what he or she needs to survive. The idea that by making child labor on tobacco farms illegal we’ll be saving lives is absurd, as without the money provided by working on the farm, those children would likely have no other alternative.Second, especially in farming, much of the learning is done by working as soon as possible. For families working a tobacco farm, it is essential that able-bodied children are able to help whenever they are ready with the daily activities required to keep a farm profitable. Expecting a child to contribute to the welfare of a family that supports and protects him or her is not a moral problem as it is the sharing of responsibility – something that has been done for hundreds of years in the United States. By treating work on the farm as an educational opportunity rather than a physical obligation, family farming work would be adversely affected by laws banning child labor on tobacco farms.Next, let’s critically evaluate the Pro side’s positions on this issue. First, the Pro side alleges that there are no agricultural laws preventing young people from getting injured or preventing fatal accidents. I will admit that is true – farmer lobbying groups recently pushed the Labor Department to drop potential legislation regulating the type of work that children could do on farms[2]. However, no law can completely prevent all injuries or accidents. By definition, an accident is something that is unintentional. Farms can take steps to make injuries less likely, but anyone who agrees to work on a farm should be aware of the risks involved with a hazardous work environment. That includes the risks associated with tobacco farming in particular. While farms that have not made efforts to minimize the risk of workers (children included) or provided the proper amount of training can be held accountable for negligence. Those who did make efforts acted in good faith, without the need for a law telling them to do so or a law banning children from tobacco farms. It is in the best interest of the farm ownership to make injuries less likely, regardless of whether a law is in place, as it reduces their liability and the risk of down-time. I don’t find the argument that there are currently no laws in place convincing.Also, I would like to see statistics indicating the number of deaths and injuries to children that result from tobacco farming in the US. None are cited by the Pro side.I anticipate hearing Pro’s rebuttal to my comments.[1] = http://www.ilo.org...[2] = http://www.avvo.com...