Heatstroke ruined his health. Years before, it took the life of another farm worker at the same company

<p>A farm labor contractor exposed laborers on H-2A agricultural visas to heat-related health hazards, but is still bringing hundreds of migrant farm workers to North Carolina</p><p>It was 4pm and 90F (32C) when Carlos Vargas Moreno and other farm workers set out to weed a watermelon field in Goldsboro, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/northcarolina">North Carolina</a>, on 19 July 2022.</p><p>The work day had begun at 7am and included two 15-minute breaks and a one-hour lunch eaten outdoors. The heat index – what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature – was 98.3F. It was the kind of day that a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/heat-stress/communication-resources/app.html">heat safety app</a> created by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh) defined as “hazardous” for outdoor workers.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2026/oct/07/north-carolina-farm-workers-disability-health-heat">Continue reading...</a>