Alexis Handal

An up close image of a corn stalk in a field.

Mistreatment of Michigan farmworkers: Researchers document abuses, push for change

Recent research, published in the Labor Studies Journal, documents a range of dehumanizing, stressful, unsafe, and unhealthy workplace and living conditions. In their qualitative research effort, University of Michigan social epidemiologists Lisbeth Iglesias-Rios and Alexis Handal specifically explore the effects of precarious employment and labor exploitation on how they affect the health of farmworkers and their families.

An image of an apple orchard.

Michigan Farmworker Project seeks to improve social and environmental health for marginalized population

Q&A with Alexis Handal and Lisbeth Iglesias-Rios

Led by University of Michigan School of Public Health social epidemiologists Alexis Handal and Lisbeth Iglesias-Rios, the Michigan Farmworker Project (MFP) is a community-based participatory research initiative aimed at improving the social and environmental health of Michigan’s farmworker population, who play a critical role in the state’s food supply chain. Handal and Iglesias-Rios discuss their work.

Farm land

Essential but Expendable? Protecting Farm Workers During COVID-19

Q&A with Alexis Handal and Lisbeth Iglesias-Rios

State and federal executive orders have deemed seasonal and migrant farmworkers "essential." Yet, few protections have been granted to this population, which may be at higher risk of exposure to coronavirus, according to a policy brief by researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.