Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Barnes Farming to respond to the report and allegations of hot working conditions, disclose the measures Barnes Farming is taking to protect workers from extreme heat exposure, and disclose steps taken by Barnes Farming to compensate the worker’s family for his death.

The Company takes the health and safety of each one of its team members extremely seriously and has prioritized health and safety since the Farm was started. Each Barnes Farming team member is vital to the Company, to the community, and to the global food supply and, as a Company and a family of devoted team members, we are deeply saddened by the loss of Mr. Gónzalez Mendoza. Chief among the many commitments Barnes Farming has to the health and safety of its team members is its certification as a GLOBALG.A.P. and G.R.A.S.P. Company, demonstrating the Company’s empowerment of its team members and the Company’s pledge to protect their well-being. Barnes Farming’s commitments extend further to the collective bargaining agreement terms it agrees to, its work with the North Carolina Grower’s Association, and its alignment with the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, all centered around the best interests of the team members who are part of the Barnes Farming family.