Farm Labor Protections and Price Premiums for Organic Food

ABSTRACT Is there a trade‐off between labor protections and environmental stewardship for organic foods? We investigate this question in the context of the U.S. apple industry. U.S. organic apple producers are heavily reliant on access to temporary foreign labor under the H‐2A visa program. Using monthly U.S. retail price data from 2010 to 2023, we estimate the extent to which increased labor protections under H‐2A have increased retail prices for organic apples relative to conventional apples. We find that changes in the H‐2A Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEVR) affect retail organic price premiums. Our results suggest that a 1% increase in the AEVR corresponds to a 0.1% increase in the retail price premium for organic apples. Wage increases enhance security for foreign workers and support domestic production, but they may also make sustainable organic products more costly for consumers.