Health campaigns worldwide push people to eat more fruit, fish, and dairy in the name of wellness. But a new study warns that these foods often come with a hidden cost: forced labor.
Researchers from Tufts University and the University of Nottingham found that some popular “healthy” diets promoted globally may depend on ingredients produced under exploitative conditions. The study traces the risk of forced labor across food supply chains—from fruit farms and nut plantations to slaughterhouses and fishing vessels.
Food that harms while it nourishes
Researchers assessed over 200 foods found in globally recommended diets, rating each based on how and where it’s grown, harvested, or processed. Their findings show that foods often promoted as “healthy”, carry some of the highest risks of forced labor. The study found seafood among the most exploitative sectors, and handpicked fruits and hand-shelled nuts followed close behind. In an article written by Tufts University and published by Phys.org, Co-author Nicole Tichenor Blackstone, said:
“We found that recommended healthy diets could have higher or lower risk of forced labor compared with what Americans currently eat, depending on the mix of foods,”
Protein foods overall posed the greatest risk across all diets studied. This category included seafood, plant-based proteins, and livestock farming. For livestock farming, researchers evaluated risks linked to slaughtering, meat processing, and animal feed production.
Forced labor at sea
The seafood industry, in particular, remains deeply troubled by forced labor. Earlier this year, four fishermen filed a lawsuit under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) against Bumble Bee tuna. This marked the first time the seafood industry has faced such a challenge.
Bumble Bee admits that fishermen were held in debt bondage, denied fair wages, isolated at sea for months, and subjected to physical and psychological abuse. Yet, the company insists it had no knowledge of the abuses. Court filings allege that 95–100% of its tuna comes from a ‘trusted network’ of vessels, including those involved in the alleged exploitation.
The fishermen argue their experiences reflect a broader pattern—one enabled by Bumble Bee’s continued use of transshipment, a practice widely condemned for its links to forced labor. Experts estimate that at least 128,000 fishers worldwide are victims of forced labor.
A call for justice in food systems
The study highlights a stark reality: even diets meant to improve human and planetary health can exploit the people who produce the food. Governments, companies, and consumers all have a role in breaking this link. Sparks said:
“The best way to reduce forced labor in our food supply chains is to let workers lead in shaping solutions and to back those solutions with legally binding agreements that protect them from retaliation,”
Initiatives like the Fair Food Program show that empowering farmworkers can make food systems fairer and more sustainable. Global trade policies and corporate transparency laws that block goods made with forced labor are essential next steps.
The International Labor Organization estimates that 28 million people worldwide are trapped in forced labor—many of them in agriculture and food production. Healthy eating shouldn’t come at the expense of human freedom. Join the call to end forced labor in global food supply chains.
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