Uncovering the human costs of industrial agriculture

Thousands of Christmas trees line the winding backroads of far Southwest Virginia.

Over the last decade, political science student Nico Ramallo said the area has become unrecognizable, with mountainsides stripped of their native forest and replaced with rows of Fraser fir trees and the lingering scent of chemicals.

“You can actually smell the pesticides when they’re spraying – it’s so strong,” he said.

Since 2024, he and Isabella Bustamante-Velez, also a political science major at Virginia Tech, have dedicated their weekends to navigating the region. They’ve visited farms, migrant camps, and residences to understand how an area once dominated by family farming is being reshaped by industrial agriculture, and what that shift means for the people who live and work there.

Industrial agriculture refers to large-scale farming that often utilizes machinery, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides to increase production. While certain agricultural agencies and industry groups say the practice is necessary for efficiency and affordability, Ramallo and Bustamante-Velez argue that their work reveals the downsides, including environmental damage, health concerns, and economic strain on communities.

Under the guidance of Mauro José Caraccioli, associate professor of political science and the project’s research lead, the students are writing a narrative-based white paper and hope to publish their research in a scholarly journal before the 2027 Virginia General Assembly session. Ultimately, they hope their work will guide lobbyists in shaping policy reforms that strengthen safeguards against industrial agriculture.

From classroom to community

Ramallo and Bustamante-Velez, rising seniors whose parents immigrated to the United States, teamed up after interning with the Legal Aid Justice Center in late 2023. They said the experience opened their eyes to the mistreatment of immigrant agricultural workers across Southwest Virginia – particularly within the industrial Christmas tree industry. The non-profit provides legal services and advocacy for low-income individuals. After their internship was over, they continued the work.

They partnered with Preserve Grayson, a grassroots organization formed in 2021 in response to rapid expansion of industrial agriculture. Bustamante-Velez said they quickly realized “the problem was affecting the entire community, not just migrant workers.”

During the spring 2024 semester, they enrolled in an independent study with Caraccioli. With his help, they developed a research protocol and expanded their focus beyond Christmas tree farms to include other industrial agricultural operations in the region.

They received transportation assistance from VT Engage and, in fall 2024, received the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences’ Hokie Tank award, which is monetary funding toward a project approved by the dean’s roundtable, an advisory board. With this support, they travelled to Virginia’s Eastern Shore to learn strategies from the Agricultural Workers Advocacy Coalition. The funding also allowed them to continue their outreach in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The two delivered supplies to Southwest Virginia migrant workers stranded by the the storm.

“Some farm owners left with their families, but the workers didn’t have cars to leave,” Ramallo said. “We spent days going camp to camp bringing food and water.”

The cost of industrial agriculture

After conducting roughly 30 interviews in Grayson County, Galax, and other Southwest Virginia communities, the students found that industrial agriculture has affected the region across health, infrastructure, labor, and the economy.

“People think that bringing in bigger corporations will help in the long run, but there are always trade-offs, especially when it comes to roads, water systems, and landscapes,” Caraccioli said.

Residences reported higher rates of cancer, which they attribute to pesticide misuse. Elizabeth Kafka, the president of Preserve Grayson, moved to Independence, Virginia, in 2021. Two months later, her husband died of glioblastoma, and she developed severe asthma, which she blames on aerial spraying near her home.

After speaking with neighbors, she realized she wasn’t alone in her experiences. She has since organized local advocacy efforts and is pushing for basic safeguards. According to Ramallo, there are currently no laws that require farms to notify adjacent property owners of nearby pesticide spraying, despite recent attempts to pass legistlation.

“We’re asking for transparency for aerial spray so that we know beforehand and we can close our windows,” Kafka said.

Kafka, who lives on seven acres of land, said she felt forced to buy 31 acres across from her home out of fear that it would be purchased by an industrial farm. Environmental changes, she said, are increasingly visible.

 “It looks like a moonscape now,” she said.

A once-avid landscape painter, Kafka said her near full-time devotion to protecting the region has left little time for anything else. Along with taking courses in environmental law, she is now a certified water monitoring trainer.

“If I don't do something, there won't be anything for me to paint,” she said.

Bustamante-Velez, Caraccioli, and Ramallo hosted a summit at Virginia Tech in October. Along with sharing  their research, they invited community members to share their stories. Kafka was in attendance.

“That gave me a lot of hope,” she said.

Labor concerns were especially pronounced among migrant workers, many of whom reported long hours and unsafe conditions. According to the students’ research, one migrant worker described “working sunrise to sunset” for farm owners who “don’t know our names, but they know how much we pick.”

“Some of these workers didn’t even realize they have rights and empowering them to learn what they can do stand up to injustice is important,” Bustamante-Velez said.

Economic pressure on small farmers is another recurring theme in their research. Ramallo said many farmers described being pushed out by large corporations. In Grayson County, data from the 2022 Census of Agriculture reflects this trend: between 2017 and 2022, the number of farms fell 14 percent to 616, while total farmland increased 4 percent to 124,095 acres and average farm size rose 21 percent to 201 acres, signaling continued consolidation.

John Fant owns Summerfield Farm in Independence, a Virginia Century Farm that has been in his family since 1800. After retiring as a U.S. Army colonel in 2013, he returned home to manage the 1,900-acre sheep and cattle farm.

“The history of our country is very much tied to agriculture, but the ability to sustain a family farm is becoming harder and harder,” Fant said.

He said his farm is flanked by Christmas tree operations that have cleared forested areas, increased runoff, and removed natural windbreaks. While he has “nothing against Christmas trees,” he said he is concerned about arable farmland being used for other purposes.

“Once you convert it, it’s really hard to bring it back,” he said.

Elevating community voices

Ramallo said legal advocates at the Legal Aid Justice Center have expressed interest in using their research when advocating for various bills, and that Preserve Grayson will use the research when lobbying the General Assembly.

“There is a need for legislative change in terms of pesticide application, training requirements, and buffering between properties,” Bustamante-Velez said. “So many aspects of the problem could be fixed with more attention to the structure of the law.”

She also hopes the project will inspire community members to “fight for their homes and lives.”

 “I have seen how a community that for so long has been beaten down with no wins for the people gets motivated just by having a place to speak with one another about what they are going through,” she said.

Both students said their backgrounds have influenced their commitment to the work. Bustamante-Velez, whose mother immigrated from Colombia and father from Venezuela, said witnessing the exploitation of undocumented workers has shaped her desire to pursue law school.

Ramallo, whose parents immigrated from Bolivia, is also considering law school, and is currently interning with the Office of Senator Tim Kaine through Virginia Tech’s Hokies on the Hill program.

“My Hispanic background is really important to me,” he said. “I just want to be someone who can help give a voice to people who don’t have one.”

He said the experience has “become much more than a research project.”

“From being invited into people’s homes for Sunday dinners to staying in touch with them, I have been fortunate to build relationships in the region that I never would have expected when I first came to Virginia Tech,” Ramallo said.

Caraccioli said the project demonstrates the power of undergraduate research in documenting community experiences.

"One of the values of scholarship is the ability to tell those stories," he said.