"A cross between two different varieties of onions, Vidalias are mild and sweet. In southeast Georgia, on the leading edge of the Atlantic coastal plain, the region's soil is uniquely low in sulfur content, which influences the onion flavor and odor," explains journalist Shane Mitchell. She took home two James Beard Awards in 2023 for her story, "Blood Sweat & Tears," in The Bitter Southerner.
Most Vidalia onion farmers employ contractors to hire workers, many of whom are here on H-2A visas. Recruited through various channels that require federal oversight, they are usually men from Mexico, Central America, and parts of the Caribbean. Their day typically starts before dawn when they are brought to the field on converted school buses. Ideally, they receive breaks for lunch, water, and shade, as Georgia reaches 90-degree temperatures during harvest season. To protect themselves, they wear pants, long-sleeve shirts, and heavy boots but working conditions are less than ideal. The current pay is $11.99 per hour for most of these workers — and they often don't receive all of the money they've earned.
In 2021, a grand jury indicted two dozen people as part of Operation Blooming Onion, a Department of Justice investigation into human trafficking, wage theft, rape, imprisonment, and physical abuse in America's onion fields. In 2022, three men were sentenced to federal prison on charges relating to the investigation. Earlier this year, eight more defendants agreed to plead guilty to charges in Georgia's largest human trafficking case.
Contractors hire most onion field workers, who are often cheated of their wages. Photo by Audra Melton.