There is some mechanization, though the low wages paid are a concern:

Brought over from Brazil, nurtured in India and commercialised all over the world, the cashew nut has grown to become an emblem of globalisation. Read on to learn more about this cosmopolitan nut, how cashews are processed and how Vietnam came to overtake India as the world’s leading supplier...

India was the first country to develop the cashew processing industry, and for a long time it enjoyed its hay-day [sic] as the world’s leading supplier, before it was recently overtaken by Vietnam. Today, Vietnam reigns as cashew king, far surpassing India in cashew nut exports. One reason for this leap is the country’s success in mechanising the process. High-tech machines, developed in Vietnam, have increased production rates and decreased labour force. These days, Vietnam’s cashew factories employ far less people than they used to. For example, a modern plant with just 30 employees can process over 50000 kilos of the nuts per day. This allows Vietnam to spend less on wages and pass on this saving to consumers, giving Vietnam a bigger piece of the global market pie.

https://www.foodunfolded.com/article/cashew-nuts-how-its-made

While some farmers/processers do it by hand, a lot of the bulk of cashew processing is done by machines- machine processing for cashews became popular in the 60's. Even with hand processing, the majority of the larger scale commercial providers use sanitary factory/shop conditions, and aren't doing it out dirty in the fields.

Some videos can be fun, like when old style harvesting and processing of stuff like cacao, coffee, tea, or wine grapes is presented. But that smaller scale artisan stuff of the tedious hand picking and so on isn't usually how the larger scale commercial companies do it.

A lot of the produce we have in the store is hand-handled, almost any produce from a farmers market is hand-handled. Artichokes, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, greens, summer squash, nightshades, berries, tree fruits, citrus, table grapes, and more are hand-handled for sale. Most of it is delicate enough that it needs to be hand-picked and processed to keep it in perfect shape enough to satisfy shoppers. A lot of it gets hand sorted/processed too. Some stuff gets a a second machine run to harvest stuff for the processing plants and fresh eating perfection isn't quite as required.

yes, I saw that video.

It looks like they developed a machine to crack the nut. But. it still cracks only one nut at a time.

I've had cashew juice in Brazil, which is never exported, supposedly because it does not keep or travel well, but after I tasted it, I understood why no one would even want to export it. It tastes sort of okay, but it is very low on the list of juices I want to drink.

Glad I like mine roasted!

Even ”raw” cashews are steamed.

True raw cashews are poisonous, which is why they are steamed.

Rusty

A co-worker had worked in a meat-processing plant and became a vegetarian. I think for most foods, we don't want to know "how the sausage is made".

"Much like workers picking lettuces, strawberries, etc. Hundreds of acres of green, and is there a handy porta-potty?"

For many, many years, there were NOT porta-potties in the fields. When a field worker had to "go," they had to do it right there in the fields. It was a huge battle to get the growers to provide the porta-potties but now, in California anyway, they must.

While porta potties may be there, I'm not sure if they are always used, and while washrooms are available, the people who assemble your quarter pounder don't always wash after using the restroom.

I am 61 years old and have eaten cashews my whole life, Not raw though. I am ok I hope LOL

True that much of what you buy in the grocery store has been handled more times that you might want to consider.

I wash much of my grocery store produce with dish soap. I have not found any thing negative about doing so.

I like buying from the local farm in the summertime. The produce may not be organic, but I know where it has been. From the open air market, I can see the fields that is growing in.

I know that, at least, it has not been packed in crates and trucked in vehicles.

That is one problem with vegetables in a restaurant. It is doubtful that much of what is brought to the table has much care given to prep such as that.

I have heard that the Amish use there own "waste" to fertilize the fields? Please someone correct me!

Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. This is one of those times since I love cashews.

My teen daughter is vegan and sensitive to the protein in wheat. Cashews are in sooooo many of the recipes I've found that work for her. When she told me the story of cashews and said she'd prefer not to eat them, I joked that she'd have to swear off watching food videos or risk starving.

kathy, I do believe using "night soil" is illegal in the US. I serioulsy doubt that they are doing that.

Once in a while you will get some food disease outbreak that is attributed to using human waste, usually it if from some place where there is little over sight. I can be a real disease spreader.

No doubt that things do happen that are not supposed to be, but I dont believe that this is a situation with the Amish

There are some issues about field pickers not having acess to toilets and that is a problem. It has been an issue in the media lately. That is a different issue from using human waste to fertilize.

Some say that urine is good for a garden but I doubt many folks go out to the garden and pee on the squash.

When we buy cashews we dont really know how it was processed. Apparently, despite that there is some automation in the processing, much is still done by multitudes of workers, mostly women, by hand.

Lars, I remember in Costa Rica seeing these cashew apples and I remember tasting them and they tasted awful! I am stil not sure just what folks do with them. I guess they make a juice with them.

Thankfully I have never liked the things, and it now appears i am sensitive to them anyway.

I never knew. Thanks