The purpose of the documentary is to bring awareness of the harsh working conditions which tens of thousands of children face in the fields of the United States each year and to enact the Children's Act for Responsible Employment (CARE Act, HR 3564) which will bring parity of labor conditions to field workers that are afforded to minors in other occupations.

[2] Children who work on farms or in fields spend on average 30 hours a week, even during times of the year when school is in session.

It revisits Edward R. Murrow’s Harvest of Shame, filmed 53 years ago, and reveals that little has changed over the past five decades in the lives of migrant farm workers in the United States.

[4] The film profiles several children and their families as they work through the 2009–2010 harvest seasons, facing risks of being separated, deported or death.

[4] The Harvest was produced by Shine Global in association with Globalvision, Romano Film and Photography, and Eva Longoria's UnbeliEVAble Productions.

[7] Distributed by Cinema Libre, The film had its theatrical debut in New York City on July 29, 2011,[8] and became available on DVD October 2011.

While on Capitol Hill, Longoria and Romano showed scenes from the feature-length documentary to illustrate the harsh working conditions and exploitation of children in the fields.

[11] On August 12, 2014, the film's Associate Director, Julia Perez, spoke before the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on behalf of farm worker rights and child labor in U.S.

[12] The UN press release mentioned exposure to pesticides, wage theft, sexual assault, police harassment and other illegal working conditions faced by children—largely Latino children who either were born in the United States or migrated with their families.