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Poisoning for Profit. Environment under Fire. Central America: Pacific Coast. Traditionally, peasants lived on cattle haciendas rented from large landowners. Peasants were advanced money or goods, and rented plots of land in exchange for labor.
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Poisoning for Profit Environment under Fire
Central America: Pacific Coast • Traditionally, peasants lived on cattle haciendas rented from large landowners. • Peasants were advanced money or goods, and rented plots of land in exchange for labor. • 1900s: Coffee producers took over land and forced peasants to migrate into the pacific lowlands • Peasant cleared forests for subsistence farming. The pacific coast was once teeming with forests. When commercial farmers started clearing the land for cotton, plant life was devastated and many animal species were displaced.
Land Transformation • Post-WWII: International capital & local oligarchs recognize profit potential of Pacific coast for growing cotton & sugar, raising cattle, but lacked infrastructure. • Pacific coastal highway was constructed, with World Bank loans. • Land owners rented land but peasants became seasonal cotton pickers or moved to land not suitable for agriculture. • Rampant deforestation and soil degradation through the practices of commercial farmers. Displaced peasant farmers practiced “slash and burn” to clear forest land, which sometimes rendered soil unable to produce for generations.
The Pesticide Treadmill • 1950s: 1.2 million lbs. of new organosynthetic pesticides (methyl parathion) tested in Nicaragua, causing dozens of deaths and widespread illnesses. • Organophosphates kill 60 times the pests as DDT • 1960s: Organophosphates used as cheap and effective pesticides. However, insects quickly developed a resistance to these pesticides. • .
More pesticides are needed to fend off the adapting pests • Beneficial insects are also killed • “Chemical Cocktails” • Each square mile of cotton used 4.4 lbs. of chemicals for every person in Central America • The coastal plain was “drowned in a sea of poison” • 75% aerial spraying does not reach the target • Yet it was profitable for the chemical companies
Rising costs and diminishing soil quality forced many cotton growers to switch to corn or sugar, pushing economically disadvantaged farmers out of business. These crops are grown in the former contaminated cotton fields and absorb residual pesticides.
Health Costs to Workers • 1960s – 70s: Reports of insecticide poisonings are increasing with accelerated use of pesticides. It is suspected that many cases go unreported. • Growers practices cover-up poisoning • Crops are planted close to waterways + workers bathe in waterways. • Slave wages with long hours, no protective clothing, using cheaper but more toxic pesticides without hazard labels. • Governments disguises the problems: • One death squad in Guatemala kidnapped a doctor for reporting pesticide poisonings to the state. • 19 out of 25 organochlorines are carcinogenic. • DBCP caused 2000 banana workers to become sterile • Mothers’ milk has 42-185 times the safe level of DDT
The Malaria Epidemic • 1950s: The World Health Organization implemented programs to eradicate the malaria mosquito. • (Parathion Carbamide) • Mosquito populations declined from nearly 100 percent in 1959 to 5 percent in 1980. • Mosquitoes developed tolerance. • “For every two pounds of insecticide added to the Central American environment, roughly 100 new cases of malaria would result.”
The Ecological Costs of Cotton • Sprayed pesticides drift 50+ miles, contaminating surrounding ecosystems. • Pesticides build up in animal and plant life. • Birds: the insect food-supply decreases & those consumed are contaminated, which affects reproductive systems. • Fish: Run-off washes chemicals into nearby waterways. Shrimp breeding grounds are poisoned, clam populations decrease, and fish exports fall sharply. • Beef Cattle: Cows graze on the former cotton fields. Beef contamination levels are much higher than the safety standards. • Only a small sample of imported beef is tested. By the time contamination is discovered, most beef has already been consumed.
Conclusions • Widespread chemical contamination and ecological depletion. • In some parts of Central America, it is no longer economically viable to grow cotton. • Large growers switch to other crops, pushing small farmers out of business. • UN: "Protection Against Products Harmful to Health & Environment.” • Required health and environmental safety information to be provided to countries importing pesticides—vetoed by Reagan • US congress: 25 senators sponsored “The Circle of Poison Prevention Act of 1991” (bans the export of banned pesticides).
