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Poisoning for Profit

Poisoning for Profit. Reconstruction of Pacific Coastal Plains World Bank and World Health Organization Deforestation occurred for highway systems and warehouses. 380,000 acres of forest destroyed for cotton fields Many species of animals eliminated

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Poisoning for Profit

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  1. Poisoning for Profit

  2. Reconstruction of Pacific Coastal Plains • World Bank and World Health Organization • Deforestation occurred for highway systems and warehouses. • 380,000 acres of forest destroyed for cotton fields • Many species of animals eliminated • People could no longer use a piece of their land in exchange for labor. • Small farmers were evicted from their land. • Private farm owners broke down the soil, so they had to continue moving their cotton farms outward. The unusable land was never able to recover. The Capitalization of the Pacific Coastal Plains

  3. 1950’s: Methyl parathion was tested on cotton. • Resulted in many illnesses and deaths • Use was banned, but the decision was later reversed • 1960’s-1970’s: The use of pesticides was more widely introduced. • Pests developed resistance • Increased use of pesticides per year • Chemical companies benefitted • Yields of cotton decreased • Depleting soil nutrients, increasing costs The Pesticide Treadmill

  4. Pesticide poisoning • Nonreprorted cases higher than reported • For every one case reported, there are two or three unreported • Children make up 15-20 percent of poisonings • Grower clinics • Report as nonpesticide illnesses • Many avoid going to clinics Health Costs to Workers

  5. Cotton growers do not care about laborers because they are easily replaced if one got sick/died/etc. • Workers lack protective wear. • Labeling • Some workers cannot read • No labels indicate effects: cancer, birth defects • Workers are often ordered to work when pesticides are applied, which is unsafe. • Crop dusters rarely check to see if anyone is in the field before spraying Health Costs to Workers

  6. Laborers’ homes • Provided to laborers • No floor • Lack running water • Most have no toilet • Infested with bugs and rodents Health Costs to Workers

  7. Malaria • Thousands of cases in Central America • Mosquitos develop resistance to certain chemicals • Government issues use of more chemicals to kill off mosquitos • WHO promotes excess use of chemicals • Mosquito susceptibility to DOT: • 1959: 100 percent • 1980: 5 percent • Malaria cases increase, government solution – buy expensive chemicals Health Costs to Communities

  8. Contamination of ecosystems • Planes empty pesticides into lakes and bays • Insect-eating animals, mostly birds, have declined greatly • Chemical half lives = 15 years • Disappearance of honey bees The Ecological Costs of Cotton

  9. “Circle of Poison” • Exports come back to United States and other countries • 75 percent of pesticides are banned in the US • Cattle contamination • DDT found in meat meant for fast food restaurants • FDA inspections • 1998: 45,000 pounds of beef from Honduras were distributed in Florida before chlordane was detected at three times the standard The Ecological Costs of Cotton

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