http://rt.com/news/monsanto-argentina-health-problems-484/
Monsanto's pesticides poisoning Argentina - report
Published time: October 21, 2013
Pesticides sold by Monsanto are behind health problems ranging from
birth defects to elevated rates of cancer in Argentina, a report has
revealed. A lack of regulations has led to widespread misuse of
Monsanto's products in the Latin American nation.
The Associated Press carried out a report that found a clear link
between the use of pesticides sold by Monsanto and growing health
problems in Argentina. Absence of regulations and their enforcement
has led to widespread misuse of Monsanto's chemicals across the
country. In turn, this has caused multiple health problems in the
rural population.
AP documented a number of occasions when toxic pesticides were used
close to populated areas and consequently contaminated the water
supply and caused health problems.
Santa Fe Province, which is Argentina's number one producer of
cereals, forbids the use of pesticides less than 500 meters from
populated areas. However, AF uncovered evidence that toxic chemicals
were used as little as 30 meters from people's homes.
Schoolteacher Andrea Druetta who lives in Santa Fe told AP that her
children had been covered in pesticides recently while swimming in
the garden pool.
In addition, studies show that cancer rates in the province are two
to four times higher than the rest of the country, while in the
neighboring province of Chaco birth defects have quadrupled since the
introduction of biotechnology in the agricultural industry around a
decade ago.
Researchers also found high rates of thyroid disorders and chronic
respiratory illness in Santa Fe.
Deadly cocktails
Monsanto's chemical pesticide, Roundup, contains a substance called
glyphosate. While the substance has been deemed harmless, AP found
that it is being used in a number of ways in Argentina that are
"unanticipated by regulatory science or specifically banned by
existing law."
Doctor Damian Vernassi from the Faculty of Medicine of the University
of Rosario told RT's Spanish channel, Actualidad RT, that these
chemical mixes could be responsible for the drastic increase in
health problems.
"It could be linked to pesticides," he said. "There has been analysis
of the primary ingredient, but we have never investigated the
interactions between the different chemicals that are being mixed."
AP interviewed Argentine farmhand, Fabian Tomassi, who worked
preparing a cocktail of chemicals to spray crops for three years. He
now suffers from the debilitating neurological disorder,
polyneuropathy, and is near death.
"I prepared millions of liters of poison without any kind of
protection, no gloves, masks or special clothing," he said. "I didn't
know anything. I only learned later what it did to me, after
contacting scientists."
In response to the study, Monsanto issued a statement saying that it
"does not condone the misuse of pesticides or the violation of any
pesticide law, regulation, or court ruling."
"Monsanto takes the stewardship of products seriously and we
communicate regularly with our customers regarding proper use of our
products," said spokesperson Thomas Helscher in a written statement.
Argentina was one of the first countries to adopt Monsanto's
biotechnology to increase its agricultural output. The
multinational's products transformed Argentina into the world's third
largest producer of soy.
At present Argentina's entire soy crop is genetically modified, as is
most of its corn and cotton. In addition, AP found that Argentine
farmers use about 4.5 pounds of pesticide concentrate per acre, which
is over double the amount used in the US.
_______________________________________________
Sustainablelorgbiofuel mailing list
Sustainablelorgbiofuel@lists.sustainablelists.org
http://lists.eruditium.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel