Abstract

Fields of Poison

This article looks at farmworkers who are being sickened by pesticides and seem to have no recourse. Each summer as the grapes clinging to their vines turn the purple of a deep bruise, Juan Rios feels like he is being poisoned. A farmworker who moved to this agricultural valley from Mexico, Rios sprays pesticides at a winery from 3 AM to 3: 30 PM, five days a week. While relatively little has been done to study the long-term effects of pesticides, the research that does exist suggests that farmworkers and their children are vulnerable to a painful array of illnesses. California farmworkers have elevated levels of leukemia and stomach, uterine and brain cancer, according to a study published by the American Journal of Industrial Medicine in 2001. But most farmworkers have few options for other employment. The vast majority are recent, non-English speaking immigrants. Since more than half are undocumented, and a slim slice are unionized, relatively few complain to state or federal agencies for fear of losing their job or being deported, according to a 2000 General Accounting Office report. Adam Sharp, associate assistant administrator in the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, previously worked for the American Farm Bureau Federation, where he criticized EPA efforts to assess pesticide risks, specifically the application of an extra tenfold safety margin for children. In 1939 there were thirty-two pesticide products registered in the United States; there are now more than 20,000, and farmers use an estimated 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides annually. This industry is big business with large political clout: Agricultural chemical companies made more than $1.6 million in campaign contributions in 2001-02. The average farmworker made $8,750 in 1999-2000.