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Subject: We must help farm workers for our sake Author: tony morejon [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 07:53:23 05/23/02 Thu by mike thomas In 1985, biologists found a large number of alligator eggs from Lake Apopka either weren't hatching or were producing little mutants. They traced the problem to residues of DDT. This surprised them because they thought DDT threatened birds, not reptiles. "It is alarming in that it tells you that you need to check into it -- like running out the door to check for fire when you see smoke," said federal biologist Franklin Percival. But nobody thought to look for smoke over at the fields where the pesticides came from, the fields where migrant workers picked vegetables. In 1993, University of Florida zoology Professor Louis Guillette said the problems with alligators raised a concern with pesticides that went beyond the conventional threat of cancer. He said the chemicals could act as synthetic hormones in the body, triggering other health problems. "We need to be more concerned about reproduction, the immune system, metabolism -- the effects of these contaminants on the growth and viability of animals and humans," he said. Still, nobody thought about the workers in the fields. I could go on and on here. I could bring up how workers were ignored even after a huge bird kill in 1999 that was blamed on pesticides from the Lake Apopka farms. I could point out that political leaders deny farm workers rights that are given to other workers because the agri-business giants are big political contributors. I could point out that I broke the alligator story in 1985 and that I wrote about the bird kill in 1999, and in neither case did I bring up any concern about the farm workers. And the reason I did not is the same reason why everybody else ignored them, even as they began suffering autoimmune disorders such as lupus. Farm workers do not exist. They work out of sight, live out of sight. They keep their mouths shut because they have no rights. Those here illegally have added incentive to keep quiet when they break out in rashes or suffer other problems. We know they are out there somewhere, that they have it rough. We know the connotation of the word "migrant workers." But surely they are better off here than where they come from. That is our moral salve. There still is every reason not to go back and check the Apopka workers for diseases, not to do blood work and take histories of miscarriages and stillbirths. Health bureaucrats are busy. There is no gain for politicians to champion this cause. It would not be in the interests of corporate agri-giants to pinpoint health hazards caused by their chemicals. That might create a demand for more worker protections at a time when the companies are lobbying to weaken existing protections. There is no motivation to help the workers simply because it is the right thing to do. So how about this: Let's investigate them for our own sake because we eat the vegetables they pick. There is much we need to know about synthetic hormones and the environmental causes of autoimmune diseases. The workers could well be our canaries in the coal mine. This is awful. This dehumanizes them. But helping people for selfish purposes is better than not helping them at all. Mike Thomas can be reached at 407-420-5525 or mthomas@orlandosentinel.com. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]