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Subscribe to RSSAn inexplicable epidemic in Central America, where more than 16,000 people — mostly sugarcane workers — have died from incurable chronic kidney disease. NBC's Kerry Sanders reports from Nicaragua.
CHICHIGALPA, Nicaragua – You won’t see a road sign pointing to “La Isla de Viudas,” or “The Island of Widows,” as it’s not the community’s official name. It’s a nickname born from a horrific body count.
In the past 10 years, it’s believed that hundreds, if not thousands, of residents of Chichigalpa — mostly male sugarcane workers — have died from chronic kidney disease, or CKD. That in a city of nearly 60,000, roughly the size of Ames, Iowa.
The mysterious and hidden epidemic, first highlighted by the Center for Public Integrity, has claimed thousands more lives across Central America. In El Salvador and Nicaragua alone, the number of men dying from the excruciatingly painful disease has risen five-fold in the last two decades. High rates of CKD also have been found in rural villages in India and among the rice paddies of Sri Lanka.
Sacorro Mendez Flores, who lives in the “La Isla” district of Chichigalpa, remembers when her son first fell ill. Jorge Luis Silva didn’t look sick at first, but inside he was dying. His kidneys struggled to filter waste from his body, to no avail. Five months ago, Flores buried him.
“The same thing happened to my husband,” she said. “They both died the same.”
Sacorro Mendez-Flores, surrounded by her grandchildren, holds a family photo. The resident of Chichigalpa, Nicaragua, lost both her son and husband to chronic kidney disease.
Researchers are searching for answers about why this disease is ravaging not only the bodies of its victims, but the communities they leave behind.
The illness spreads
More than 20 million Americans aged 20 and older have chronic kidney disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In developed countries like the U.S., CKD often goes hand in hand with obesity, diabetes and hypertension. With treatment, including dialysis and kidney transplants, many with the disease survive.
The CKD plaguing parts of Central America, however, is something scientists have never seen before.
“It affects people who don't have diabetes or hypertension, which are the usual risk factors for chronic kidney disease,” said Sasha Chavkin, a CPI reporter who has covered the mysterious epidemic for several years. “No one can figure out what it is that's making all these people sick.”
Estbean Felix / AP
Workers in Central American sugarcane fields are dying of chronic kidney disease at an astonishing rate and experts are unable to say why.
“It comes at great social, economic and humanitarian cost,” said Dr. Daniel R. Brooks, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Boston University School of Health who is leading a research team looking for the cause of the epidemic. “These are working-age people who are being struck down, and whole communities are really hurt and devastated by this disease.”
And with little or no access to the life-saving treatments available in the developed world, a CKD diagnosis is often tantamount to a death sentence.
Related stories
In Nicaraguan sugarcane community, workers stare death in the face
Chronic kidney disease: 'Silent killer' may have multiple triggers
“Where we stand right now is that ultimately this disease is not treatable in this community,” said Nate Raines, a researcher with the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine Global Health program, which is collaborating with two organizations in Nicaragua on research independent from the Boston University group. “What we need to do is find the cause. That's the only way to really help the health situation.”
Many in Chichigalpa believe that the root of the disease lies in chemicals sprayed in the sugarcane fields while men are working, or seeping into the water supply. A spokesperson from the sugar industry says the chemicals used are standard fertilizer and are not used to excess.
Science, so far, points to a more complicated answer.
'Markers' of kidney damage found
The research team from the Boston University has linked the disease in Central America to strenuous labor, dehydration and environmental conditions in which chemicals may play a role. That theory was supported by the group’s most recent study, which found “markers” of kidney damage in adolescents as young as 12 in affected communities.
Thousands of miles away, research in Sri Lanka’s affected communities also indicates chemicals may play a key role in the illness devastating communities there.
As reported last month by the Center for Public Integrity, the country’s health ministry and World Health Organization announced in June that a years-long study had identified chemicals thought to be an essential cause of the disease: cadmium and arsenic. Both are heavy metals found in fertilizers and pesticides that can cause an array of health effects, including the type of kidney damage ravaging communities in Sri Lanka and Nicaragua.
While most of those tested had lower levels of the toxic elements than officially designated as dangerous by the United Nations, researchers believe that long-term exposure, likely through the food chain, may explain the high incidence of CDK.
Why are thousands of sugarcane workers dying from chronic kidney disease each year? Sasha Chavkin, of The Center for Public Integrity, discusses the search for the cause of this mysterious epidemic.
The findings, due to be officially released in October, represent a potential breakthrough in the research about CDK worldwide, including the epidemic in Nicaragua.
Researchers in Central America have not pinpointed a chemical cause. But the new research on adolescents indicates the kidneys of those going into the fields may already be damaged, making the long days and repeated dehydration in the fields potentially deadly.
Some experts also suggest that sugarcane workers may also unwittingly be harming themselves as they struggle to stay hydrated while cutting up to 11 tons of cane a day by hand.
For a refreshing pick-me-up, they occasionally slice a stalk of cane, peeling back its “bark” and sticking it in their mouths, where it produces a sweet sugary liquid.
But investigators now wonder: Could that constant flow of sucrose, combined with 90-plus degree temperatures and severe daily dehydration, be a deadly cocktail that slowly brings on CKD?
“We believe high amounts of sugar solutions may not cause much kidney damage,” said Dr. Richard Johnson, head of the division of renal disease and hypertension at the University of Colorado, Denver. “But under certain circumstances, such as dehydration, we’re concerned the sugar may actually be toxic in causing damage to the kidneys.”
The sugar link
Whether or not sugar consumption plays a direct role in causing the Central American form of CKD, activists say it is a thread that connects the disease to its northern cousin.
In the U.S., rampant sugar consumption – Americans eat an average of 22.2 teaspoons of sugar per day according to the American Heart Association—drives many of the diseases linked to CKD, including diabetes and hypertension.
And with recent steep increases in the price and demand for sugar, more people are working longer hours in the sugarcane fields of Central America. In 2011, the U.S. imported 330,000 metric tons of raw sugar from Central America, or nearly one-quarter of total raw sugar imports that year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
“Not only is the production of sugar killing people, but the consumption of it is killing people,” said Jason Glaser of La Isla Foundation, a nonprofit group he founded to focus attention on the epidemic and fund research that he hopes will solve the mystery. “It's bad for you and it's bad for workers.”
The sugar industry, however, rejects suggestions that it is causing the epidemic of CKD among workers at its mills and plantations.
“We are not responsible for it,” said Mario Amador, a spokesman for the sugarcane industry. “We’re working to find a solution.”
He also blames the workers themselves, saying they drink too much alcohol. “It’s part of our culture,” Amador said. “It’s part of the things we do in our country. Poor people do it a lot.”
Amador also speculated that active volcanoes in the region could have contaminated the water supply. But he admits he does not know why so many have died from CKD.
No matter what the research finds, Central America is unlikely to curb its cane production anytime soon. The world market for sugar is strong, and the industry receives direct help from abroad.
The International Finance Corp., the private-sector arm of the World Bank, has provided loans of more than $100 million to promote production and biofuel in Nicaragua in recent years. Though the loans went to two plantations whose workers have been heavily affected by kidney disease, they were approved without formal consideration of the disease because the IFC did not find a link between the cane fields and CKD, according to the Associated Press.
After workers complained about the loans, the IFC helped to negotiate an $800,000 donation to sponsor the ongoing Boston University study, the Center for Public Integrity reported. The money was provided by Nicaragua Sugar Estates Limited, a major sugar producer in the west of the country, part of more than $4 million it has committed toward research and community development in recent years.
Waiting to die
But for many in Chichigalpa, the results of the research – whatever they may be – will come too late.
Like most of the men in this community, Maximiliano Lopez, spent years in the fields cutting sugarcane. He began at 5 a.m., when the air was cool, and continued to work as the sun beat down, sometimes logging 14 hours a day. Then he was informed he had CKD.
In his own words, Maximiliano Lopez describes an average day in the life of a sugarcane cutter and how he's coping with the chronic kidney disease that he expects will soon kill him.
Even after his diagnosis, which bans him from working in the fields or at the mill, the muscular 32-year-old said he used a friend’s identification to return to cutting cane. Nicaragua is the second-poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, he explained, and many workers continue to work the harvest after being diagnosed with kidney disease because it is the only work they can find.
“A lot of people do it out of necessity,” Lopez said. “They have a big family and they're the head of the household, so even if they're sick, you have to find work to support your family.”
But, as Lopez and other cane workers eventually discovered, short-term survival may mean leaving behind the families that they labored so mightily to support.
“I began working there to earn a living and instead I earned death,” he said. “I’m just waiting for the day to come.”
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Decimates????? It is killing one in ten.......really?
I understand that you are looking at the etymology of the word, but you are still wrong in your criticism. From Websters: "Decimate: 3a: to reduce drastically especially in number <cholera decimated the population>".
It has taken on more than that literal definition, and therefore, the writer was correct.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decimate
If we consumed sugar products and died at a rate of 1 in 10; I would call it decimation. "Here I am, rock you like a sugar cane."
Whatever decimates is a badass sounding word. Anyways my original comment "Gee something else related to food products that kills us...imagine that."
If something came along and killed 1 in 10 Americans, over 31 million people would be dead. That's decimation in my book.
Sometimes when I decimate it burns a little. Is that common?
Yes, Really. And this is old news. Two words to explain it. Bayer Monsanto.
Think the chemical industy isn't fighting this? The only commonality is Lasso used on fields, Lasso or something similiar. It's not just in Nicaruga either.
Just an observations: These Nicaraguan workers "have big families" and therefore must work themselves to death to support them. This cycle of poverty is often closely related to number of children. Improving the welfare of third world countries, as well as helping raise Americans out of poverty, must address this issue through incentivizing implanted birth control (IUD's, under-skin hormones).
Only then will we we able to tackle the longstanding problems of poverty, hunger, disease, poor education, and unemployment.
the pesticides used to control the sugar cane rot and pests, is in all probability the cause, sometimes the aerial spraying is done, even while the workers are in the fields.
So, is there some law there that says they can't carry water?
Or haven't they figured that part out yet?
And why are they having so many children?
well i wouldn't be raising cane...if was them...
They keep having babies because they work so hard it's the only fun they can have... and birth control isn't available.
them sugar babies...
....and kidney beaners.
DOES ANYONE REMEMBER this story from about a year ago? It was on some of my medical blogs. The public health doctors along with disease control specialist were saying its dehydration and working conditions. However, the family practice doctors, PhDs and Environmentalist were screaming that "NO, it had to be the newer pesticides they are using in this area!" One thing many professionals mentioned is that these people have been doing this work for centuries without kidney damage. NOW, the tides are turning and if you read the tone of the article they are admitting that pesticides/chemicals could be the culprit. sickening.
Do you think these chemicals are not in your sugar sitting in your pantry as we speak ( obviously in much lesser concentrations) OH NO< to admit that would set the whole industry back---its in everything we eat. Sugar runs the world.
Look for signs of phosphorus poisoning.
Who cares if people in south america are getting sick and dying!
We can't let Obese America go without it's sugar!
imagine the horror if fat americans were cut off from their precious sugar?
it'll be far worse than any zombie apocalypse we can imagine
In the history of the world it has not been uncommon for people, particularly in poorer countries, or those that are in wealthier countries but who are poor, to have more children. It is partly because they have a higher death rate and so have more children to compensate but mostly because the more children the greater the chance of one of you being taken care of in your old age. More children = more chance of one of them earning more money, or of course all of them together will.
Rob--also, the human race was agrarian in nature until fairly recently in history, and the more children one had, the more family members there were to help farm. Many children USED to be associated with more wealth. The in many areas, the human race is in the middle of a paradigm shift on that one, particularly in poor third world countries.
The other thing I want to say, is that another paradigm shift needs to occur--that is a shift to the more local and environmentally friendly, sustainable way of life that utilizes the best of both the past and present and future--there is a term for it, I think that term might be 'modern paleolithic' but I'm not sure--comments, anyone?
Finally, I just have to say that I hope that whatever needs to happen to help eliminate this terrible condition(s) from these workers, happens soon. They deserve better!
first the peanuts in mesico now the sugar cane; it's terrorist's I tell you!
The majority of Latin America is Catholic which is primary against birth control / contraceptives / abortion.
You got that right.
The same Monsanto that is behind the opposition to Proposition 37 in California that would require the labeling of genetically engineered foods.
The same Monsanto that has patented their genetically engineered seeds and will sue any farmer that tries to re-use seeds from their own crops rather than buying new seeds from Monsanto.
This is exactly why we need to get rid of job stifling agencies like the EPA and FDA with their stupid clean water and air garbage. Industry should just be able to use whatever chemicals they want on their fields and self regulate. Besides, they can hire enough scientists to tell people that the stuff they are spraying is just fine. Monsanto would never engage in risky business would they?
Please know I'm being totally sarcastic, but we should all pay attention because the crap that's being put in our food will eventually kill all of us one way or another.
JBuford:
Mexican sodas are awesome. They just have real sugar in them instead of high fructose corn syrup. You should try one. Cokes are amazing :)
It looks like the same problem thailand is having in their rice fields. It turns out that these people are exposed constantly to fertilizer on an every day basis that is at the high level of "safe" For a regular, non worker, it would probably be fine but since they are almost bathing in the stuff every day they are super exposed.
Zorro Both of those companies, let's also throw Nestle-Purina in for sh*ts and Giggles, now have to defend their practices of using even more pesti/herbicides because RoundUp Ready isn't ready anymore. The SuperBugs are though. Even the Bees know it not the real deal.
Two studies, same issue, U of MN and one in GB, came to the same conclusion about seed treatments causing bee colony collapse. That industry is also fighting the integredy of those two studies.
But as long as former flunky's for both Monsanto and Bayer, control mgmt position in the USDA and FDA, don't look for any action.
Monstanto uses the legal arm of the USDA to sic on farmers that don't toe the line.
They're also telling a huge group of Minnesota corn growers that they're not applying the RoundupReady the correct way with barrier fields. That must take balls...telling a bunch of 3-5 generation corn farmers they don't know what they're doing.
Population control!!!
There goes Jessica again...blaming fat people.
None of your skinny friends eat sugar?
Does this happen in the cane fields of Hawaii or around Lake Okeechobee in FL? If it does I haven't heard anything. We have tougher laws on the chemicals & fertilization used. If it's not happening on the US farms why don't they just see what is different there it's not rocket science. I worked on my uncle's tobacco farm when I was a teenager every summer from 12 y.o to 16 y.o. back in the late 60's - early 70's & I would get sores on my legs every year & they wouldn't get well. I figured it was the chemicals but I didn't know which one is was. unlike today back them a lot of the work was done by hand, we would dust the tobacco for worms with a coffee can with holes punched in it nailed to a stick. We topped, suckered & cropped all by hand. In the mornings before the dew would dry the chemicals from the tobacco would get all over you. I would imagine it is the same way in the sugarcane fields there.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/13/us-france-pesticides-monsanto-idUSTRE81C0VQ20120213
What a terrible devastating situation for these poor workers. The hot long hours, plus extreme poverty they must work under are forcing them to make an awful choice, work and die or starve to death it seems. I suspect the chemicals and high sugar liquid are playing a distinct role in their early deaths. Just a the sugar we Americans consume is leading to so many health problems for us, it is harming them as well. If we could cut back on our intake and eat more healthy, perhaps these people could grow other foods more healthy and have a better life. Either way, something must be done to help save these people before it is too late.
Sugarcane has been growing in these countries for a very long time, and people working in the fields have been sucking on canes ever since people have been growing this crop. Yet the kidney failures is a relatively recent problem. Thus I think the more likely culprit may be chemicals, or bio-engineered seeds used nowadays in the sugarcane industry.
Terrifying stuff...
It is not known how recent a problem this is, it was brought to public light several years ago but could have easily been going on long before that. Second, the current plantation workers are getting little pay and being mistreated, perhaps their predecessors had it better, that is not an uncommon trend considering the corporate take over of the world.
That's the motto of the GOP : "Word and die or starve to death". And if Mitt Rmoney has his way that's how it will be here too - unless, of course, you already have a 6+ figure income, then you'll get a nice tax break at the expense of all those you stand upon.
only an idiot like you would make an article like this political...dumbassdemonrat....
This is old news, researchers had found links to poor water intake habits and genetics along with other things like heavy alcohol consumption that are causing this.. They are farm workers and during certain times of the year have periods of heavy manual labor.. It is the way it is, we have that here in the US, mining, farming, construction, factory, hard work causes health problems.. Ask a Midwest grain farmer or a southern cotton farmer and they will tell you farming is hard work.. These people are not slaves or science projects for Monsanto.. Can they educate their children and give them a better life? YES and some do..
Indigo Rage
What a crock of BS!! Maybe you forgot or were sleeping during history class but America was founded on hard work.. People here need to get off their a$$es and be productive not stand around and bitch about not getting enough hand outs.. By all the fat a$$ed inner city people I see there is not much chance of them starving any time soon.. You do realize every single person here has the ability to control their own destiny by applying themselves.. How do you think most people get wealthy? hard work and sacrifice along with skill , knowledge or a lucky break.. Yes Mr. Romney wants people to get off their a$$es while Mr. Obama seems content with buying votes/worshipers trough social aid.. Do some rich people not pay their share? YES but expecting them to give 40%-50% is Communistic/Socialistic which seems to be the current presidents idea.. So keep up your false fear mongering it seems to be working.. Watched a video with a non white news theme and the fat guy with the skinny little glasses says that if the brother does not get reelected there will be race riots and terrorist attacks.. Guess he thinks another big depression is better as the economy is ready to collapse..
Something the GOP keeps leaving out of their plans is the amount of corruption and greed in this country. They seem to think that if they keep pushing their same old policies for the rich, their ideology will work.. somehow, even if it never has before.
The very rich seem to want more and more, while they look down on those who worked hard. Working hard is not a guarantee that you will make it, you also have to be corrupt and never caught at it.
Where are the dialysis machines? The sugar industry is the most mechanized industry on earth in the refining stage, but where, oh where, in all that IMF money, and research money, is the money to save these villagers right now, TODAY? Send some dialysis machines and nurses NOW. Then continue the research.
Sure it is possible that volcanoes are part of it, but all the heavy metals need to be analyzed in those blood tests. If the children are sick before they start working in the fields or mills, then it is probable that cadmium and arsenic are involved. And in Sri Lanka, the article states that this is not a sugar problem but a rice paddy problem caused by the cadmium and arsenic in the fertilizers. Then the tilapia fish that live in the paddies concentrate those heavy metals, and the people eat the fish with the rice...
In America, we import lots of these products. We also use dangerous fertilizers. If you are an artist, you must also beware of paints containing cadmium and other heavy metals that damage the kidneys. These metals should not be used; there are good replacements for them, and no reason to put people's lives into danger.
Roadrunner0
Do some rich people not pay their share? YES but expecting them to give 40%-50% is Communistic/Socialistic which seems to be the current presidents idea..
Really?
Tell me Neo-Con...what was the top tax rate under Dwight D. Eisenhower and what was his Party affiliation?
So now you're telling us that every Republican President in US History that presided over a higher tax rate than present was a Communist? ...Interesting!
RoadRunner "What a crock of BS!! Maybe you forgot or were sleeping during history class but America was founded on hard work.."
Perhaps you were sleeping, because nearly all of the ACTUAL hard work was done by slaves, or indentured slaves. Oh you mean, the hard work of coming up with ideas, implementing them, and then having your workers work at unlivable wages so you can reap all the riches and rewards, as if YOU did all the hard work yourself in making your business successful.
So here's a tough question for you:
Would you rather be a successful rich person, taxed at 40-50%
or a poor person, working 14 hours of manual labor a day, making a few bucks an hour...
I know if I was the rich person getting taxed into oblivion, i'd think "whats the point in working so hard if the govt is just going to take all my money, boo hoo, im taking my ferrari and im going home"
but how dare the poor hard working person think he'd rather not work at all if he cant make the big bucks, he's just a leach!
Ol Doc "So now you're telling us that every Republican President in US History that presided over a higher tax rate than present was a Communist? ...Interesting!"
You dont get it Doc, it's not the actual rate that's important, it's whether or not we raised or lower the rates to get to that rate.
So for example, if tax rates were currently 50%...lowering them to 40% would make you a pro-business fiscal conservative.
But if tax rates are 35% and you raise them to 40%, you're a socialist-communist business hating evil liberal.
Dont you get it now?
And honestly, we wont have a true conservative in office until tax rates are zero (for rich people only)
Someone's gotta pay for the Military!
Well, Roadrunover, you brought this on yourself...
Yes, indeed it was - the hard work, blood sweat and tears of SLAVES, while their rich, fat-@ss owners sat around their plantation houses, sipping mint juleps. You must have been absent that day from history class, or perhaps you're just missing your own slaves, hm?
They inherit it. Paris Hilton, The Kardouchebags, and on and on the list goes.
I work 40+ hours a week and pay 38% in taxes. If it's good enough for me, it's good enough for you and it's good enough for the 1% as well. OR, everyone gets to pay the same taxes as the 1%. You can't have your cake, eat it, and expect someone else to walk off the calories for you, and tell you how nice it is to be able to do something for you. This single issue will be the dividing line when the rest of America has finally had enough and the second Civil War begins.
So, because you watched a non-white news theme, that what? Proves you're not a racist, right-wing, self-serving, America-hating, bible-thumping bigoted load your mom should have spit out in the street where she worked?
Look, like it or not, our nation isn't just Broke, it's Broken. And it's been broken for a very long time - it's just taken this long for normal, everyday people to see just how bad things are - and even that is only the tip of the iceberg.
Our politicians have not served the will of the people in decades. They serve the will of the corporations who fund their campaigns. They serve the self-proclaimed elite, and their own interests.
Obama does it, Rmoney does it, they all do it. And we're running out of options fast.
We either make real change, or it will come to bloodshed.
You claim my "fear mongering" is false - offer up some proof.
Since you can't, your gut instinct will be to point a finger and cry "Liberal", but I'll shut you down right here and now and say "No, moderate".
The 50's are over and gone and never coming back. The world has grown and become both a whole lot bigger and a whole lot smaller at the same time.
But this isn't supposed to be a political article - but the sad truth of the matter is, it is - but not one about contestants and platforms, but one about the relationship between labor and policy.
Nothing makes a more shining example with what is wrong with the far right than the plight of these sugar workers.
Paid far below the value of their labor (Conservative Right)
No benefits, as this would cost the company money (Conservative Right)
Stuck working until they die, preferably right there in the field (Conservative Right) because their sorry excuse for a pittance will NEVER allow them to be more than what they are right now (Conservative Right).
---
Now, I don't begrudge anyone from making a profit. Profit is not a bad word. However - no company, no person, has the right to ask anyone to die in the name of their profits. No one has the right to exploit another, no matter how profitable it is.
And this is why, when the second civil war comes it will be the 99% vs. 1%, and the 1% will lose.
Indigo rage
Thank you for your comment. Voted up.
^^^^
Sorry - but all you above are complete idiots to take a situation as horrible and graft it onto our current political discussion to try and prove YOUR point with the flimsiest of assertations!
Everyone is so busy spinning webs of half truths and flat out lies that it has created the broken political process we have where we're reduced to voting for these two clowns (out of 300 million Americans!) and prefer to prop ourselves up and demonize the other side rather than take a hard look at who we voting for and demanding better. And complete BS like the above only adds to our disfunctional system, not improving it.
Thank you, vttova.
DFW_Walt:
You're close to right - we are damned good at pointing out what is wrong. So rather than point out that we're good at pointing out what's wrong, how about offering up a solution.
I've been screaming "Constitutional Convention" for over a decade now. What' your answer?
And yes, this is a horrible situation, but to think it isn't directly related to our current socio-political and economic issues is more short-sighted than Helen Keller.
After all, where do you think all that sugar goes? How much of it do you think end up processed and packaged into bags labeled "Domino" and product-placed correctly at your local Wal*Mart?
That's exactly what Global Economy is all about.
US-based Company A agrees to buy all of produce crop B, farmed in Country C. Does Company A have anything to do with the hired help in Country C? No, at least not directly. Could they include some manner of care or consideration for the workers as part of their purchase agreement?
Sure, they could.
If
They
Weren't
Focused only on their bottom lines!
But since this problem is only affecting 1 in 10, or 10% of the workforce, that's well below the long-established and traditional measure of "Acceptable Losses" (20%). And given the desperation of the people here... well, let's put it this way:
Last year, you make $X.
It paid your bills, fed your family, maybe even let you sneak off to the movies a couple times.
Now, let me make you an offer:
This year, you can make $Y, which is 22 times $X. Would you take the offer?
Would you still take the offer if I told you that, while you still have the chance to make $Y you also have 1 in 10 chance of dying?
We will never have an actual choice of good, qualified candidates until we remove money from politics. That will happen. It can either be the easy way, through electoral reform...or the hard way with blood in the streets. But it will happen.
Oh yes Jessica, I most assuredly get their sense of "Grover Norquist false outrage"...I'm just sick of it and have no intention of letting the BS slide!
To "Roadrunnero":
This is old news too that, back in the old days, people use to sleep in their covered wagons and live off the land. How are people going to do that nowadays especially in the inner cities? What would the equivalent be nowadays? Perhaps sleeping in your car and living off of welfare is today's equivalent to yesterday's frontier ways of living.
If you can't live off the land nowadays because the land has been altered or is owned, then what are you going to live off of? If people can't live off of the land, then why not live off of the owners?
The whole original idea behind capitalistic ownership is Adam Smith's division and specialization of labor which is suppose to make things more efficient, personal, and at the local level closer to the land for better knowledge of it as opposed to feudal lords and absentee landowners not knowing and not caring about what is going on, but this assumption and this traditional capitalistic "social contract" is being ignored, circumvented, and discarded. So, as long as things are being discarded, why not live off of the owners? Perhaps the owners didn't steal the land and food, but they have a responsibility not only towards the land but also towards the dispossessed.
For example, the pictures show very dirty workers, and the story says that they are dehydrated. The owners could easily fix that. In fact, perhaps the dirt and filth is causing the kidney disease.
It is like the saying that if your mom can bring you into the world, then she can take you out. The employer can bring in a worker, and the owner can kill the worker by the working conditions.
However, cleanliness is next to Godliness. If certain people like the owners can have the power to take away and seperate everyone away from a decent cleanliness and separate from the land and from God's provisions of food and bounty, then they can be responsible for providing it too.
Don't you know that President Obama's main role models when he was growing up (formative years) were Marxists (under FBI Investigations), Socialists, Communists (under FBI Surveillance), and Anarchists (convicted for bombings and domestic terrorism).
Read Obama's book, 2004 (unedited version), Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
With most of the Democrats being worse than Islamic Jihadists and will defend President Obama Wrong or Right to their Deaths.
Historically, the Democrats original founded by the Southern Slave States, after losing the Civil War formed up with the US Socialists and US Communist Parties to go against the Federalist Party (aka Republic of America, aka Republican Party). Previously, after the take overs by the "Italian Organized Crime" of the US Labor Unions and US Insurance Corporations, is why President FDR suspected them as Mussolini Black Shirt Fascist Sympathizers and National Socialist German Workers Party (A Political Labor Union) Brown Shirt Chancellor Hitler Supporters; so President FDR suspended all US Labor Union Activities, and Implemented his Universal Health Care For All US Citizens to chop the funding of Mussolini and Chancellor Hitler Sympathizers in the US; and President FDR was correct, as during WWII Liberation of Sicily and Italy the Union Bosses demanded that the US Labor Unions Violently Strike (motive to stop or slow down the US Liberation of Sicily and Italy), resulting in President FDR having to use the US Military Police (not National Guard) to stop the Violent US Labor Union Strikers Firebombings, Murders, Extortions, Assaults, Arson, Sabotage, Beatings, etc., to the point when the US Labor Union Strikers started beating to death the US Military Police, the US Military Police machinegunned the US Labor Union Violent Strikers. This is why the US Labor Unions have always been closely tied to the Democratic Party as Fascists, National Socialists and Communists. There is also their use of Chancellor Hitler's Propaganda, like after WWII, the US Labor Unions claiming to have created the "Middle Class" (which they did not, President FDR's US Military Defense Industrial Complex, women, and men returning from WWII did), Federal Labor Laws instituted Nationwide by President FDR, etc. as the Great Depression had wiped out all previous US Labor Union gains.
Ol_Doc, Indigo-Rage, being paid tools of the DNC. With their belief (posted) that everyone's (including yours) wealth MUST Be Redistributed (Communism (Chinese), Socialism (USSR, France), by Force Fascism (NAZIs)); that poor people (Proletariat) hire people and invest in businesses, and that everyone must be identical (tie weights to people that are physically fit, to make them equal to the obese, handicap the intelligent, etc.). And when they do not get their way they go into Rages and Violence as indicated by Indigo-Rage's screen name.
With vttova falling for their Propaganda (favorite tool of Mussolini, Chancellor Hitler, and the DNC).
Sad to say they fail, as they live at a Constitutional Representative Republic of America, and NOT a Democracy, as stated by the Rich Elitist Founding Fathers, "Democracy is Mob Rule"; and while establishing the Rich Elitist Electoral College to determine the US President and Vice President, "The average citizen is too ignorant to determine the Highest Offices of the Land, President and Vice President".
DFW_Walt,
Yes, the US Political System is broken. Reinstate the Oath of Allegiance to the Republic of America to US Schools as was previously recited the first thing in the morning before as the Pledge of Allegiance, as still required for Legal Immigrants to become US Citizens. Next would be the elimination of the Electoral College so that the November-December Votes determine the US President and Vice President and not the January Electoral College Votes. Our Representatives chosen at Random like Jury Duty with Vetting as a Civic Duty (End of the Political Parties), Term Limits, paid National Average of Middle Class, etc. (outlined in my other posts). Special Interest and Lobbyists 100% Illegal and Enforced Prosecution. Etc..
Back to this Article, the days of real Science are gone, in that in order for Science to occur someone (or entity) must invest money in that endeavor without their own agendas or ulterior motives. Most of today's Science is Motivated by Politics, Money, Advertising, etc.. Including in some cases Real Science being fought in very expensive Court Battles, including who can hire the most expensive Advertisement Agencies (to gain more Financial Backers, or sway the Court of Public Opinion (Emotive Opinions Not Scientific Facts) for their Government to fund one thing and not another.).
That is the "refining stage"; not this Third World Harvesting stage. At the US and Brazil the Harvesting Stage is also mechanized. If, you mechanized the Harvesting Stage at these Third World Nations, what happens to the many workers required; this is the same reason why the US Labor Unions opposed in writing US Industry becoming US (Military) Technology of Full Automated Computer Controlled Self Calibrating since the 1980s. The same opposition occured at England with the British Labor Union Party members opposing Automation. Other Nations on the other hand embraced Automation and are now outproducing most other Nations with higher quality products (measured continously by lasers during manufacturing), this was also why to become "Economically Viable" to get the "Loans" most US Automotive Industry moved to China and built Fully Automated Plants and Factories, and ship their parts back to the US. Due to the Fact that President Obama removed US Federal Funding of US Sugar, 2009, and gave these Funds to his Illinois Corn Lobby (Corn to Ethanol) the US lost the successful Brazil Solution for Alternative Energy (Electricity Generation (Clean Burning Biomasse and Biogasse), Liquid Fuel for current US Vehicles) and the cost of US Sugar Production (cost to US consumers) skyrocketed resulting in the US relying on Central and South American Sugar (higher demand, means workers work longer hours or more workers with less pay), and the use of US High Fructose Corn Syrup (President Obama's Illinois Corn Lobby) to replace Sugarcane Sugar. Once again the Politics interfered with the actual Science (proven Solution of Alternative Energy), believe that High Fructose Corn Syrup is the same (effects) as Sugarcane Sugar, that is NOT true, yet the US Citizens are brainwashed with propaganda from the Corn Lobby Advertisements. I previously, discussed in great detail the Brazil Alternative Energy Solution (proven since 1959) and the identical Hawai'i Alternative Energy Solution (proven since 1911, Hawai'i Sugar Mills destroyed in 2010 and land sold, so no longer a viable solution) in my 1993 Research Paper to US Government (updated 2011).
This reminds me of how safe Atrazine, DDT and Agent Orange were before they did some actual research and found none of them safe.
And how about a little benezene in your water well from fracking purposes. yeah right.
"But investigators now wonder: Could that constant flow of fructose, combined with 90-plus degree temperatures and severe daily dehydration, be a deadly cocktail that slowly brings on CKD? "
fructose???? cane sugar contains a unique form of sucrose, which is an incredibly toxic drug.
its a fact that 50-100 grams of sucrose is more toxic then one shot of 80 proof alcohol.
imagine working to the point of dehydration and then quenching your thirst with a bottle of whiskey,
its a miracle they are living past 20.
Why is it not happening in Cuba, where sugarcane is grown and harvested the same way? You think Cuban field hands don't suck on the cane while working? Guess again...
The only difference is that Cuba uses much less chemicals to grow cane.
And cane juice is nothing like whiskey. You probably never tried it. It gives you energy and is good for you.
Wrong, sugarcane is not harvested by hand in Cuba, they use combine machines.
Not to mention their workers are better paid and in better conditions.
What makes you think they use less chemicals?
Its true cane juice is more nutritious then purified sucrose aka table sugar, but the sucrose it contains is still very toxic. Have you ever consumed too much cane sugar before and felt nauseated? That is your liver and kidneys overloading with toxins.
Ally Brown,
Strange that you should claim cane sugar is toxic. I seem to remember buying, and drinking, freshly squeezed cane sugar juice in a little Central American lunch counter while working in Miami years ago. Didn't hurt a bit. It's also a popular refreshment in Egypt, so why aren't the people dropping like flies?
SingBiker,
The acute toxicity is not so much to cause side effects when consuming moderate amounts if you are in good health. Many things myself and most of us consume on a daily basis are toxic, but do not pose a serious threat under normal circumstance, for instance coffee, nicotine, alcohol, meds, etc...
The difference is, these men are over-heated, dehydrated, and likely malnourished. Their body is in no position to metabolize even moderate amounts of cane sugar.
Ally, they still very commonly use oxen in Cuba due to shortage of fuel. They also use less chemicals and fertilizers for economic reasons. I'm sure combines are still used as well, but not as much as traditional methods. Cuban sugarcane industry has largely declined and reverted to the old ways.
ahora.cu/en/sections/cuba/614-combine-machines-cut-most-sugarcane-in-cuba
Copy and paste that link. It is an article from AHORA, written 15 days ago, it says at least 90% of cane harvesting in Cuba is done with combine machines.
I appreciate your input, but whatever source you've been using has given you false facts.
For the record, I of course do not know for sure chemicals are not a factor in the problem, my point is simply that their conditions and the excessive exposure to a toxic drug(sucrose) must be a major factor.
I could not get this link to work but maybe you are right. I have some general information about Cuban agriculture as I am interested in traditional methods and there is somewhat of a resurgence of those in Cuba. http://monthlyreview.org/2012/01/01/the-paradox-of-cuban-agriculture
Oops, it needs the www. , i did not you realize you can paste links here ;p
Thanks, I'll check that out.
Ally - so the solution isnt to do away with toxic chemicals, as that might be fine.
But rather, these are the corrections that should be made by the sugar cane producers:
A) workers should not be in the fields more than 8 hrs a day
B) workers should be properly hydrated, and if the work does not allow them to leave the fields to be hydrated with water, it should be provided to them while they work
C) they should be paid better so they have better access to health care, and can eat healthier (so they are not malnurished)
D) if a persons body temp reaches a certain point, they can not work until their body temps come back down - so as not to overheat.
Of course, all these corrections to the production in order to preserve the workers health will cost the sugar cane producers a lot of money.
and we know they wont do anything that costs them money...considering how poorly these workers are already paid.
and of course, if we refuse to consume/purchase sugar cane because we object to the conditions, these poor workers will just have ZERO options.
the rich evil bastards win again...YAY RICH PEOPLE!
Jessica,
I agree completely.
ally, jessica...you liberal idiots make me sick!!! if we knew back in the day what we know today we men...the true leaders and problem solvers, would never have let women like you vote. you would 1st have to prove yourself with action instead of your big mouth!!! reading your posts make me feel as if ive eaten a ton of crap...laced with a ton of sugar. do what you were put here to do and grab your mops and brooms!!!! LMFAO!!!!! now prove to me that youve read this post morons. its no wonder your husbands ran you off!!!! i cant wait to read whats coming...should be funny...tune in guys!!
I seem to remember seeing a similar story a few months ago. That article determined that the single biggest factor was the chronic dehydration these workers experience. If the kidneys are not getting the proper hydration level to do their job properly, they fail.
gun carrier? i think we all know why this guys angry... =P its ok they are making great progress in the field of penile enlargement.
I refer all of you doubters to MotherJones. Read some environmental stories. Like the ones where cane field workers are being drenched in chemicals while they're working. That same poison goes into their drinking water, finds it way into their children and the unborn.
These stories in the past about conditions overseas don't really hit us until someone realizes that the issue is chemcials in the working environment and habitat.
Why do any of you, Ally especially, think that the deep pockets of the chemical companies spend so much on politicans and political parties. Regulation? oh they're self regulating, dream on.
It is in our backyards. Does anyone think for a moment our ag workers aren't being exposed to the same conditions and suffering cancer clusters. Why is that? Maybe being spraying directly while working the fields could be an answer. But ask a Monsanto or Bayer employee, it's now a kidney and liver problem because of dehydration. Couldn't be a chemical problem because OUR research says they're safe.
mooonie, like i said, im not denying that possibility, i just wanted to point out that sugar cane contains sucrose, which is a toxic drug, and that is obviously a factor, but not necessarily the only factor, on top of the poor work conditions.
Unbelievably sad! I sure do hope that they hurry and find out what the devil is causing this, but I think its the fructose in the canes in addition to the chemicals that are being sprayed on those canes ......makes me want to rethink eating anything with sugar in it, someone gave their LIFE for it!
Something that the article (and others) are incorrect about: sucrose is not just fructose. It combines a fructose molecule with a glucose molecule. If it is natural fructose, it is not bad for you. Those who do not use chemicals do not have the kidney problems. Corn syrup, which is all fructose, is bad for you, because it is made by a process using aspergillus (as in what is causing meningitis in steroid shots), and even a trace of that mold will cause problems with the mold toxin and also the mold growth.
Hold on... if there are molds in the sugar cane caused by over-use of fertilizer, which causes more mold to grow, that would explain the extreme toxicity. Mold toxins, in volume or weight much smaller than heavy metals, are by far the most dangerous toxins in the world.
Elizabeth--that is a good point! I hope someone like Nate Raines or CPI looks into it!
Wrong Elizabeth. "Corn syrup" is nearly all glucose (though true corn syrup is more maltose and other oligosaccharides).
Through enzymatic processes, they turn some of that glucose to fructose to make HFCS. And natural, or man made, it's exactly the same thing.
Mitchell
“We are not responsible for it,” said Mario Amador, a spokesman for the sugarcane industry. “We’re working to find a solution.”
Hmmmm...I think Mario and other people like him, lying about peoples lives so that the industry they represent can make a few more bucks off of human suffering, needs to be publically tarred and feathered.
What type of pesticides are being used? I do not for one minute believe the 'cane officials. It is something in the pesticides/soil/working environment that the officials know about. This is a shame!
Just look at the man they pictured he is practically eating the dirt and you know there is a lot of poison being used to kill off any kind of bugs that might eat the growing plants so he is eating the poison as well and if they don't drink enough water during the day all of that could be causing this horrible problem with their bodies.
If these people are also drinking whiskey that adds to the problems to their systems it is very very sad about these deaths and it has to be investigated.
Indirect solution: wealth distribution, sugarcane industry use some of its profits to develop the producing communities. The monies could go to clean water access, waste water management, better housing, medical care, disability monies, etc., When in the fields workers would be given access to water and better hydration. Yes, companies must make a profit but they also have a right to tend to its workers. U.S. companies may outsource its work overseas to reduce labor cost, but they still have an obligation to maintain the dignity and health of its workers. Not socialist redistribution of wealth, but basic care for the dignity of our fellow human beings.
You will end up with fewer workers employed. If you increase the costs of labor for whatever reason other options become cost competitive. There are very effective machines to harvest sugar cane it just in these cases it is cheaper to use a person. This is a hard problem to solve because it is primarily caused by too high a birth rate. If there were fewer mouths to feed you would have fewer people desperate enough to offer to work for low wages.
Or, even, they could set up water stations for thirsty workers.
Folks, this is what happens WITHOUT GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS.
Remember, we used to have it pretty crappy here in the US in the 19th century. Unions changed that.
Why do you supposed Republicans are against unions, hmmm?
john-98241- Well, I guess they have fewer mouths to feed now.
The problem in these countries (and coming soon to a country near you), is wage slavery and abuse of the worker. The workers are disposible, always have been always will be, until good people stand up and say "NO MAS!".
There is no polite word for people like you.
I can believe it's a combination of factors. The pesticides and fertilizers may be "standard," but if the workers are spending long days in hot conditions without adequate fluids, they are being exposed to higher than normal levels, and their bodies are not flushing the toxins because of the lack of hydration. Then if they go home and add to the problem with alcohol, it's not surprising at all that they're developing CKD at higher than normal rates.
Nature always has a defense mechanism ready in plants, animals, fish, etc. It's just nature finally striking back.
I'm pretty sure they will find that it is something very "unnatural" causing the illness ....
Genetically Modified Food.
I believe GMF could play a role in many diseases.
Nothing new here. Sugar plantations run by the Dutch and others in the Carribean in the 16th and 17th centuries were a killing ground for slaves. Average life expectancy was about 5 years.
Literally worked them to death ...slowly
This story was out here last year as well and as normal with big business the little guy gets the short end again. Without these men who work there butts off to supply us with sugar we will not have it and I myself believe that these companies could help there workers way more, even the communities as a whole but like I said earlier big business is all about the bottom line and now its killing people.
Why cant these poorer country's get the help they not only need but deserve? If nothings done to change whats happening at an alarming rate soon there won't be enough workers and then it will cost the big guys even more which makes no sense to me so fix the problem now and the companies will gain the support of there workers in the community's and everyone wins.
I tell you what, I live in the US and I would gladly pay more for sugar to help these people out, say maybe a dollar more per pound? They need the help now to find the answer to fix this once and for all plus its just the right thing to do for once!
What a horrible situation, these companies should be ashamed that they do not provide adequate water access and some type of healthcare to their workers. Another wonderful example of corporate greed! Why is money so much more important than human life?
"We are not responsible for it" Says Mr. Amador......( A spokesman for the sugar industry). Just what is he supposed to say? I'm sure that SCIENTISTS will have the final say on who or what is responsible......These people are in a lose lose situation. They must subject themselves to the risk to feed their families. A clear case of exploitation.....It is indeed sickening.
a good spokesman always give's... them time to hide their assets...from future lawsuits...
Scientist's have been in the pockets of business and governments since they were invented.
Monsanto Pesticides and GMO's.....there, mystery solved!
Genetically modified food - Think is right. The food industry has been developing ways for crops to yield more.
see the freelibrary.com - the Bush era pushed for genetically modified crops in Guatemala.
The European Union has a two - 10 year waiting period before any new GMO's are approved. The US has a quick 15 month approval process. I know Switzerland has banned any GMO's in their food supply. Please research - you learn so much about this. Why is the EU opposed to GMO's in the food supply? Why does the US encourage it? Who's behind GMO's?
I travel to this area every two years for humanitarian work. Kidney disease is an epidemic, and not just in the sugar cane workers. It's alarming how widespread the kidney problems are. And it's not some combination of eating sugarcane and working in the hot sun - it is the chemicals that are being used. Water quality reports from the area show pesticide and fertilizer contamination. In this area you have a combination of a high level of agricultural activity, low level of control or training in the application of fertilizers and pesticides, and a very high water table, so a lot of those chemicals get into the drinking water.
It's not rocket science.
Thank you ....You have lived up to your screen name. This is clearly all about money and the potential losses thereof....
I really think that this can be resolved with the proper training, control, and procedures. The fact that the problem has reached this level is, I think, an indicator of the lack of infrastructure and regulatory oversight.
So, in summary, gluttony is not just killing the gluttons, but also the people that are employed to produce the product. Whether it's by financial gluttony or an insatiable appetite for sugar, people are dying from harvest to the table and the IFC is assisting in this alleged man-made sickness. As a species, we should be proud that we not only manage to kill everything around us, but also our own. I see that at least we're experts at something.
Any more hassles and the sugar kings are going to go automated - and then the issues will disappear - no workers - no hassles - and then what will be the problem? Another starving community that needs a "helping wad of cash" from someone - cold? yes... - true? also yes...
It is always so easy for the one-dimensional thinkers, isn't it? Few on these threads have any concept of cuase-effect or systems theory, but think in bumper-sticker slogans.
Really? You think the entire nation will starve before they revolt, take the government, burn the company offices and kill the corporate executives (low ranking as they probably are on the ground). See, there is an alternative to your scenario.
Actually, I like your idea of automation.
If illegal and foreign migrant workers were not allowed and especially if all agricultural workers were not allowed to live subhuman lives in filth, squalor, and poverty, "progress" might be possible. People might begin caring for each other and using labor saving technology instead of beast of burden manual labor or, in other words, begin using their brains and hearts instead of just their brawn and weapons of intimidation and suppression and tricks of implementing superiority and inferiority.
The dispossessed workers could possibly help build and program the robots or automation which would provide higher wages and dignified living standards for them.
The problem is the chemicals used on these plantations years ago. Those chemicals were absorbed by the ground and will be there for anyone to test. The daily interaction within close quarters of these poor workers has allowed the DNA damage to be passed on to their children. The plantation owners are not affected ARE THEY, it is only the workers. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure this out. During the 70's there was a company called VELSICOL located outside Bayport Texas, I worked at Dixie Chemical right across the road. Velsicol made a "herbicide" that was found to be a nerve agent AFTER IT WAS SOLD AND USED ON OUR FARM LAND. The government stopped the sale and distribution WITHIN THE US but they did not stop it's sale overseas, especially Africa. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE DIED BECAUSE OF THAT CHEMICALS USE, they eventually stopped it's production ONLY AFTER A SERIES OF LAWSUITS AND A WELL TIMED FIRE WITHIN THE PLANT. Chemical company's create wonderful useful things, THEY ALSO CREATE THE MOST DEADLY CHEMICALS ON EARTH, and they sell them to whoever will pay the asking price.
I believe most sugar cane in the US is genetically-modified. Mix in the usual blend of pesticides and you've a toxic cocktail, it appears. This is why they don't want you to know about GMOs. Support Proposition 37!
I will support Prop 37!! Funny how the ones against it are Monsanto and the mega-farms around here!
Not sure if it's cane sugar or beet sugar, but regardless it probably is GMO. I don't see any mention of beet sugar on this board yet, it is a giant cash crop in the US.
I haven't read through all of the comments but I would be willing to wager that GMOs and the increase in pesticide usage is to blame. Sugar cane, like corn, has been around longer than this current group of humans has been alive. A large percentage of sugar cane and corn is now GMO. I mean, c'mon at what point does genetic splicing food with chemicals sound like a good idea? The chemicals are in the food, they do not disappear when humans consume them. You cannot cook them out. Earlier this year my doctor told me to go on a GMO-free diet. Yes, it is expensive but I after being on it for 6 months, I am losing weight, my hair is shiny and my skin looks better. I feel better and have more energy. And no, I have not changed anything in my exercise routine (bike for 1 hour and lift weights/sit ups for 30 minutes five days a week). I am eating more calories too so I think my metabolism appreciates the lack of GMOs. I can tell when I eat something that has GMOs because I feel lousy, pain in my stomach, my skin breaks out in a rash and I get a massive headache. It may not work for everyone but for me, my body is rejecting GMOs and I like me so I'm going to make me happy. The truth about what is really affecting these farmers will eventually be revealed.
I live in Guatemala, does it take a scientist to see the conditions these people work in, with little water, little food, and who knows what it is they are feeding them, in the hottest areas of the country inhalating smoke and ashes from when they burn the crop´s left overs. They take them like cattle by the truck load to work, and not only men but children aswell and have them work very long hours to barely make $150 a month to probablly feed a family of 8. Add to that all the chemicals they live with and you have a death camp......thats what theese people do to "survive"
doesnt take a genius to figur eou tit is the chemicals they are spraying on the sugarcane, no matter what the sugar indusry says, they are all liars, they are killing the world and you jus tnever know, if you are next to be poisoned by the chemical companies,like isaid the growers and chemical companies are all liars, they have to spray heavily to kill the bugs in south america, there are some nasty bugs there and no matter what? you eat the poisons here when you eat thier sugar,
And the sugar cane plantation owners have spend at least 25.00 on finding out why