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My wife used to administer Medical services in Santa Barbara country: coordinating translators and a program providing insurance to undocumented children. Many

by dls2016 7y ago

My wife used to administer Medical services in Santa Barbara country: coordinating translators and a program providing insurance to undocumented children. Many of the recipients worked the fields and I was always astonished to hear the frequency of occurrence of certain birth defects in these populations. It's entirely possible the occurrence wasn't elevated relative to populations she didn't work with or I didn't hear about... but I've long suspected that there's a story hiding in plain sight that's bigger than even the recent cancer-related damages. Especially given that many of the workers are Mixtec and so are incredibly isolated from society-at-large (many would pretend to understand Spanish and didn't realize they could request Mixtec-speaking translators).

feld 7y ago
They were probably exposed to 2,4D, not glyphosate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic_acid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic_acid If they're using undocumented workers do you think they're going to prevent them from being exposed to a key ingredient in Agent Orange?
- sdinsn 7y ago
  It's also worth noting that 2,4-D, in addition, to being dangerous, is organic. A prime example of why "organic" food is dangerous. We developed artificial herbicides and pesticides to be safer than organic counterparts. I'm not exactly sure how people are convinced that "organic" food = higher quality and safer
  - dls2016 7y ago
    > I'm not exactly sure how people are convinced that "organic" food = higher quality and safer Well the obvious answer to "how are people convinced" is "advertising".
- dls2016 7y ago
  > They were probably exposed to 2,4D, not glyphosate Ok, and...? I'm not well-versed in these things, but a quick google suggests the situation with 2,4-D is the same: anecdotal evidence of birth defects and cancers, lack of research into these topics and, miraculously, an EPA declaration that they're safe. > If they're using undocumented workers do you think they're going to prevent them from being exposed to a key ingredient in Agent Orange? No, of course I don't think the employers or regulators are protecting the workers. That's my entire point.

feld 7y ago

They were probably exposed to 2,4D, not glyphosate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic_acid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic_acid If they're using undocumented workers do you think they're going to prevent them from being exposed to a key ingredient in Agent Orange?

sdinsn 7y ago
It's also worth noting that 2,4-D, in addition, to being dangerous, is organic. A prime example of why "organic" food is dangerous. We developed artificial herbicides and pesticides to be safer than organic counterparts. I'm not exactly sure how people are convinced that "organic" food = higher quality and safer
- dls2016 7y ago
  > I'm not exactly sure how people are convinced that "organic" food = higher quality and safer Well the obvious answer to "how are people convinced" is "advertising".
dls2016 7y ago
> They were probably exposed to 2,4D, not glyphosate Ok, and...? I'm not well-versed in these things, but a quick google suggests the situation with 2,4-D is the same: anecdotal evidence of birth defects and cancers, lack of research into these topics and, miraculously, an EPA declaration that they're safe. > If they're using undocumented workers do you think they're going to prevent them from being exposed to a key ingredient in Agent Orange? No, of course I don't think the employers or regulators are protecting the workers. That's my entire point.