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A New Agent Orange?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
On an episode of 60 Minutes, Steve Kroft covered a story on the spraying of an herbicide in Colombia used to hinder cocaine production.
The United States has spent a whole lot of money in Columbia (and elsewhere) to get at the root of the drug trade and stomp it out. However, there is evidence that shows that the herbicide used in Columbia doesn't hinder the drug trade at all. People that grow the crop either move their business deeper into the forests or they don't budge-- coca is a pretty hardy crop, even if the crop is destroyed, in as little as six weeks, new coca plants may grow in its place. In fact, some statistics may say that production still rises.
However, what this herbicide spraying may do is destroy the lives of thousands of innocent people living near the coca fields.
-Sicknesses are on a rise.
-Livestock are dying.
-Waters may be polluted.
-The forests are being damaged.
-Crops like corn are being destroyed.
Kroft went to the country and saw many people, including children, with skin covered with peculiar (the are round, and to me, look pus filled) reoccurring rashes. A local doctor says that due to the climate, rashes aren't uncommon, however, these rashes are new and seems to have come from the spraying.
The same doctor says that things like allergies and diarrhea have jumped up 100 percent in the places where this herbicide has been sprayed. However, a guy in charge of the spraying says that the herbicide is no more irritating than baby shampoo.
The herbicide used is a brand used in the U.S. called "Roundup,” actually, I think we can buy these products in our stores. The people of Roundup say that the herbicide is not to be used in large amounts because it can be harmful to humans and that when used on plants, people shouldn't get in contact with it until it dries. In addition, Cosmo-flux, another chemical is added to the herbicide—it’s a product that Roundup specially says not to add its chemical. It increases the product's effectiveness by 4 percent—but, at what cost? The added chemical isn't even approved for use in the States and many of its ingredients are secret, yet our government sprays it over the homes of Columbians.
In response to Kroft's findings, the guy who represents the U.S. State Department said that there isn't any correlation between his findings and the spraying-- although there has never been a human study on the effects. The rash is merely due to the Columbians being unsanitary and they are common to the area-- which contradicts what doctors in the area are saying.
This is the effect of the latest never-ending "War on Drugs." I see this as another instance of history repeating herself. What do you think about the subject?
The United States has spent a whole lot of money in Columbia (and elsewhere) to get at the root of the drug trade and stomp it out. However, there is evidence that shows that the herbicide used in Columbia doesn't hinder the drug trade at all. People that grow the crop either move their business deeper into the forests or they don't budge-- coca is a pretty hardy crop, even if the crop is destroyed, in as little as six weeks, new coca plants may grow in its place. In fact, some statistics may say that production still rises.
However, what this herbicide spraying may do is destroy the lives of thousands of innocent people living near the coca fields.
-Sicknesses are on a rise.
-Livestock are dying.
-Waters may be polluted.
-The forests are being damaged.
-Crops like corn are being destroyed.
Kroft went to the country and saw many people, including children, with skin covered with peculiar (the are round, and to me, look pus filled) reoccurring rashes. A local doctor says that due to the climate, rashes aren't uncommon, however, these rashes are new and seems to have come from the spraying.
The same doctor says that things like allergies and diarrhea have jumped up 100 percent in the places where this herbicide has been sprayed. However, a guy in charge of the spraying says that the herbicide is no more irritating than baby shampoo.
The herbicide used is a brand used in the U.S. called "Roundup,” actually, I think we can buy these products in our stores. The people of Roundup say that the herbicide is not to be used in large amounts because it can be harmful to humans and that when used on plants, people shouldn't get in contact with it until it dries. In addition, Cosmo-flux, another chemical is added to the herbicide—it’s a product that Roundup specially says not to add its chemical. It increases the product's effectiveness by 4 percent—but, at what cost? The added chemical isn't even approved for use in the States and many of its ingredients are secret, yet our government sprays it over the homes of Columbians.
In response to Kroft's findings, the guy who represents the U.S. State Department said that there isn't any correlation between his findings and the spraying-- although there has never been a human study on the effects. The rash is merely due to the Columbians being unsanitary and they are common to the area-- which contradicts what doctors in the area are saying.
This is the effect of the latest never-ending "War on Drugs." I see this as another instance of history repeating herself. What do you think about the subject?
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Comments
It’s all based on who believes who, however, there has never been a human study on the effects of the products mixed together.
I tend to be pessimistic (or maybe the term is realistic <IMG SRC="wink.gif" border="0" ALT="icon"> ) about things, but I smell another Agent Orange type of thing brewing up.
Those sound like symptoms to me. State dept..hmmm If all these things can be connected to the US spraying then its a little worrying. Of course, they will deny it till the cows come home.
Do you know if the 60mins show had a website?