Sally Hollister
Emily Gilchrist
Katelyn Wynns
Feb. 13, 2004
Q: What are the effects of large banana companies buying land and running plantations in tropical areas such as
Costa Rica? Specifically, how does pesticide use affect the environment, biodiversity and human health?
In many countries in Central America, specifically Costa Rica, major American banana growers have bought land
because of cheap land prices and poor economic situations of these countries and have been producing mass
quantities of bananas. Also, these companies have used pesticides illegal in the United States that are known to
cause major health and environmental problems. We would primarily like to find out how pesticide use on these
plantations has affected the workers and environment surrounding them. We may also explore the effects of
deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and water usage.
We predict that pesticide use will have or has had a negative influence the environment and on human health,
because of the observed effects of pesticides such as DDT in the U.S. We also predict that water resources will be
polluted, and possibly diminished because of irrigation and runoff.
Sources:
1. Steve Marquardt. Latin American Research Review. Austin: 2002. Vol. 37, Iss. 2; pg. 3.
This article on the early usage of the chemical, "Bordeaux mixture," to control the banana diseases on plantations in
Costa Rica will be useful in describing the effects that the chemical had on the workers. Not only does it tell how
Bordeaux caused severe lung problems for the people in charge of spraying the plants, but also how the owners of
the plantation choose to ignore the workers when they complained of ailments.
2. Wesseling C., et al. Cancer in banana plantation workers in Costa Rica. International Journal Of Epidemiology.
25 (6): 1125-1131 DEC 1996.
This article describes a retrospective study following banana plantation workers and their corresponding incidences
of cancer. It also gives background information on the type of pesticides used. We can use this information to help
show the effects of pesticide usage in workers.
3. Hernandez CE, Witter SG. Evaluating and managing the environmental impact of banana production in Costa
Rica: A systems approach. AMBIO. 25 (3): 171-178 MAY 1996.
Focusing more on the whole environment, this article also offers solutions to the problems associated with banana
plantation pollution. This article can be used for background as well as a conclusion looking at solutions.
GSI COMMENTS
Katelyn Wynns
Sally Hollister
Emily Gilchrist
Nice Job Ladies! Interesting topic – you are on the right track.
Q: What are the effects of large banana companies buying land and running plantations in
tropical areas such as Costa Rica? Specifically, how does pesticide use affect the
environment, biodiversity and human health?
In many countries in Central America, specifically Costa Rica, major
American banana growers have bought land because of cheap land prices and poor economic
situations of these countries and have been producing mass quantities of bananas. As a
result, these companies have used pesticides illegal in the United States that are known to
cause major health and environmental problems. We would primarily like to find out how
pesticide use on these plantations has affected the workers and environment surrounding
them. We may also explore the effects of deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and water
usage.
We predict that pesticide use will have or has had a negative influence the environment and
on human health, because of the observed effects of pesticides such as DDT in the U.S. We
also predict that water resources will be polluted, and possibly diminished because of
irrigation and runoff.
Sources:
1. Steve Marquardt. Latin American Research Review. Austin:
2002. Vol. 37, Iss. 2;
pg. 3.
This article on the early usage of the chemical, "Bordeaux mixture," to control the banana
diseases on plantations in Costa Rica will be useful in describing the effects that the
chemical had on the workers. Not only does it tell how Bordeaux caused severe lung problems
for the people in charge of spraying the plants, but also how the owners of the plantation
choose to ignore the workers when they complained of ailments.
2. Wesseling C., et al. (need all authors here) Cancer in banana plantation workers in Costa
Rica. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY 25 (6): 1125-1131 DEC 1996.
This article describes a retrospective study following banana plantation workers and their
corresponding incidences of cancer. It also gives background information on the type of
pesticides used. We can use this information to help show the effects of pesticide usage in
workers.
3. Hernandez CE, Witter SG. Evaluating and managing the environmental impact of banana
production in Costa Rica: A systems approach. AMBIO. 25 (3): 171-178 MAY 1996.
Focusing more on the whole environment, this article also offers solutions to the problems
associated with banana plantation pollution. This article can be used for background as well
as a conclusion looking at solutions.