The Death of Ramon Gonzalez and the 21st Century Dilemma

of organophosphates, carbamates and a variety of herbicides and fungicides as
documented in my work and that of Seefoo. While some researchers have argued that the
shrimp mortality is due largely to a disease organism, there may be a relationship
between vulnerability to the pathogen and pesticide contamination. In any case,
substantial agricultural pesticide contamination in the shrimp farms is firmly proven. xxv
One study in the Culiacan Valley, based on interviews with farmworkers, found
that two percent of the subjects reported that they had suffered from acute pesticide
poisoning; however, the workers demonstrated that they had a very low level of
understanding of the symptoms and dangers of pesticide exposure. More than one quarter
of those who knew they had been exposed to pesticides had used some kind of protective
gear, but it was not clear what kind, how consistently, or under what circumstances. xxvi
The Canadian anthropologist Elizabeth Guillette has done a remarkable study of
the probable effects of pesticide use on farmworkers in the Yaqui Valley, just north up
the coast from the Culiacan Valley. Guillette identified populations of children who lived
in the Yaqui Valley, where pesticide use rates are high, and similar populations of
children in the nearby mountains and foothills where pesticides are little used. She put the
children through a series of standard tests that have been designed by researchers and
pediatricians to diagnose nervous system dysfunction among children. The tests include,
among other things, the ability to catch a ball thrown to them and the ability to draw
simple line representations of familiar people or objects. The children of the foothills
were skillful ball catchers and artists who drew familiar-looking and competent figures
representing family members and friends. The children of the valley had great difficulty
catching balls and many could not draw any coherent or recognizable shapes. Guillette’s