In part two of Viramontes’ Under the Feet of Jesus Alejo gets directly sprayed with pesticides while in the height of a tree, picking it’s ripe fruits. After this contact with the pesticide or insecticide, Alejo explains how he feels as though he cannot breath right after the spray of the poison gets on him. Extreme pain envelops over Alejo’s body as the poison gets onto his pores. For the next few weeks Alejo gets no better, although some days are better than others.
After reading about Alejo’s conditions not getting any better in part three, I wanted to do a little research on pesticides, and what kind of effects they have on the human body, when in contact with one another. I found out that there is three categorizes to pesticide poisoning. Mild, moderate, and severe. Alejo had all the symptoms of the severe pesticide poisoning, with symptoms including any:
- inability to breathe
- chemical burns on skin
- respiratory distress
- loss of reflexes
- uncontrollable muscle twitching
- unconsciousness
- convulsions
There has been many recordings of pesticide poisoning in the United States, and according to the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, most of these recordings happen in the western United States with about 90% of all incidents reported here. This would fit very closely with our novel. Also the American Journal of Industrial Medicine also shows that the age affected most by pesticide poisoning in the U.S. is those in the 18-24 years old range, with about 76% of incidents occurring in this age range.
Also, the Article touches on a little bit on how different races are disproportionately affected by pesticide poisoning, with 69% of reported cases were of Hispanic descent , going right along with the notion of environmental racism and justice talk that we had the other day in class. The state of California defines Environmental Justice as “the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws and policies.”, and has been working hard since 2009 to improve the conditions of low class farm-workers, many of whom are of color. One problem is that many of these works are in public housing that is often time fumigated and sprayed with pesticides and insecticides, but due to a language barrier there is a lack of communication and understanding for what is actually happening. All around the United States, and the rest of the world issues of environmental racism and justice are going unnoticed. The companies and governments may be different, but the community complaints and concerns are very similar. Local residents have seen their air, water, and land contaminated.
Thanks for providing this background information on the health effects of pesticide poisoning and for the information about California’s environmental justice policy. Where were you able to find this information and could you provide a link? I’d like to check it out and perhaps others would as well.
It is interesting to compare the medical definition(s) of pesticide poisoning with how it is described at the beginning of Part Three of Under the Feet of Jesus. Viramontes explains that other workers in the fields inform Gumecindo that his cousin Alejo has “a sickness they called dano of the fields. This was not sunstroke or a flu, but worse” (Viramontes 93). Dano translates directly as “damage” or “harm.” There is something vague and sinister about the way the workers describe Alejo’s pesticide poisoning, and something general about it too– as if it happens so often it is simply the harm that occurs out in the fields. How would you compare this description to the medical definition you cite above? And how do both compare to the nurse’s reaction to seeing and diagnosing Alejo in Part Four?
There is a huge language barrier that makes communication very difficult. Due to the language barrier, it is difficult for the United States to inform the hispanic farm workers about the harmful pesticides and insecticides that are poisoning their bodies and their homes. Even though many of the workers do not speak English very well or even at all, I think that the US owes it to them to do their best to communicate with them. These workers are producing a lot of the food that we eat; therefore, we should ensure their safety.
This post is very interesting and shocking at the same time. I would never have guessed that 90 % of all incidents in the US would be in the Western part. Having a language barrier like we do in the US is very sad especially when it can effect the health of them and their families. Overall this post was very informative and gives me a lot of things to think of.
It amazes me that the people who are working so hard in the fields just to survive, are the ones that end up dying from their job. This is great information that needs to be spread around more so that more people can understand the severity of the issue and stand against it. Just like Alejo, it is not fair for other innocent people to die or get seriously harmed from these pesticides.
I liked the background information you provided. I was honestly surprised to see that pesticides could cause convulsions. You also said that 69% of all reported pesticide cases are of people who are Hispanic descent. I easily believe this because a vast majority of workers who work in the field are of Hispanic descent. I witnessed this when I worked my first job as a farm hand on a local farm in the area. Very good post.
It is quite shocking to see that 76% of pesticide poisoning occurs within ages ranging from 18-24. As well as the 69% who are of Hispanic decent. These statistics are sad and disturbing. With all of our advancements in technology you would think that we could find a way to dramatically lower these statistics. Great post!
This background really opens my eyes to the topic at hand and gives me a new lens through which to read the Viramontes novel. It is outrageous that 76% of these incidents happen to those between the ages of 18 to 24. Novels such as this might not provide hard facts like your blog post, but it does offer another way to gain insight to such atrocities.