Have you wondered about chemicals or other harmful substances in our food and water? Do you assume governmental agencies—the FSIS (Food, Safety, Inspection Service), the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control)—look out for our best interest, health, and well-being? Are we safe with high quality food and water? After reading this article, ask yourself these questions again.
Weed killer in our bodies
A Time Magazine online article 2017, (October) reviews several studies, showing that glyphosate, a weed killer known as Roundup, is increasingly showing up in people’s bodies. Here’s some evidence:
A study published in JAMA tracked people over the age of 50 in Southern California from 1993-1996 to 2014-2016. Researchers found that the percentage of people who tested positive for glyphosate shot up by 500 percent in that time period.
One trial from the United Kingdom, in which rats were fed low levels of glyphosate throughout their lives, found that the chemical contributed to a higher risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Recent studies have found that many weeds are now resistant to Roundup, so growers are using more Roundup. (The Guardian 7/9). A CDC study found glyphosate was present in more than 80 percent of urine samples drawn from children and adults (The Guardian 7/9). This chemical is linked to cancer, a finding scientists have called “disturbing” and “concerning.” Lianne Sheppard (University of Washington) co-authored a 2019 analysis that found that glyphosate exposure increases the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
And whether it’s weed killer or lead in our water this attack on the working class is viciously racist. There’s even now a phrase for it: environmental racism (nydailynews.com, 1/28/20).
Lead in workers’ water puts bosses’ racist system at work
In 2014, Flint, Michigan, changed its water supply from Lake Huron to the polluted Flint River without testing the water. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) declared the water safe to drink.
Residents of Flint immediately exposed the brown color and odor coming from their taps on social media, which the Flint officials dismissed. The child lead poisoning rate doubled. Hurley Medical Center created a health registry and proved that lead in the water was poisoning children. Flint has a population that’s 54% Black. As often is the case, Black workers suffer from the most extreme forms of environmental terrorism.
In 2021, nine Michigan officials, including the former Michigan Governor, were finally indicted on criminal charges including manslaughter and neglect of duty for polluting Flint water. In June 2022, the Michigan Supreme Court tossed out the indictments on procedural grounds.
The situation in Flint is repeated over and over nationwide. While the government treats an industry’s action to pollute rivers, lakes, waterways and the ocean as a sacrosanct right, the working class’s need for clean water is treated as a luxury. Fifty percent of U.S. lakes and rivers are “too polluted for swimming, fishing, and drinking(EcoWatch, 3/29 ).”
San Francisco Bay is polluted with radiation from Navy shipyards and banned industrial chemicals, mercury from gold and silver mining. The Pacific Ocean is polluted with radiation from atomic bomb testing and the Fukushima meltdown. The list goes on and on.
The State exists to serve the needs of capitalists, not workers
As you ponder our safety regarding the basic necessities of life, food and water, remember the social and economic benefits from pollution are reaped by the capitalist class while the social costs are paid by the working class.
Weed-killer glyphosate in our urine and lead-fouled water in our taps are just two examples of neglect of public health by U.S. governmental authorities, federal, state and local. The entire food and water supply is poisoned by pollutants, pesticides and additives like sugar, preservatives, salt and unhealthy oils. The FDA doesn’t prevent the food industry from profiting by pushing harmful foods on us. Why don’t they protect us from bad food and foul water? Why is there no effective public health system in the U.S.?
Why don’t governments care? Because the purpose of government (the state) under capitalism is to serve the interests of the capitalist class. If harmful food and water is more profitable for the capitalists, then the government protects their right to supply it, over the dead bodies of the working class.
Some say that politicians and officials are bought off and the working class can root out corruption to correct the problem. Denying our class’ basic needs is a function of, not corruption, but capitalism itself. This has been going on since the beginning of capitalism– whatever the capitalists want, the government makes sure they get it. The role of government is to serve the needs of their masters, the capitalist class.
Progressive Labor Party calls to build a new society, governed by and for the working class. To do so, we need to smash capitalism and its state.