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For more see Greenfacts paper on dioxins [http://www.greenfacts.org/en/dioxins/index.htm].
==Plan Columbia and the Deforestation of the Amazon==
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_Colombia Reminiscent of Vietnam], and as a result of the United States' War On Drugs, which apparently includes the aerial spraying of vast sections of the Columbian Amazon Jungle with Monsanto's Roundup Ultra (since 1999) in a supposed effort to eradicate coca (cocaine) plants, the effectiveness of which is greatly disputed, peasants living in he area have been telling of widespread destruction to the forest and other unwanted "collateral damage". Damage which they say the United States and Monsanto have turned a deaf ear toward.
"I recently received a disturbing email from southern Colombia warning that the fragile Amazonian soil could "soon be turned to desert". They were the words of a Catholic priest, so I rang a church worker whose parish lies deep in the Amazonian state of Caquetá. Military planes targeting coca farms, funded by the US, had been spraying mists of herbicides over food crops, grazing animals and even areas where children were playing, she said: locals were complaining of breathing problems and rashes; "strips of skin" have been peeling off cows, and chickens have died; and maize, yucca, plantain and cacao crops have wilted and shrivelled. "We fear there will soon be a very serious food shortage in the region," she said. The local parish has issued an urgent appeal... Glyphosate is the most frequently used herbicide; its biggest selling commercial formulation is Roundup, made by Monsanto. The company acknowledges that contact with glyphosate may cause mild eye or skin irritation. But independent studies have suggested a far greater range of symptoms, including facial numbness and swelling, rapid heart rate, raised blood pressure, chest pains, nausea and congestion... Farm workers in the US are advised to keep clear of weedkillers, yet in Colombia aerial spraying takes place with no warning, showering humans and animals with chemicals... All Colombia's neighbours - Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil - oppose the "fumigation" policy. The Andean and European parliaments have called for its suspension, as have numerous environmentalists, scientists and politicians in Colombia. But spraying has intensified since the launch in 2000 of Plan Colombia, the US-funded counter-narcotics strategy... Back in Caquetá, the church worker described how herbicides have run into rivers and streams, killing fish. Locals wait days before they dare drink the water. One of the most fragile ecosystems in the world "is being poisoned".
" [http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/12/colombia-drug-war Colombia's desert war].
"I went to Colombia, a few years back, as a member of a human rights delegation sponsored by the Colombia Support Network of Madison, Wisconsin, to investigate the effect of fumigation on the farmers or campesinos where the spraying was taking place... We saw the devastation of the countryside caused by the fumigation and saw the effects of the spray on children and adults in the region" [http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/07/7537 Plan Colombia: Mixing Monsanto's Roundup With Bush's Sulfur]
"Environmental effects of glyphosate have also been researched, with results that indicated negative effects on both plant and animal life. It was found that this herbicide has toxic effects on most plant species. It affects trees, shrubs, and crops, increasing the susceptibility of crops to disease. Endangered species present in the area are also at risk. The chemical affects fish, birds, and small mammals as well, not only by direct contact but also as a result of the killing of plants. These dramatic changes in the plant community have a detrimental impact on the animals that depend on those plants for food and habitat (Nivia). Fish are especially susceptible to suffering toxic effects, as the temperature of tropical waters is greater than in areas where tests were conducted on the effects of glyphosate on fish (Farley).... The regions where the intense fumigation efforts are being employed are rich and unique in biodiversity. Regions include both the Andean mountains, described as a cloud-shrouded region of waterfalls, rushing rivers, dense forests, and deep mountain gorges, and the lush Amazon Basin (Rohter). The current measures being taken by the U.S. only intensify the negative effects of fumigation that have been occurring over the last ten years and impact the civilian population, the environment, and legal agriculture the most (Chomsky)."
"David Olson, the Director of Conservation Science at the World Wildlife Fund, says that from a global biodiversity perspective the current poisoning of vast areas of Colombian forests – an area equal to 3 national parks each year – is like dynamiting the Taj Mahal. He likens actions being taken by the U.S. to the spraying campaign of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War that disturbed wildlife and natural ecosystems to such a large extent that they have never recovered. The spraying campaign in Colombia will, and already is, having devastating environmental effects. Due to the use of glyphosate, affected forest areas are stripped of their leaves, which results in a loss of habitat for species leading to “increased fragmentation of intact forests, terrible erosion of shallow soils, and destruction of streams and rivers” (Olson)."
"The method that the U.S. is using to apply glyphosate also has very serious environmental implications. Airplanes are being used to spray fields growing illegal substances, fields that are often right next to legitimate crops such as corn, yucca, banana plantations, or large dense forest areas (described above). Given that this method results in the largest amount of drift, legitimate crops growing near coca or poppy crops are in danger. Once sprayed, all other vegetation is left to wither and die because a proper buffer zone is not being enforced. As a result, many peasants are suffering because their food supply is being destroyed by the U.S. government and their water supplies are being contaminated as well (Massey). These legal crops are often part of the crop substitution programs that have been implemented by the Colombian government in an effort to move peasants away from the production of illegal crops (Chomsky). In addition, farm animals such as chicken and guinea pigs have died as a result of the spraying while larger animals such as cows and horses have fallen ill (Rohter). Iván Alberto Chicangana, mayor of a remote Yanacona Indian village in the Andean highlands where spraying has affected the land and the people, said, “The damage done to the physical and economic well-being of this community has been serious and is going to be very difficult to overcome” (Rohter)... The future of Colombia is in the hands of the United States who is interested in little more than profit for themselves. It is an example of neocolonialism at its best, and the effects are devastating and will continue to be. The environment and the poor farmers are the ones who are most affected, yet neither are the source of the problem." [http://www.macalester.edu/environmentalstudies/macenvreview/columbia.htm].
When people showed up in 2001 at Monsanto headquarters to protest they were promptly arrested. "Several dozen protestors were demonstrating against the company's role in fumigating fields in Colombia in an attempt to kill the leaf used to make cocaine. Some demonstrators said the Roundup Ultra spray being used is being "indiscriminately sprayed on families and farms, not just on growing coca plants," the Associated Press reported. The demonstrators also said the spraying is negatively affecting water, soil and farmers in the region, and is causing respiratory and skin problems among residents, the AP reported" [http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2001/06/25/daily6.html]. See also [http://colombiareports.com/opinion/89-from-the-editor/3623-plan-colombia-needs-to-be-reformed.html Plan Colombia needs to be reformed][http://americas.irc-online.org/am/166 Plan Colombia’s Drug Eradication Program Misses the Mark]
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