by Rhoda Wilson, Expose News:
A 2016 film titled ‘Genetically Modified Children’ exposed how Philip Morris and Monsanto have exploited impoverished farmers since 1966 when the Argentinian government authorised the use of genetically modified (“GM”) crops to withstand Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller. As a result, an increasing number of children are being born with severe birth defects and deformities in Argentina.
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Low-income tobacco farmers face skyrocketing cancer rates with more devastating repercussions affecting their children: severe physical deformities and mental disabilities. Choosing between poverty or poison, Latin American growers have no choice but to use harmful chemicals such as glyphosate, in Monsanto’s Roundup, and Bayer’s Confidor, if they want to certify and sell their crops to Big Tobacco.
As patent and regulatory laws continue to favour the profits of Monsanto and chemical companies, the tobacco makes its way into the hands and mouths of consumers worldwide in Philip Morris tobacco products, while the poisons used to harvest the crops contaminate the farmers’ blood and are modifying the human genome, creating genetically modified children.
The film interviews Dr. Hugo Gomez Demaio and Dr. Mario Barrera, who are dedicated to highlighting and treating the link between agrochemicals and birth defects. It features anti-agrochemical activist Sofia Gatica, who is renowned for her work in tracking abnormal rates of cancer, kidney disease and other ailments linked to aerial spraying of glyphosate on GM soy crops.
Further resources:
- Genetically Modified Children (film’s website)
- There is a growing awareness that glyphosate is much more toxic than we have been led to believe, and I am confident that in time it will be banned worldwide, just like DDT, GreenMedInfo, 2 October 2018
- Agrochemical Exposure Causes Deformities in Argentinian Children, Natural Mentor
GM Children: Film Unveils “Monstrous” Child Deformities
Note: This article was originally published on 25 August 2018.
The shocking film ‘Genetically Modified Children’ unveils the horrors of decades of chemical-intensive agricultural practices in Argentina, where the majority of crops are genetically modified (“GM”) and routinely doused in dangerous agrochemicals, and the chokehold big tobacco companies such as Philip Morris and chemical and seed giants have on poverty-stricken farmers desperate to earn a living.
The film, produced by Juliette Igier and Stephanie Lebrun, shows the devastating health effects the region’s agricultural sector is having on children,1 an increasing number of whom are being born with monstrous physical deformities. Some of the children’s cases are so severe that, without medical intervention, will result in death before the age of 5.
The film begins with the crew travelling from North Argentina in the Province of Misiones to the Brazilian frontier, an agricultural region that was one of the nation’s first to begin growing genetically modified organisms (“GMOs”) in the mid-1990s.
Featured in the film is Ricardo Rivero, the regional head of the local electricity company. He learned that the reason families cannot pay their bills is because often they are taking care of a sick or handicapped child, and receiving no assistance from the Argentinian government.
The film shows them visiting the humble home of a tobacco farmer where they meet Lucas Texeira, a 5-year-old boy with an incurable genetic skin disease. The family believes it was caused by the mother’s exposure to Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller early on in her pregnancy. No one told her it was toxic, she says.
The genetic mutation that caused her son’s condition left him with no pores in his skin, which means he doesn’t perspire. The heat from his body stays inside, causing him severe and painful itching that leads to frequent crying spells. Mr. Texeira expresses his sadness over Lucas’ condition, as well as his fears that he could have another child in the future with a similar deformity.
Agrochemicals Lead to Rise in Birth Defects, Deformities
Like many families in rural Argentina, the Texeiras have grown GM tobacco on their land for years, using a number of various agrochemicals required to produce a crop that’s certifiable by Philip Morris, an American multinational cigarette and tobacco manufacturing company (a division of Altria Company since 2003).
Philip Morris provides farmers with GM burley tobacco seeds for the manufacturer of light tobacco cigarettes. Each year, Argentinian farmers are forced to use more than 100 different chemicals in order to grow the perfect-looking tobacco crop – that is, if they hope to make any money.
The Texeira family is no exception. For more than a decade, they have treated their tobacco plants with glyphosate and other agrochemicals – and without any protection. However, after seeing a rise in birth defects among the community’s children, including in their own child, they began to fear for their safety and moved off their farmland, away from the toxic chemicals.
“It’s not easy, but you have to live the life you have,” said Mr. Texeira. “Thank God, Lucas’ problem is just his skin. He’s healthy and can eat. He eats almost anything.” Lucas is a miracle, says the film’s narrator. In this region, there’s a disproportionate number of children born with deformities.
300 million Litres of Glyphosate Are Applied Each Year
GM crops first entered the country through the Misiones Province of Argentina after the government authorised their use from 1996 onward, a decision based solely on studies conducted by Monsanto, and with no contradicting research.
For more than two decades the land was sprayed with glyphosate and other agrochemicals, contaminating the region’s soil and water. By 2013, more than 24 million hectares2 (59.3 million acres) of GM crops were grown in Argentina, including soy, maize, cotton and tobacco.
Mounting scientific evidence connecting the rise in miscarriages, birth defects and cancer to GMOs and agrochemicals did not dissuade the Argentinian government from subsidising GM crops. Perhaps, that decision is due in part to the 35% in taxes Argentina receives from GMO soy exports.
Despite the dangers, no one warned tobacco farmers of the risks. In fact, the opposite was true. Farmers in the Misiones province were inundated with various forms of marketing, including commercials from chemical companies insisting agrochemicals were the key to prosperity.
Television advertisements touted the benefits of Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller, including its ability to kill everything except for GMOs. The marketing worked. Today, more than 300 million litres (79.2 million gallons) of glyphosate are dumped each year onto more than 28 million hectares (69.1 million acres) of land in Argentina.3
Total Desertion
The film shows the crew visiting the home of another sick child. Lucas Krauss was born with congenital microcephaly. He suffers from epilepsy, delayed motor and mental development, multiple muscular atrophy and numerous other related pathologies.
The first doctor the family consulted said their son’s condition was due to a lack of oxygen; however, the neurologist had a different opinion. At first, he agreed and said it was due to a lack of oxygen; however, when they pressed him further he admitted that a lack of oxygen was not the only cause, but he refused to say what he believed the true cause was of Lucas’ condition. They wouldn’t even run medical tests, said the boy’s mother.
The family understands that Lucas’ condition, as well as many others in the community, is likely tied to the agrochemicals used to farm tobacco. But the family can’t quit the trade because it’s the main source of income in their area, and most importantly, it’s the only sector that provides social security for its workers. Without the financial aid of the tobacco industry, the father fears he will be unable to care for his special needs son.
“The whole family feels discriminated against because it seems that society doesn’t want to see their reality,” said Rivero. “His parents don’t ask anything for themselves. They’re not asking for anything out of the ordinary. It’s just that the responsible parties – the state is the responsible one for these children’s problems – and it’s not taking responsibility and there’s total desertion.”
