Dirty Water and Food

Contaminated food and water is prevalent problem in Latin America and the Caribbean. There have been numerous cases every year of healthy individuals suffering of illnesses from food poisoning and water contamination. There are also many more cases that are never documented.

One recent example of this problem happened in Brazil on November 2, 2008. It was reported that 300 people where treated in hospital in Bahia for symptoms of food poisoning, all of these individuals where employees at a shoe company where they worked in a factory. The cause symptoms are still unknown, but it is suggested to be linked to the unsanitary water supply and food at the factory.

Another incident this pass February in Chile, the Santiago times reported that 86 of 125 tons of milk were contaminated with fecal matter and not sanitary for human consumption. The milk was distributed to over 50 businesses which went onto make cheese, chocolates and other milk products. This goes onto illustrate the lack of check and balances within the food processing industry. It is remarkable to think that milk of such low quality ever left the milk distribution center.

As a result of the high poverty rates throughout Latin America numerous shantytowns and other under privileged housing communities do not have access to clean water. Interestingly however 55% of the world’s renewable water resources is found in Latin America yet over 50 million Latin Americans do not have access to clean drinking water, part of this is because of the privatization of the water industry, making it difficult for low income areas to get access to clean water in countries such as Bolivia. Clean water protests and demonstrations have been seen through out Bolivia. This problem has also been recently illustrated in mainstream media; it was the topic of controversy in the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace.


There have been attempts to curve the problem UNCIEF has reported people without access to clean water has fallen between 1990 and 2004 from 74 million individuals to 50 million. While it is still a prevalent problem, it is important to see that steps are being taken to solve it and awareness about the subject is being raised.

Sources Used
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=34927

http://74.125.45.132/search?q=cache:M41YhCFhLssJ:www.lasc.ie/activities/law/law2008.html+contaminated+water+in+latin+america&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us

http://regionalnews.safefoodinternational.org/page/Latin+America:+Food%2FWater+Borne+Illness+Outbreaks?t=anon

Dirty Food and Water

The Columbian Cartels

Drug trafficking in Colombia has been on the rise since the 1970’s when marijuana traffickers began to smuggle small amounts of cocaine into the United States in hidden suitcases. At that time cocaine could be processed for $1500/kilo and could be sold in the US for as much as $50,000/kilo. This great opportunity for profit through the trafficking of cocaine led to the rise of Colombia’s two great drug cartels, the Medellin Cartel and the Cali Cartel.

            The Medellin cartel was led by Pablo Escobar who was a common street thief in Colombia. The other major leaders of the cartel were Jose Gonzalez Rodriguez Gacha and the Ochoa brothers who were from a well respected family in Colombia. The cartel joined forces with Carlos Lehder, a prominent marijuana smuggler. Together the cartel and Lehder began using small airplanes to directly smuggle the cocaine into the US. The cartel used the money generated from the airplane trips to invest in new labs and better airplanes. The cartel began its downfall in the 1980s when they were coming under extreme pressure from the Colombian government who planned to extradite them to the US. It was during that time that the violent leader, Escobar was believed to have been responsible for the deaths of many government officials as well as police and innocent bystanders. Rodriguez Gacha  and Escobar were gunned down by the police and the remaining members turned themselves into the police in order to receive lenient prison sentences. The downfall of the Medellin cartel led to the rise of the much larger Cali cartel.

            The Cali cartel was a great rival of the Medellin cartel and was headed by the Roriguez Orejuela brothers an Santacruz Londono. The Cali cartel used their profits in a manner that was much more reasonable, investing profits into small business rather than buying flashy goods. The Cali cartel began to attack the Medellin cartel, singling out Pablo Escobar by forming the People Against Pablo Escobar (PEPES). The Cali cartel began dominating the cocaine trade by employing terrorist techniques such as separating their workers into different cells. They hired lawyers to study the moves of the DEA and US prosecutors in order to avoid their capture. They hired top engineers to design equipment that could not be bugged. In the mid 1990s the leaders of the group were arrested and sentenced to ten to fifteen years in jail. It is believed that they are still running their drug cartel from the prison walls.

            Following the fall of the Mendellin and Cali cartels cocaine trafficking became fragmented. The next generation of drug leaders realized that it was the larger groups that were the most vulnerable to the US and Colombian governments. They began to make smaller individualized groups that each held a specific job within the business. One group would smuggle the drugs and another group would be in charge of the drug labs. The DEA and Colombian National police believe that there are more than 300 active drug smuggling groups in Colombia today.  

Sources Used:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/business/inside/colombian.html

Related Links:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/interviews/ochoajorge.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/interviews/ochoajdo.html

Drug production, consumption, and trafficing in Latin America: Marijuana and Coca

Marijuana is one of the most prevelent drugs in Latin America today, especially in Jamaica. It was brought to the island in the 1800's by East Indian indentured laborers who worked on English plantations. Ever since, Marijuana or "ganja" has become part of Jamaican culture for its social, economic, and health benifits. It has been estimated that at least 60% of the population consumes the drug, and many adults grow and sell it as a part time job. One reason for the mass production of Marijuana in Jamaica is that it grows very easy even in poor soil, and produces at least two anual harvests.
Jamaicans also rely on ganja for its medicinal properties. Many Shawmanists use the drug in medicinal teas brewed with the plants leaves or sticks. They also use the drug in topical preperations used to treat irritations, burns, or wounds. Yet another benificial product of the drug is its association with meditation and focus enhancing potential amon Jamaicans. But not everywhere is the drug respected as it is in Jamaica. In contrast with Jamaican consumption of the Drug, one study found that among working class Costa Ricans, use of the drug was almost stricly limited to smoking it recreationally.

Like Marijuana consumption in the Carribean, Coca production in the Andes is extremely high due to its relativity in Andean Culture. Coca leaves which can me used to make Cocaine are extreamly nutrient rich and have long been chewed as a dietary supplement for the people in the Andes. There are many health benifits associated with chewing the leaves of the coca plant, such as curing soroche ( altitude sickness) by increasing oxygen intake of the body. Adittionally illnesses like viento (strong wind currents), which is known to cause tuberculousis among andean people, can be treated by boiling or grounding these leaves.
The major problem with Coca use in the Andes is the violent drug trafficing that takes place in areas like Bolivia, Peru, and Columbia; the major producers of Coca and Cocaine. There is a lot of guerilla warefare taking place in these countries to protect their crops, which results in a high terror rate for citizens in urban areas where the drugs are produced. Many andean fight for their right to grow the drug because of its rich cultural incorperation, like the practice of chewing leaves during marriage, aggricultura,l and religous rituals.

In both the Andes and the Carribean, the use of these drugs has been outlawed, but production has continued. Aside from the obvious economic advantages of producing these crops of illegal drugs, production has likely remained high due to the traditional and medicinal traits associated with these drugs. THe United States has tried to squash production of both drugs in Latin America to little or no avail. This is likely because some Latin Americans view the United States' attempts as a new form of colonialism.

Sources used.


http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s60/elfottanta/petertosh.jpg
http://images.newstatesman.com/articles/2008/1006/20080311_coca.jpg

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/06/14/farc460x276.jpg

Religion and Healing: Shamanism, Ritual Poetics, and Hallucinogenic Healing in Latin America:

Shamanism is a belief practiced in Latin America and the Caribbean that is defined as a religious system marked by the belief that specific persons- shamans- have the ability to directly communicate with the supernatural through a trance or possession experience. The Shaman’s body is the means for which the spirits use to transverse their powers into the human world. The Shaman must become in possession of the powers in order to assure success during the experience. During a trance the Shaman’s soul leaves the body and travels to the Spirit world, only to return once the shamanism is over. The possession of the Shaman by the spirits is visible by the Shaman’s erratic and uncontrollable behavior. Once the Shaman has allowed his/her body to be the medium for the spirits he/she is able to control the powers and channel them into the healing process.

The trance possession is usually performed in accordance with many mind and body altering substances, mainly: tobacco, hallucinogens, and alcohol. This is present in the Shamanism trance possessions performed by the Arawak speaking people of Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil, known as the Wakueai. During their ceremonies, the Wakueai also participate in dancing, song singing, and chanting in order to help harness the powers of the spirits. This chanting is also sometimes called poetic chanting in which the chants are used for healing purposes that express ritual power.

Ritual power is defined as the ability to harness authority or legitimacy through ritual means. This idea is especially prominent among the Wakuenai people in Amazonian Venezuela. They believe that singing is the means of treatment for diseases of the genitalia, neurological systems, nightmares, and child behavioral problems. They use shorter chants to cure less severe issues such as headaches. These chanting beliefs used by the Wakuenai were only first introduced after the presence of deadly diseases brought over by the Europeans.

One hallucinogen that is particularly present in many healing rituals is Ayahuasca, a vine that is fermented into a thick beverage that has incredible hallucinogenic capabilities. Ayahuasca is consumed in large amoutns by the peoples of the lowland Amazonian areas Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. The consumption of this hallucinogen in conjunction with Shamanism healing rituals is present among all social groups, but particularly present in the lowest social and economic groups. They use this drug to heal two categories of illness: God given illnesses and those illnesses that were a result of evil put forth by others. The Shamans treat theses illnesses with the use of the powerful Ayahuasca in a cleared section of the jungle with a small group of others inflicted with similar symptoms. At midnight the healer distributes the drug and the he/she is the final one to drink the hallucinogenic beverage. The remainder of the night is spent chanting and dancing in order to harness the powers of the spirits.

Sources:

http://www.earthheartfarm.com/uploads/images/ayuhausca_vine.jpg

http://public.globalnet.hr/~gvlahovi/covjekje/shamans-mexico.jpg

http://www.firstpeople.us/pictures/challenger/JD-Challenger-Shamans-Power.jpg

Healthy Bodies in Latin America

Anthropologists today, study the different perspectives of the human body between modern westernized civilizations and indigenous peoples. "The concept of body image consists of an attitudinal and perceptual dimension." (An exploration of attitudinal and perceptual dimensions of body image among male and female adolescents from six Latin America cities). Today body image throughout Latin America and the Caribbean is a melting pot of traditional ingenious ideas as well as modern ideas. Also traditional ideas of healing are also increasingly popular in western society.

For example the indigenous group the Aymara of Bolivia view their bodies as a reflection of a high mountain dwelling. This is important is important topographical- hydraulic model. Under this model they see the human body as in three different levels which include flesh and blood from the center of the body. Tier one includes head,eyes and the mouth. Tier two: the stomach and heart. Tier three: the legs and toenails. They see illness as a result of violating cultural norms. In addition this relationship is tied back into the mountain in that if they are careless in the planting the season the earth yield the resources that they need. They use two healing processes the first being to have healers "feed the earth" by nourishing the earth. The second is to use medicinal herbs as discussed in previous blogs to restore circulation. As noted before Tuberculosis is a rapidly growing epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Liquichado is the indigenous equivalent of Tuberculosis. The Aymara view this illness as a result of losing essential fat as a consequence of vicious actions of others.

Local Aymara Woman

Body image in the Caribbean as illustrated by Jamaican women is drastically different from the Aymara. For example rural Jamaican women view their as being porous, which makes it important to clean their bodies regularly. People who are overweight are said to be generous and healthy as a result of this idea, while those underweight have experienced the opposite. This idea is also elsewhere in the Caribbean "the perception of the Trinidadian adolescent that obesity was associated with wealth, and to a lesser extent happiness... were causes for concern."(European Journal of Clinical Nutrition) Body temperatures are also important because if a body temperature is to one extreme they will also have an unhealthy lifestyle. Like the Aymara they view sickness as being a result of the vicious actions of the community.

Source:
An exploration of attitudinal and perceptual dimensions of body image among male and female adolescents from six Latin America cities. - Laura McArthur, 2005
http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ725089&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ725089

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition- http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v57/n1/full/1601515a.html

Folk Illnesses of the Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean

A folk illness is an illness that is brought about by cultural conventions rather than by physiological factors. The illnesses often have religious or physiological overtones. Folk illnesses were very prominent in Latin America and the Caribbean and there are around ten known illnesses. The most prominent of these were Susto, Mal de Ojo, and Nervios.

Susto can be literally translated into English as “fright”. The symptoms of this illness include: loss of appetite, listlessness, lack of interest or motivation in daily activities, apathy, nausea, diarrhea, irritability, weakness, and withdrawal. This illness can affect any age or gender. It can be induced by any form of anxiety that can be brought by emotional pain, such as violent encounter, potential argument, or an unhappy event. A more severe form of susto is espanto, meaning “terror” or “intense fright”. This extreme case of Susto can often times lead to death and is brought on traumatic situations, which are attributed to “soul loss” in the indigenous populations.

A second prominent folk illness to the indigenous peoples was Mal de Ojo, which is translated to mean “evil eye”. Symptoms of this illness are very similar to those of Susto but can also include high fever and constant crying in children. Mal de Ojo transpires due to extreme envy or jealously, which may be deliberate or unintentional. Those who are of good health are higher risk of contracting this illness. It is thought that by shielding children or others of lower class from the gaze of jealousy, will ensure their protection against the illness.

The final folk illness that was most prominent to the indigenous peoples was Nervios, translated to mean “the attack of the nerves”. This illness is identified with such symptoms as: heightened sense of irritability, shakiness, dizziness, occasional fainting or loss of consciousness, crying, trembling and bouts of violence. These symptoms in addition to the loss of emotional and bodily control are what separate this illness from the several others. Nervios is brought about when people are unable to handle the stresses of daily life. Along with the challenges of everyday stress come about the emotional side effects of nervios, which include: depression, screaming, and anger. Characteristically the indigenous people who suffer with this illness the most frequently are those of lower class and disenfranchised members of society. Women are more susceptible to this illness and are in turn more likely to die as a result of this disease. People who contract this disease have social tensions, disruptions in family support systems, and other social pressures that affect their daily life.

http://www.popline.org/docs/0383/681401.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,324552,00.html

Sources:

Sanabria, Harry. The Anthropology of Latin America and the Caribbean . Boston, MA: Pearson: Allyn
and Bacon, 2007. 

http://altmed.creighton.edu/MexicanFolk/Susto.htm

http://altmed.creighton.edu/MexicanFolk/mal_de_ojo.htm

http://www.springerlink.com/content/13u675x554482212/?p=f3d12b5f51954420a9d5bbe3beebc0dc&pi=4

Poor Health of Latin America and the Caribbean

Every society has a medical system in which they are able to diagnose and treat illnesses. There are three types of medical anthropology: Ethnomedicine, Biomedicine, and Critical Medical Anthropology. Ethnomedicine is culturally specific non western societies. This is practiced throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

The poor health of Latin America and the Caribbean directly correlates to the sub-standard living conditions which the majority of the population lives. Such conditions include limited access to or safe sanitation practices. For example 30 of the 33 Latin American countries have a higher male mortality rate than the United States. The highest being Haiti with 493 compared to the United States with 140. It should be noted that countries with a higher percentage of GDP used towards there health care have more physicians per household. The spread of diseases throughout Latin America and the Caribbean is a result of poverty and inequality, Latin America has big gaps in the social system. This is because under sub-standard living conditions, people have weakened immune systems which makes eases the spread of diseases.

Sanabria discusses in his book, The Anthropology of Latin America and the Caribbean that over half the population of Latin America is poor due to a high concentration of wealth in only 10% of households.

HIV/AIDS is the fastest spreading infectious disease in Latin America, only second in the world to sub-Sahara Africa. According the the CIA world fact book: There was a prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS or 0.5 percent in Peru in 2003 with 5,000 peopled who died from HIV/AIDS. This is significantly more than the United States, who had a rate of 0.3% and had only 4,200 deaths. According to the database Peru had a very high risk of disease. Such diseases that posed a threat were bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and typhoid.

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/LACEXT/0,,contentMDK:21283043~menuPK:258569~pagePK:2865106~piPK:2865128~theSitePK:258554,00.html

http://www.thebody.com/index/whatis/demo_latinam.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,324552,00.html