J.B.'s "Mycoherbicide Redux"

Mycoherbicide Redux.

Peruvian campesinos from the Huallaga Valley in Peru with malformed chocolate that they say was due to the Fusarium epidemic of coca that swept through the region from the early 1980s through the 1990s. The origin of the epidemic is still unclear but there are many who believe that it was a U.S. experiment and that it was either sprayed secretly or that it was sold to unwitting farmers as fertilizer or pest killer. Most professionals believe that it was “natural” and exacerbated by poor farming practices. Whatever the origin, most reports indicate that it also attacked other plants, from Lemongrass to staple foods, and contaminated the soil for long periods. Campesinos also complained of unexpected deaths of family members. U.S. State Department cables from Lima complained of entire communities having to leave their lands because nothing would grow on them after the epidemic hit.
Photo: Jeremy Bigwood D.R. 2000

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Posted by Kyer at August 10, 2005 11:10 AM | TrackBack