SOC 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Environmental Justice, Sweet Potato, Avocado
Document Summary
Environmental injustice the notion that sources of environmental pollution are unevenly distributed among different social groups. Environmental justice belief that all people should have equal protection of environmental and public health laws: affected communities should have a say in decision making, goal: healthy and sustainable communities. Environmental racism deliberate targeting of communities of color for toxic waste facilities. Generates chemical pollutants in the residues from pesticides and herbicides: swedish researchers found exposure to glyphosate (the active ingredient in. Roundup) nearly tripled people"s chance of getting cancer (non-hodgkins lymphoma) In the us, at least 300,000 farm workers suffer from pesticide-related illnesses each year, and at least 25 die: 220,000 die in less developed countries. The epa ranked pesticide residues in foods as the 3rd most serious environmental health threat in terms of cancer risk. Dirty dozen (buy these organic, highest in pesticides) 6 out of 9 studies, race was a more important predictor than income of where environmental hazards are located.
