Thank you for being a free subscriber to From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy. Terms of Advent Calendar can be found here: U.S. shipping only; you can only win once. It’s just $30 per year—or $2.50 per month—to keep this newsletter going and join the book club, weekly salons, and more. Sign up for the four-part Creating Indie Food Media class, a reading and writing workshop that’s historically minded and future focused. If you’d like to know more about me, visit alicia-kennedy.com. Advent Calendar Day 9: ‘Toxic Tropics: A Horror Story of Environmental Injustice’ by Jessica Oublié and Nicola Gobbi (Translated by Irene Vásquez)A graphic novel of chemical pesticide use on banana plantations in Martinique and Guadeloupe.
“In 1975, pesticide producer LifeSciences closed their plant that produced the chemical chlordecone, after numerous employees had toxic chemical poisoning, and the local river had been polluted. But in the French Antilles, farmers continued to use the pesticide. Even after it was banned in 1993, planters continued to illegally import and use it. Chlordecone use became so widespread that it was in almost everything people on the islands ate and drank. Today, 95% of the inhabitants of Guadeloupe and 92% of the inhabitants of Martinique are contaminated by the chemical, and the islands have one of the highest cancer rates in the world. In this richly illustrated work, the author brings her personal experience and connection to the story as she interviews scores of local people as well as scientists and government officials to uncover the true story behind the decision to continue poisoning the water and the soil for the sake of global commerce. We, as global citizens, are urged to consider the decisions we are making through our consumer choices and how they affect the health of the planet and the survival of communities throughout the world.” To enter the giveaway, please comment with your email address. The winners will be selected randomly and contacted within 24 hours. Only paid subscribers are eligible. Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives. A subscription gets you:
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