The pandemic nature of agribusiness’ socio-environmental and sanitary disasters

ABSTRACT The production process of the chemical-dependent agribusiness is one of the largest generators of risk, socio-environmental, and sanitary disasters of a pandemic nature. It acts on the social determination of health-disease-environmental damages, leading to critical situations, risks and vulnerabilities, human exploitation, acute and chronic poisoning, and ecological degradations as the effects of their harm to establish interrelations between production-environment-society. The sector has contributed directly to the globalized ecological and sanitary crisis by giving rise to syndemics, food insecurity, water and contamination, besides producing new and/or reemergious infectious diseases. In this critical essay, based on the studies of the Nucleus for Environmental Studies and Workers Health of the Federal University of Mato Grosso, different elements that are menacing, destructive, degrading, and violators of workers’ right to health and environmental health are demonstrated in the main links in the production chain of agribusiness. Next, using public document analyses, state regulations, and data from health surveillance systems, the processes of food and water contamination arising from agrochemicals are exposed, as well as a criticism of the political tendencies that revolves around agribusiness. Finally, we highlight the pressing need of an agroecological transition as a response to the diseases and syndemics of agribusiness.