Archive of
Positive Commentaries
June 2007
Archived Positive Commentaries
Monday, June 4th 2007
U.S. firms Dole and Dow Chemical Co., that sold and used the pesticide which some plantation workers charge has made them sterile, are now facing a U.S. jury trial. According to an article by T. Christian Miller and published by the Los Angeles Times, an L.A. attorney named Juan J. Dominguez recently predicted that the day of reckoning was at hand. A judge has linked Dominguez's case with four other pending lawsuits in Los Angeles involving sterility claims on behalf of more than 3,000 former banana workers from Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala and Panama. In addition to Dow and Dole, Del Monte Fresh Produce Inc., Chiquita Brands Inc. and Shell Oil Co. are named as defendants in those cases. Both Dole and Dow Chemical acknowledge that the pesticide DBCP has been linked to sterility in men, and both companies acknowledge that the product was used in Nicaragua's banana fields. While the companies claim the use of the chemical is safe, epidemiological studies have confirmed that DBCP causes sterility in human males, according to the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Although only 13 plaintiffs have been named in the U.S. suit, a victory could result in settlements for the thousands of other former banana workers who can show sterility problems. Dominguez has registered about 12,000 clients in Nicaragua alone. Worldwide, the number of possible clients is estimated to be hundreds of thousands. "All things are sacred in the lives of those who are spirit led; that is, subordinated to truth, ennobled by love, dominated by mercy, and restrained by fairness--justice." (The URANTIA Book, p. 1732) Recognizing the sacredness of all human beings should be cause to keep the planet protected from corporate greed and short-sightedness.