Informant38

In Colombia, U.S. Companies Get Down to Business
Colombia�s largest employer is based in Westlake Village, California. Dole controls the nation�s banana industry and in 1998 bought four flower companies accounting for 25 percent of Colombian flower production.
Two-thirds of fresh-cut flowers sold in the United States come from Colombia. The industry has hurt the environment of a central savanna where most of the flowers are grown. Aquifers there have dried up, requiring water to be brought in from Bogot�, the capital.
Toxic residues from pesticides banned in Europe have turned up in groundwater. One-fifth of the chemicals used in the Colombian industry�s greenhouses have been restricted in the United States for health reasons. Studies by local nongovernmental organizations have found that nearly two-thirds of Colombian flower workers suffer from peculiar illnesses, ranging from nausea to miscarriage. Most women who become pregnant are immediately terminated from their jobs.