It Took a Global Pandemic to Curb Pollution and Why We Might Want to Rethink the Way We Grow Food

By César Omar Sánchez

This report paper is a response analysis and reflection to a Social Justice class taken at NJCU (New Jersey City University). 

In the middle of a Global Pandemic where the levels of deaths and infection spread due to COVID-19, it exposes all the flaws within the Capitalistic system. However, the lockdown regulations have improved the quality of air because of the decreased human activity of machinery that runs on fossil fuel. Also, what we have to take into account during the pandemic is the lack of information on how we are receiving our food to our local markets. Since many corporations’ control what we eat, many of these meat plants lack FDA regulations due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Across the nation, mainstream media are not talking about how the Global Pandemic is affecting the environment and how corporations are exploiting the situations. For example, one major story that should be brought into discussion on how clear the skies have become throughout many cities around the world. 
      

Many states throughout the nation are in complete lockdown due to the spread of COVID-19 virus. Because of these lockdown state regulations, many were forced to work from home or laid off because of the catastrophic economic due to the virus. The end results ultimately led many people to travel less in their cars and not use other forms of public transportation which runs on fossil fuel. These unprecedented actions measure not also curb the rise of the spread of COVID-19 but also reduce Co2 levels significantly which reduces air pollutions. The WHO (World Health Organization) has acknowledged throughout the years' air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year.

More than 80% of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed WHO guideline limits, with low- and middle-income countries suffering from the highest exposures, both indoors and outdoors. (1)

            In the city of Beijing, China for the first time in decades has started to see the blue skies which were once overwhelmed with dirty polluted smog. Comparing a 2019 report to the Feb. 2020 date, Nasa scientists saw a drop in levels of nitrogen dioxide. These drops of gases (nitrogen dioxide) which are emitted by vehicles and other industrial machinery has improved significantly the environment.

            Reducing pollution in major cities can help people who suffer from asthma or other respiratory problems. We must understand that a healthy breathing environment is not also good for human beings, but animals and all living organisms on planet earth as well.

            The Pandemic has exposed so many weaknesses and the facade of our so-called "Free Market" based economy that supposedly provides opportunities for all. When we rely on all our food sources on a bunch of multi-million dollar corporations, we see that workers are being exposed to the virus without any PPE (Personal Protection Equipment.) In a recent article from independent news organization The Intercept, meat plant distribution Smithfield in Wisconsin tried to concealed COVID-19 with no regulations and protections for their workers.

A recent outbreak at Smithfield’s pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is now one of the largest Covid-19 hotspots in the U.S., with 644 confirmed cases tied to the facility. The Smithfield outbreak represents nearly half of all confirmed cases in that state. ⁽²⁾

Misinformation coming from the mainstream media leads our political leaders and community to make catastrophic mistakes and it seems we are going to make another one very soon. Rather than talk about increasing productivity on testing kits for citizens, we are planning to reopen the economy. These testing kits can be used to distribute to all essential workers immediately, especially those in the agricultural business of growing our food. Sadly, it took a Global Pandemic like COVID-19 to show the world how fragile we are and how Capitalism needs to be eradicated once and for all.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, many people have died or are still infected by COVID-19 virus, we cannot deny the science data report that human behavior is the cause of climate crisis. Capitalism is no doubt the perpetrator corrupt system the exacerbates these circumstances and causing chaos globally in our environment. The notion that we can just continue with the same paradigm in place and pretend that somehow it is going to solve itself is just plain wishful thinking. Even now the EPA is being defunded and undermines to lift certain policies so that fossil fuel corporations can continue to either “FRACKING” or the construction of the “XL-Keystone Pipeline” will bring filthy crude oil from Alberta, Canada down to Texas where it can be processed in their oil refinery plants. Not taking any precautions that can devastate the natural environment, these same unregulated corporations continue to silence anyone or group that gets in their way. Profits are what matters! The market is what dictates! WallStreet and all the greedy oligarchs are running the show and it seems that there is no end in sight. People are being pushed against the wall and the civil rights being taken away from them.

If we are serious about protecting our planet, let us start with having a REVOLUTION in this country. Our first step should be implementing plans to reduce pollution using clean house energy like solar panels and windmills. Second, we need to get rid of all the corporations like Smithfield, Tyson, Cargill, and all others, so we can rethink the way we grow and consume our food. They say time is running out, I say time up so lets ALL RISE UP!     

by César Omar Sánchez. Community organizer, New York/New Jersey Cuba Si Coalition, Advisory Board Member of ProLibertad: Free All Political Prisoners Campaign.

Work cited

1. Air Pollution. The World Health Organization. Retrieve from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/air-pollution#tab=tab_1
2. Lee Fang, “Employees Say Smithfield Plant in Wisconsin Concealed COVID-19 Infections, Pressured Them To Work Elbow to Elbow Without Protection.” TheIntercept. https://theintercept.com/2020/04/19/smithfield-foods-wisconsin-coronavirus/ 
3. Coronavirus: Nasa images show China pollution clear amid slowdown. BBC News. Feb.29, 2020. Retrieve from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51691967