Abstract

CAMACHO S., Juana. Toxic Accumulation and Agrifood Dispossession in La Mojana, Colombian Caribbean. Rev. colomb. antropol. [online]. 2017, vol.53, n.1, pp.123-150. ISSN 0486-6525.

This article discusses the link between pollution and dispossession related to commercial rice cultivation in the Mojana, Colombian Caribbean. Due to its environmental richness and agricultural productivity, this region has been posited as a food pantry. Rice is at the center of the regional productive system, diet, and identity. Based on an ethnographic study, I examine the dispossessing effects of toxic agrochemical use on livelihoods, food, and health. A central argument is that in its silent and daily operation, pollution degrades local commons and agrifood systems while reinforcing other historical forms of dispossession and social inequity. However, at a small scale, other local models and practices express alternatives in the three scenarios explored: production, diet, and identity.

Keywords : agrifood system; toxic; accumulation; dispossession; Caribbean.

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