Health and Environment:

The Intimate Connection

Romeo F. Quijano, M.D.
 Professor(Ret.), Dept. of Pharmacology and Toxicology,
College of Medicine, Univ. of the Phils. Manila
 Chairperson, Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific
 Board Member, Institute for Occupational Safety,
Health and Development
 Former Co-chair, International Pollutants Elimination
Network
Health is a state of complete
physical, mental and social
well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity.

- World Health Organization (WHO)

The enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of health is one
of the fundamental rights of every
human being without distinction of race,
religion, political belief, economic or
social condition.
 What is Good Health?
Absence of disease?
No physical deformity?
Able to work?
Able to perform daily chores?
Being happy?
No worries?
Able to play?
 What is Good Health?
Good health is not only the
absence of disease but the state
of complete physical, mental,
spiritual and social well-being in
harmony with the environment.
 Health and Environment
• The human being is an integral part of the living
earth, our living environment.
• The environment is affected by economic,
political and cultural factors.
• The integrity of the human being is largely
determined by the integrity of the environment.
• Good health is the state of harmony between the
individual and the environment.
• Illness is the result of disruption of the harmony
between the individual and the environment.
 BIOLOGICAL CHEMICAL

PHYSICAL SPIRITUAL

SOCIAL
 CULTURAL

POLITICAL ECONOMIC
 Disruption by Toxic Chemicals
•Agricultural Chemicals
•Industrial Chemicals
•Persistent Organic Pollutants
•Pharmaceuticals
•Carcinogenic substances
•Embryotoxic agents
•Endocrine Disruptors
Pesticides Don’t Know
When to Stop Killing
• Pesticides often
kill birds, fish and
other animals
besides the target
pest.
• Pesticides
contaminate air,
water, soil, plants,
animals and
humans
PESTICIDE POISONINGS
In the South, an
estimated 25
million
agricultural
workers may
suffer one
incident of
pesticide
poisoning each
year.
P oisons
E xterminating
S pecies
Terminating
I nterdependence of
C reatures
I rreversibly
D estroying
E arth
 General Remarks

 The science, policies, production,

distribution, use and disposal of toxic
chemicals are influenced by political,
economic, and cultural factors.
 Power relations, not the “free market”,
largely determine the toxic chemicals
agenda.
 The science and policies on poisons
serve mainly the privileged class, the
rich and the powerful.
 Politics of Toxic Chemicals
Scientific Advisory Committee removed
instead of harmful pharmaceuticals.
Toxicology committee phased-out
instead of highly toxic pesticides.
Harassment suits by Big Corporations.
Corporate funding of scientific
researches in academic and
government institutions.
 Artificial Flavors
• Diacetyl - Buttery flavor
• Isoamyl acetate - Banana
• Allyl hexanoate - Pineapple
• Cinnamic aldehyde - Cinnamon
• Ethyl propionate - Fruity
• Methyl anthranilate - Grape
• Limonene - Orange
• Ethyl-decadienoate - Pear
Artificial Sweeteners
 Disruption of the Biological
Environment
• Disruption of biologic/physiologic
functions (metabolic, endocrine, neuro-
behavioral, circulatory, immune, etc.)
• Disruption by Infectious and parasitic
agents
• Disruption by GMOs
Genetically Modified Organisms
(GMOs)

Involves the insertion of DNA from one

organism into another OR modification
of an organism’s DNA in order to
achieve a desired trait.
•4 •5
Human Health Risks
• Disruption of Gene Ecology
• Insertion of foreign gene may disrupt
biological processes that may be critical to
maintain normal biologic function
• Horizontal gene transfer (creation of new
infectious diseases)
• Adverse effects from GMO toxin (e.g. Bt
toxin)
• Antibiotic resistance
• Allergens, etc.
Disruption of the Physical Environment
• Mass production of goods has put millions of
workers into various kinds of occupational hazards.
• Building of dams to supply irrigation water to
corporate farms and to provide energy to industrial
zones has displaced entire communities, particularly
indigenous communities.
• Mining companies have scraped-off entire forests
and mountains in the name of economic growth,
devastating the ancestral domain of tribal
communities and destroying irreversibly local
biodiversity that is the source of livelihood and
medicines for the local indigenous people.
Psychological/”Spiritual” Disruption
• Health is not just the state of physical
wellness but also psychological/
“spiritual” well-being.
• The psychological/”spiritual” dimension is
an integral element of the human being. The
individual human being at the same time is
an integral element of the social
environment.
• The psyche and/or the “spirit” of the
individual must therefore be in harmony
with social reality if one is to be healthy
psychologically/spiritually.
Symptoms of
Psychological/”Spiritual” Disruption
• abusive, oppressive and exploitative
behaviour
• selfishness, greed and arrogance
• apathy and lack of social consciousness
• silence in the face of oppression
• ignorance, subservience and defeatism
in the midst of injustice and violations
of human rights.
 Disruption of the Social Environment
• The greatest factor that contributes to ill
health in the majority of populations all over
the world.
• The economic, political and cultural disruption
brought about by colonization, development
aggression, debt crisis, structural adjustment
programs, and corporate globalization has led to
the deprivation of adequate and appropriate
nutrition, safe and adequate drinking water, safe
and adequate food, pure air, and other basic
physical and biological needs which serve as the
foundation of a healthy society.
Disruption of the Social Environment

Unjust social structures have led to the

deprivation of fundamental socio-economic,
cultural and political rights such as the right
to self-determination, adequate health care,
education, employment, safe working and
living conditions, and the right to live in
human dignity, free from exploitation and
oppression.
Basic human rights trampled by
“Structural Violence”

•Right to Life
•Right to health
•Right to safe food
•Right to clean water
•Right to clean air
•Right to shelter
•Right to a healthful environment
• Other basic human rights violated

• Right to land
• Right to equity
• Right to self-determination
• Right to livelihood
• Right to be secure in place of
domicile
WHY?
1.Triumph of money over health and
environment
2. Arrogance of power
3. Gross ignorance
4. Misuse of science
5. Unethical and unprofessional
behavior
6. Expediency over moral duty
7. Lack of community participation in
decision making
 WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?
• Stop intrusive and exploitative
globalization policies that destroy local
communities, take WTO out of agriculture.
• Develop an alternative trading system that
focuses on people to people exchanges.
• Shift to agro-ecological production system
• Promote healthy, sustainable consumption
• Protect the rights of indigenous
communities.
Understanding Agro-ecology
 What needs to be done?
 A wareness raising
 N etworking among groups
 T echnical capacity building
 I nformation exchange/monitoring
 D eepening of understanding
 O rganizing concerned people
 T ransformative action
 E mpowerment of people
 Obstacles to Overcome
• D read
• I gnorance
• S elfishness
• E litism
• A pathy
• S ubservience
• E scapism
PEOPLE POWER !