Cultural Beliefs Impact Pesticide Exposure

Farm workers in Eastern Washington enter the fields soon after pesticides have been sprayed—sometimes even while an adjacent field is being sprayed—yet they are not required to wear protective clothing. Many worry about their exposure to potentially dangerous levels of pesticides. But their concern does not always translate to action.

	Amy Snipes (left) with one of the families she has interviewed.

Amy Snipes, a graduate student in anthropology, is studying the cultural beliefs that influence farm workers’ exposure to pesticides, as well as the physical effects of pesticide exposure. Her focus is a community of Mexican immigrant farm workers in Washington’s Lower Yakima Valley.

“This project is an example of how anthropology can be effectively merged with other fields,” says Snipes. “The tools of anthropology—studying deep, intricate, and sometimes hidden aspects of culture —can be valuable in solving problems of humanity.”

Snipes, who has been visiting the Yakima Valley for the past three years, has spent long hours interviewing thinners—the orchard workers who thin the young fruit for a better crop. She is gathering information on their cultural beliefs about their work and their bodies, as well as their practices both in the field and at home. She also is collecting saliva and urine samples to measure the workers’ organophosphate pesticide exposure and cortisol levels. (Cortisol is a hormone that can be used as a marker to measure stress; research has shown that exposure to organophosphate pesticides can raise cortisol levels.)

“All humans perceive their environment through a cultural lens, a cultural context,” says Snipes. “That can have a great impact on how one interacts with the environment.”

Through nearly 100 interviews, Snipes has uncovered some beliefs that have a direct impact on pesticide exposure. One example, she says, is the belief about hot and cold in Mexican culture.

“You can put cold water on a cold body but not on a hot body,” she explains. “The belief is that putting something cold on a hot body causes pain. They see that as more serious than exposure to pesticides. So while workers will wash their hands with cold water in the morning to decontaminate themselves, they will avoid doing so later in the day when their bodies are warm. Instead they will wait an hour or more after work, allowing their bodies to cool off, before washing their hands or showering. Given that the absolute best way for pesticides to enter the body is through skin exposure, that small cultural piece is a huge piece of information.”

Snipes, who is African American, believes that her race has worked to her advantage during the interviews. “In this community, I’m a bit of an anomaly,” she says. “I’m not only a student and a scientist, but also the only black person that many of the workers have ever met. They are intrigued by me, and that has made them more eager to share.”

And they have shared. Nearly all the farm workers have expressed concern about how pesticide exposure might affect their families. Snipes has provided brochures, produced by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, that offer specific suggestions for reducing exposure. “But even that information doesn’t necessarily stop their beliefs,” says Snipes, “and that’s also important to know. Even with education, some cultural pieces still might influence exposure level.”

Snipes, whose research is funded in part by the National Science Foundation, hopes to complete her analysis of the interviews and lab results by October. She is concerned that the farm workers, as well as the data, are presented fairly and accurately in her final report.

“I want to be sure that the community is well represented, and that I bring something to the community as well,” she says. “I want them to know how to protect themselves with appropriate, culturally based interventions. And I want them to become another voice for people doing work in the fields. They really want their voice heard.”

[Winter-Spring 2006 - Table of Contents]