Dear Editor, citrus growers and ALL Belizeans:

There is a recognized aspect of the condition of those suffering from alcoholism, and that aspect focuses on what is termed “the enabler”, or that person(s) who contributes to the alcoholic’s consumptive addiction by the manner in which this person(s) relates to the alcoholic and supports the alcoholic’s habit.

Let us move to the present catastrophic phenomenon of “eco-cide”, which can be seen as the genocide of the ecologies of our planet, our hemisphere, our country, our communities, and now, to the specific point of this letter — our precious and gravely ailing citrus industry, that has been devastated by the “greening disease” (Huanglongbing (HLB)), which is literally translated as “the dragon disease”.

In fact, “green” is a misnomer, as the leaves of the citrus tree turn yellow from lack of nutrients, as we shall see, and fall to the ground, leaving the tree barren and incapable of production of its precious crop of fruits that we enjoy and love.

This past week in Belmopan at the National Agricultural Trade Showgrounds (NATS), under the umbrella of Regenerative International Belize Second Annual Tropical Agricultural Conference, farmers were graced with more internationally recognized experts on the phenomenon of “eco-cide”.

One presenter, a highly recognized faculty member of a prestigious US university and a retired colonel of the US army, with a specialty in medical intelligence, humbly listed on his business card, one of his special areas of practice: “Ag-bioterrorism”.

That is certainly a scary thought put to the pen. We should pay attention.

Further discussion with the guest speaker led us to the following website discussing the work of another plant pathologist (scientist who studies the diseases of plants) who has studied the “greening dragon” disease for 10 years.

And to our dismay, fingers again point to glyphosate (RoundUp) as promulgator for the “greening” disease in citrus. The researcher believes HLB to be a metabolic and nutritional problem in plants caused in part by the overuse of pesticides, especially glyphosate herbicides.

(https://www.gmwatch.org/en/news/latest-news/18803-expert-says-there-s-a-cure-for-citrus-greening-so-why-is-it-being-ignored)

Included in the discourse on the underlying causes of the “greening dragon” disease at the above-cited web location is the nutritional remedy, demonstrated over 4 years in thousands of dying and trees seemingly “dead” to the naked eye in the US state of Texas, which were brought to full production following the implementation of the specifically designed nutritional program.

Through the nutritional program, the trees’ health were restored, enabling their own natural defenses to hold at bay any external environmental conditions (Asian psyllid and the now mythological bacterium they named Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus).

A citrus greening recovery program in progress in Texas and also in Florida must be seriously considered for implementation in Belize. An integral part of this recovery program is the cleaning of the soils of glyphosate and its residuals, including AMPA, which is more toxic than the parent compound glyphosate.

The good news is that the above-referenced pathologist may have also given us not only the strategy and tools to cleanse the citrus orchards of the residual effects of glyphosate, but also the tools to cleanse much of Belize’s agricultural lands and pastures of the residuals of glyphosate.

Those of us in the agricultural sector must move with urgency to ensure that the compound glyphosate (RoundUp et al) is eliminated from ALL agro practices in Belize, and further appeal to the Hon. Minister of Agriculture Godwin Hulse to have it immediately removed from the list of chemicals approved for entry into Belize.

We become an ENABLER when we continue to use glyphosate (RoundUp et al). Some are addicted to the use of RoundUp. Despite the advertising of the manufacturers that glyphosate is “safe”, it has been legally proven in courts of law that it is, in fact, deadly.

At present, there are more than 42,700 legal filings in the US alone against Bayer (Monsanto) on behalf of victims of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, who were exposed to glyphosate (RoundUp). Glyphosate is the highest volume of herbicide currently imported into Belize, and comes in under many different names. Helosate through Guatemala is an example. Beware! Read labels and stop buying any product containing glyphosate.

Please do not be an ENABLER of this grievous international hoax of “safe” glyphosate. Help restore our pride of Belize, its citrus. Help our farmers to work in healthy environments free of these chemicals that are poisoning our food, our soils and our children. Speak out to the elected representatives about your concerns for healthy citrus and a healthy nation.

Respectfully and humbly,
Maruja Vargas
Cayo farmer
16th November, 2019