Tayfun Özkaya
In the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, in Bhopal, a major gas leak occurred on 2 December 1984 at an agricultural chemical factory owned by the American company Union Carbide. The state government reported that 3,787 people living in the surrounding area died immediately. Within weeks, 3,000 more deaths were reported, followed by 8,000 more. The total death toll reached 15,000. The number of injured was reported to be 558,125. Of these, 38,478 were found to be temporarily disabled, while 3,900 were left with serious and permanent disabilities. It was commented that this disaster had even more impact than Chernobyl.
The Indian-based company was 49% state-owned. Union Carbide was acquired by Dow Chemical in 2001. The new company stated that it would not accept responsibility for the incident. The Indian Government demanded $3.3 billion in compensation from Union Carbide. They later settled for $470 million. It is estimated that survivors received only $500 each. The lawsuit filed over the incident was only concluded in 2010, and eight local officials, all Indian nationals, were sentenced to two years in prison and fined $2,000 each. It can be said that they got off quite lightly. The company’s American General Manager never returned to India and faced no penalties. Union Carbide claimed the explosion was the result of sabotage. However, numerous accidents had occurred prior to the explosion, and it was alleged that the safety systems were not functioning in 1984.
A study conducted by Greenpeace in the region 20 years after the accident found toxic substances in the soil at levels 6 billion times higher than normal.
Joel Kovel writes in his book The Enemy of Nature (Metis Yay., 2017):
“After the company [Carbide] ‘suffered’ the consequences of the nightmare it had inflicted on the people of Bhopal, those who held Carbide shares were $1.57 richer per share. But why had Carbide’s share price risen? The answer to this question lays everything bare: because the company had proven that it could escape punishment for the crimes it had committed and would commit in the future… Regarding the Bhopal incident, Ward Morehouse wrote: [If Carbide’s executives] had genuinely been generous and offered unconditional aid commensurate with the scale of the disaster, it was a foregone conclusion that the company’s shareholders would have faced lawsuits alleging misuse of company funds.”
In capitalism, senior executives in particular have no chance of being ethical. Such people are relegated to lower levels within the company. If they were influential at the top, it is highly likely that their companies would fall behind in competition and be pushed out of the system. Undoubtedly, morality is very important in social life. However, the idea that all social problems would be solved if everyone were moral, as some believe, is very naive. The system does not allow this.
The pesticide factory, built to protect crops from insects, also killed and injured people. Due to the use of agricultural pesticides, many people around the world are falling ill and dying. The use of these poisons in agricultural production is slowly creating thousands of Bhopals. In fact, we can get rid of chemical agricultural pesticides. However, the idea that production is impossible without them has been accepted by the majority, especially farmers. We call this hegemony. There are many studies proving that this idea is wrong. Let me mention just one. A large-scale study conducted by the Rodale Institute over 17 years has shown that the same level of yield can be achieved without the use of any pesticides or chemical fertilisers, that agricultural income is higher, and that excellent results can be achieved ecologically. Moreover, in dry years, the yield of maize in the ecological system was found to be 31 per cent higher than in the industrial system. (1)
A significant proportion of consumers believe that washing and peeling products removes pesticide residues. However, systemic pesticides, which are estimated to constitute half of all pesticides used worldwide and in Turkey, spread throughout the plant in the same way that an antibiotic spreads throughout our body when we take it. Therefore, washing or peeling these products is of no benefit. It is well known that systemic pesticides cause great harm to life, especially to bees. Instead of using these, it is known that many other methods yield much better results, such as leaving ecological strips in agricultural areas, crop rotation, using agricultural pesticides made from natural plants, and the biocontrol of predators and parasites. (2)
Another misconception is based on a belief or piece of information that was once correct but is now considered wrong. This concerns the view of the 16th-century Swiss physician, alchemist and philosopher Paracelsus, which can be summarised as ‘everything is medicine or poison; the dose determines it’. Indeed, drinking too much water can kill you. Garlic is beneficial in small amounts, but too much will make you ill. The medicine that makes you well can kill you in excessive doses. However, it is now understood that even the smallest dose of agricultural pesticides that disrupt the endocrine system is harmful. The notion that ‘we wash it off, or if enough time passes between the application of the pesticide to the plants and the harvest, the pesticide decomposes, i.e., breaks down, and does not harm us’ is incorrect. Furthermore, it is known that the breakdown products of some decomposed substances are even more toxic. (2)
Many consumers also believe that ecological, organic agricultural products are actually produced using hidden agricultural chemicals. Of course, this problem has not been completely eliminated. However, it is greatly exaggerated. It appears that this problem is less frequent in food groups thanks to the participant approval system. Due to mistrust, the majority of people continue to consume products that are known to contain 100% agricultural chemicals and chemical fertilisers. Undoubtedly, it is not possible to shop at organic markets on a minimum wage, but it is interesting that people with medium and high incomes do not even consider joining food groups established in our large cities, let alone going to organic markets, or producing clean food in their gardens if they have one. This is a rather complex problem with psychological aspects. (3)
On the one hand, we need to try to secure ecological products together with our neighbours and work colleagues. We can easily set up a food group ourselves. However, we must undoubtedly demand that central and local governments solve the problems. We must protest. There is no salvation alone.
Let us remember the Bhopal massacre again on its forty-first anniversary. On the other hand, we must all recognise that this agricultural and food system, which we can now call ‘chemical agriculture’, is silently creating thousands of Bhopals every day in slow motion. This is a structural violence that attracts very little attention.
1. -Tayfun Özkaya, An Alternative Agricultural Policy and Agroecology: Examples of Wheat and Tea, Izmir, 2025, pp. 59–60, for further information: www.tayfunozkaya.com
-Rodale Institute, 2021, “The Farming Systems Trial: 40-Year Report” https://rodaleinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/FST_40YearReport_RodaleInstitute-1.pdf (accessed: 5 January 2025)
2. The Task Force on Systemic Pesticides, Worldwide Integrated Assessment of the Impacts of Systemic Pesticides on Biodiversity and Ecosystems, 2015, https://www.tfsp.info/assets/WIA_2015.pdf (accessed: 1 December 2025)
3. There are things that people with limited income can do as much as possible. They should wash and peel produce, and avoid products that have been heavily sprayed with pesticides as much as possible. Examples include grapes, strawberries, cherries, etc. In meat, toxic substances accumulate more in the fat. Instead of focusing on the same products, people should consume as many different products as possible. You can join food groups. For example, in Ankara, there are the Yüzüncü Yıl Food Community, TADYA, and Bizim Değirmen Cooperative; in Izmir, there are GeTo (Gediz Ecology Community), Homeros Food Group, BİTOT, and Güzel Food Group; and in Istanbul, there are BüKoop, Yerdeniz Koop., and Ataşehir Koop.