The Drug Company Next Door : Pollution, Jobs, and Community Health in Puerto Rico / Alexa S. Dietrich.
2013
TD428.P54 D54 2016
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Details
Title
The Drug Company Next Door : Pollution, Jobs, and Community Health in Puerto Rico / Alexa S. Dietrich.
Author
Dietrich, Alexa S., author.
ISBN
9780814724644
Published
New York, NY : : New York University Press, [2013]
Copyright
©2013
Language
English
Language Note
In English.
Description
1 online resource
Other Standard Identifiers
10.18574/nyu/9780814724996.001.0001 doi
Call Number
TD428.P54 D54 2016
Dewey Decimal Classification
363.731
Summary
"This fascinating and most timely criticalmedical anthropology study successfully binds two still emergent areas ofcontemporary anthropological research in the global world: the nature andsignificant impact of multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers on humansocial life everywhere, and the contribution of corporations to the fast-paceddegradation of our life support system, planet Earth. . . . Focusing on apharmaceutically-impacted town on the colonized island of Puerto Rico, Dietrichably demonstrates the value of ethnography carried out in small places inframing the large issues facing humanity."-Merrill Singer, University of ConnecticutThe production of pharmaceuticals is among themost profitable industries on the planet. Drug companies produce chemicalsubstances that can save, extend, or substantially improve the quality of humanlife.However, even as the companiespresent themselves publicly as health and environmental stewards, theirfactories are a significant source of air and water pollution--toxic to peopleand the environment. In Puerto Rico, the pharmaceutical industry is thebackbone of the island's economy: in one small town alone, there are over adozen drug factories representing five multinationals, the highestconcentration per capita of such factories in the world. It is a place wherethe enforcement of environmental regulations and the public trust they ensureare often violated in the name of economic development.The Drug Company Next Door unites the concerns ofcritical medical anthropology with those of political ecology, investigatingthe multi-faceted role of pharmaceutical corporations as polluters, economicproviders, and social actors. Ratherthan simply demonizing the drug companies, the volume explores the dynamicsinvolved in their interactions with the local community and discusses thestrategies used by both individuals and community groups to deal with the consequencesof pollution.The Drug Company Next Door puts a human face on agrowing set of problems for communities around the world. Accessible and engaging, the book encouragesreaders to think critically about the role of corporations in everyday life,health, and culture.
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
System Details Note
Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
Digital File Characteristics
text file PDF
Source of Description
Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 18. Sep 2023)
Available in Other Form
print 9780814724996
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Table of Contents
Frontmatter
Contents
Acknowledgments
Key Events Timeline for Nocorá's Environmental Health
List of Acronyms
A Note on Pseudonyms
Introduction
Little by Little
1. The Dose Makes the Poison
Progress
2. In the Beginning Was the Corporation
Playing Politics
3. The Rituals and Consequences of Community Politics and Dissent
Fresh Minds" on Parade
4. Environmental Justice Is Not Always Just
Good Neighbors (A Conversation)
5. The Pharmaceutical Industry and the Problem of "Stakeholders"
"Salud te recomienda"
6. Radical Redistributions of Knowledge
Epilogue
APPENDIX: Community Opinion Questionnaire
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
Contents
Acknowledgments
Key Events Timeline for Nocorá's Environmental Health
List of Acronyms
A Note on Pseudonyms
Introduction
Little by Little
1. The Dose Makes the Poison
Progress
2. In the Beginning Was the Corporation
Playing Politics
3. The Rituals and Consequences of Community Politics and Dissent
Fresh Minds" on Parade
4. Environmental Justice Is Not Always Just
Good Neighbors (A Conversation)
5. The Pharmaceutical Industry and the Problem of "Stakeholders"
"Salud te recomienda"
6. Radical Redistributions of Knowledge
Epilogue
APPENDIX: Community Opinion Questionnaire
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author