Capital, the Perpetuation of Profit-Generation Cycles and Environmental Destruction Hassan Abbasi
I have described in numerous articles biogeochemical cycles such as the water, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulphur cycles. These cycles, which are as old as the Earth and its organisms, are formed by closed circuits of these elements and are based on their limited amounts in absolute and total terms. But this does not mean that their relative amounts in the Earth, atmosphere, and water have always been the same. Water rises from the seas and the Earth’s surface into space as vapor and then returns to the Earth as rain and snow. The Earth’s greater warming intensifies this circulation and melts some of the hundred-thousand-year-old ice, increasing the amount of Earth’s water and water vapor, which in turn causes the atmosphere to heat up even more. The Earth’s carbon supply is limited, and like water, it has a closed cycle. Carbon, which exists in the Earth’s layers in various combinations, rises to the Earth’s atmosphere in various ways and then returns to the Earth through the “photosynthesis” of plants. When animals and plants die, part of their bodies enter the Earth’s atmosphere as carbon dioxide due to transformation. Similarly, various factories, including the oil and gas industries and intercity and intracity transportation, also emit and pump large amounts of this gas into the Earth’s atmosphere. The result of this process is the emergence of several billion tons of carbon dioxide per year in the atmosphere around the Earth. Nitrogen is a gas that is transferred to the atmosphere around the Earth through nature (seas, rainforests and bacteria on Earth) (it makes up 78% of the volume of the Earth’s atmosphere). This element has been continuously increasing since the growth of the capitalist mode of production and the development of industrial accumulation, through chemical fertilizers, fossil energy (oil, gas and coal) and chemical factories. Phosphorus, which is present in the layers of the earth in various forms, is necessary for the formation of bones and teeth in living organisms and plants and is involved in the proteins and genetic structure of plants and animals. Its increased use in chemical fertilizers disrupts its balance in nature and, together with excessive nitrogen, causes the death of lakes. Sulphur, which was only transported to space and water through volcanoes before industrial production, returns to space through coal, oil, gas, and factories and through rainwater as acid rain after the establishment of capitalist relations. Remember this introduction because we will return to the above issues after a few explanations about the processes of capital production.
Criticism of environmental destruction is as old as these destructions themselves, yet these criticisms have so far been made within the framework of capitalist production relations and with the aim of curing and thus ensuring their survival, while our analysis and criticism are at the same time a critique of these entire production relations in all their components of existence. A radical critique of the mode of production that is the source and founder of all forms of human misery, including the destruction of human living conditions and all living beings. Other “critiques” appear to hide the root of environmental pollution from the eyes of the working masses of the world, to say that this pollution is not inherent in capital and has no roots in the existence of capitalism! To say that it is possible to have capitalism and also have a healthy and pollution-free environment!! Our critique is definitely against these critiques, for the obvious reason that it goes to the root, directly digs into the existence of capital the roots of the very diverse environmental pollutions that are the origin and cause of various forms of human destruction. This critique is anti-capitalist in its essence. It sees the fight against environmental pollution as an indispensable part of the anti-capitalist struggle and a bastion of the interconnected bastions of the anti-capitalist class struggle of the masses of the working class all over the world.
Capitalists do everything they can to reduce production costs and increase profits. They replace old, more expensive raw materials with cheaper chemicals and materials, they replace old, less efficient processes with more efficient production processes, and with each of these actions they increase the intensity and extent of pollution. Meanwhile, the reformist critique of environmental destruction separates and abstracts all of this destruction from what the owners of capital do in the above areas. The present article, like our other studies to date, does not separate the critique of each component of the anti-human functioning of capitalism from the critique of this system as a whole. On the contrary, and in particular, this article will attempt to view environmental issues in a way that can systematically show their internal relationship and continuity in the totality of capitalist production relations. A critical examination of the social disasters of each of the areas of capital’s advance should be an integral part of a comprehensive critique of the totality of these relations. Reformist critics of environmental issues adopt two methods for their work. Two methods that both start from the eternality of these relations. The first method, represented by the most right-wing and conservative part of the bourgeoisie, starts from the indisputability and uncriticism of these relations of production, the laws of political economy and their functioning in production and society. This method starts from pure faith in these relations, to the extent that it is fundamentally unable to see the certain realities of the day. The fact that in reality all environmental destruction has arisen from these relations, that the connection between the aforementioned destructions and the capitalist mode of production is undeniable. That there is no area of capital accumulation that does not give rise to some type or types of this destruction, or many other similar issues, is not at all relevant to the founders of this method. The representatives of this view believe that capitalism itself, internally and automatically, eliminates all the problems and undesirable consequences of its production process, including the problem of environmental pollution, and repairs the resulting waste! Proponents of this method say that capitalism is the natural law of human life and the destiny of his existence!! What capital does, and for example its environmental consequences, are also normal phenomena of human life and are resolved, modified and adjusted by this system itself!! This is an attitude that considers the entire phenomenon of greenhouse gases and its consequences to be a fabrication and fabrication of the minds of researchers who are interested in predictions and speculative and imaginative theories! In reality, the opposite is true. But they insist on imposing the sacredness, immutability, and eternity of the laws of capitalist political economy on the minds, consciousness, and understanding of the workers of the world.
The second method tries to focus its work on demagoguery and trickery instead of pure absolutism and unquestioning denial of all realities. Instead of denying, it acknowledges some issues and refers the way to challenge them to this or that deceptive reform. The same method that the political parties and movements of capital have practiced and are practicing in the economic and social fields. The founders of this method, which include a wide range of social organizations, political parties, green and environmental groups, and even leftist movements, beat the drum of this deception: yes, it is true, capitalism has its flaws, it goes into crisis, it pollutes the environment, and it creates livelihood and welfare problems for some, but all of these can be adjusted and resolved within the framework of the governance of this system. For this, one must work, one must form a party and form a group, create an organization, enter parliament, become a partner in political power, set a model, propose a plan, they list these issues, and their next word is that everyone should support their party and organization in various ways so that they can improve the world and humanize all the undesirable effects of capitalism and turn them into good! Including making the environment clean and pure and full of health!! These movements, in the form of colourful social democratic and socialist parties, and even with the communist name, have 120 years of experience in trying to repair and, in fact, save capitalism, and are by no means inexperienced or naive parties. The entire parliamentary apparatus, the administrative bureaucratic apparatus, and research organizations, as well as the bodies that examine and approve goods, are all at their service to rush to the aid of capital in times of need and emergency.
In all cases, including when looking at environmental issues, we have an approach that is contradictory and irreconcilable with these trends. The basis of our work is to shed light on the true roots of all environmental pollution in the depths of the surplus value production relationship and to show them to the working masses. Just as we have done in the case of misogyny, the killing of political freedoms and human rights, poverty, hunger, unsanitary conditions, We do the same thing: water shortages, deprivation of people from education, treatment, and basic livelihood and welfare facilities. Needless to say, our work is not just about abstract discussions; on the contrary, we dissect the objectivity of what capital brings upon humanity in all cases, and here in particular in the realm of the environment, and we present the results to the working masses. Our emphasis in all our writings is that capitalism cannot fail to do so. The idea that capitalism can exist and these environmental disasters do not plague human existence is a pure lie and the ugliest of demagoguery. If humanity is to be free from these pollutions and the world of deadly diseases that result from them, there is only one way: for capitalism to be destroyed from the ground up and replaced by a free society, free from the relationship of buying and selling labour.
It is quite clear that raw materials and auxiliary goods in the world market enjoy a market price under the pressure of competition and supply and demand factors. The owner of any capital cannot set a special price for his produced goods according to his will and desire. The price of labour power as a commodity is naturally subject to the same rule. Every capitalist or every giant capitalist trust, in order to occupy a greater share of the market and to seize the largest possible portion of the surplus values produced by the global working class, must strive to bring its goods to the market more cheaply and, of course, with appropriate quality and excellence. This implies that capital must continuously produce the same old goods at lower costs, with changes (e.g., new and more investments), and at the same time reduce their circulation or organization costs. What the owners of capital do in this regard, what evil plans they have against the human environment, and what price the workers’ pay is a topic that we will follow in this article. One part of these discussions is the issue of preventing the spoilage of goods, and here we are not referring only to the agricultural sector, but this also includes many other areas of capital advance. This is by no means limited to consumer goods. On the contrary, in this chapter we are dealing especially with all manufactured goods, including machinery, buildings, raw and auxiliary materials. In all these matters, additional capital must be used to prevent the spoilage of goods and protect them against harmful factors. A special accumulation of capital that must drastically reduce costs and maximize profits. This investment, even when it takes place in the commodity storage loop, is firstly an inevitable need of the process of organizing capital, realizing the surplus values in it and transforming this surplus value into additional capital. Secondly, in some cases, it increases the volume of surplus values by exploiting productive labour. Thirdly, it can speed up the return of capital and in this way accelerate the process of producing surplus value and increase the volume of profits. Regarding the changes in production costs due to the impact of these investments, it should be said that these costs existed throughout the entire life cycle of commodity production, even before capitalism (of course, in that era, production was mainly aimed at the needs of the producers themselves, and only a small part of the products that were in excess of consumption were used for trading and sale, but this did not reduce the need for product protection, although this need was very limited and remained at the level of consumer reserves). But the production of commodities takes on a special form in capitalism. Here, the storage and protection of commodities from damage, like machinery, labour, raw materials, etc., is essentially an integral part of the overall process of surplus value production and the circulation of capital. If this is not done, the fate of all commodities produced and the values and surplus values inherent in them is seriously threatened. Capital has to store goods, increase their durability in warehouses, prevent them from spoiling before they reach the buyer, and do many other things. Below we will examine each of these issues, albeit briefly. First, let us see how and at what cost to the environment and labour, capital increases the intensity of labour as much as possible by using the latest production techniques, so that at every moment the deeper and more deadly erosion of the worker is the guarantee of increasing the rate of surplus value.
Production technique or production process
The labour process, as Marx explains in Volume 1 of Capital, Chapter 5, consists of purposeful activity, the object of labour, and its instruments. A purposeful activity that in the past produced use values that satisfied human needs, and in capitalist relations, commodities are no longer produced for their use value, but for exchange and exchange value. (It is clear that any commodity must have use value to have exchange value.) Commodities are produced and exchanged because they carry surplus value. Purposeful activity in capitalist production has led to such a complex division of labour that it has ultimately led to work processes that begin in the minds of specialized workers using complex, often electronic, tools to create models and prototypes that are quickly realized in the field of production. For a long time now, production processes have been offered and sold as independent commodities. How a commodity is produced, what materials it is made of, how fast it is produced have become ideas that lead to the formation of production processes and cycles, and these cycles and processes are sold as commodities. In recent decades, the race for competitive advantage in various fields of production has revolved around finding cheap labour, as mentioned above. But as wages rise in China and some other countries, capitalists around the world are finding new ways to increase labour productivity to offset the effects of this situation. It is not about diminishing the attraction of capital to exports in the form of machinery and new production techniques to countries with wage rates several dozen times lower than those in Europe and America, nor is it about capital ignoring the 12-hour or more workday in many countries of the world with populations of hundreds of millions and billions of workers. This means that advances in manufacturing techniques (processes) will certainly be needed to increase productivity. These advances, which some call Factory 4.0, specifically include the Virtual Physical System (CPS) and dynamic data processes, which use vast amounts of technical information to operate production machines. A collaboration and convergence of production power, a reduction in costs along with an increase in the dexterity of machines that allows for the integration of machines with computers, the digitalization of production processes, the increase in the linking of devices and assembly, all of these increase the intensity of work, make the working conditions of workers more complex and expand the need for their capabilities, so that the same worker must handle different operations and work processes. Ultimately, it makes production processes more open to change and the adoption of new generations of advanced production techniques. In the near future, this capital equipped with such tools will be able to change the economic situation of many manufacturing sectors around the world. Currently, large companies such as Ford and General Electric use these advanced processes and machines in their production. One of the advantages of the new production technique is that it increases the production capacity by using the same product in different forms and with variable contents, whether in the production of consumer goods or manufactured goods. The capitalist will sometimes be able to produce a new series with a smaller volume or change the production lines and increase the speed of production. This production method also provides conditions for capitalists to offer new goods more efficiently and at a lower cost than traditional processes. This production method reduces production waste and thus requires fewer raw materials in its processes than traditional production. The following five technical tools have the greatest potential to influence the production environment and increase labour productivity in new production processes:
1.Autonomous Robots., 2. Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME)., 3. Digital Manufacturing. Virtualization technology, 4. The Industrial Internet and Flexible Automation, 5. Additive Manufacturing. Commonly known as 3-D printing
The above techniques and tools have not yet spread throughout the world. Their impact is not great in a short period of time, which is why they give the owners of capital, for example, the American, a special position. With high labour productivity, this gives them the advantage of monopolizing the above processes for a long time, which will result in extraordinary profits that will last for a not-so-short period of time. All of these compensate for labour, which is the most important factor in production costs in many areas in the next 5 to 10 years.
3D manufacturing (such as building a building by simultaneously building all sides of it) is still in its infancy and has a long way to go to become affordable and scalable. When Chinese workers were paid about one-twentieth of what they were paid in the US ten years ago, many employers were moving production to China. Today, after gradual increases in labour productivity, better communications and transportation, and reductions in other production costs, the gap in production prices between the United States and China has narrowed. From prototyping in the virtual world to implementing, it in the factory, more intelligent technologies have advanced. New production techniques can change the speed of production and even change the production lines. Each machine will be able to handle a number of different goods that can be produced together, something that is unthinkable in traditional production with fixed lines and would be very expensive if possible. The result is that capitalists can produce different products using a process that is flexible and adaptable. A number of major manufacturing giants have demonstrated the capabilities of these advanced processes. Ford, for example, uses the ICME process, which reduces production time and costs for the production of cast aluminium for car engines. Traditional manufacturing has a method that first forms a model on the computer and then tests it physically in practice, repeating this process three times until the model is ready to work and produce. Using the (ICME) process, the computer model of the cast aluminium is tested virtually, and this model is selected as the best with the scientific information of the production technicians and enters production. In this regard, Ford has invested $15 million over 5 years with the participation of 15 technicians and 10 academic researchers. The result is more than $120 million, or 7 times the return on investment, and in this regard, it has reduced the production time of a model by between 15 and 25 percent. This is just the beginning of high efficiency, as this production process will actually reduce the production cycle by at least that much. Another example is General Electric, which is developing a new type of LEAP turbofan engine using additive-manufacturing processes. These fuel injectors use computers and lasers to shape aluminium powder into a desired product. The part is 25 percent lighter and lasts five times longer than a traditional product made from 20 different parts. That’s why GE is building a $32 million research center and factory in Pennsylvania to perfect the process. All of this is to increase labour productivity and raise the technical composition of capital, thereby increasing the competitiveness of these industrial giants. It improves their position, at least for a while, in capturing a larger share of the surplus value produced by the world’s workers. But most of these new processes and techniques require the production of raw and auxiliary materials with specific physical forms and specific contents, which must have high flexibility. One of the new forms of raw and auxiliary materials that is offered with great flexibility is nanotechnology and nanoparticles. This new field, called Nanomaterials, is a technique that is capable of producing materials at the atomic and molecular level (sizes between 1 and 100 nm, a thousand times smaller than a micrometre). These materials are a thousand times smaller than ultrafine particles, and their entry into the visual tract and brain in polluted air causes brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Nanotechnology and nanoparticles with these characteristics open up a new area for investment. Nanotechnology has so far succeeded in producing materials such as: Titanium Dioxide, Nano silica, Zinc oxide, Carbone Black, Nanofood, Nano cosmetics Silver Nano. The size, physical and chemical mechanisms of these materials are different from conventional materials. Likewise, the bioavailability of these materials is different from conventional materials. In that they easily pass through and enter cell walls. They take on unconventional shapes that can leave new effects on the surface of other materials (skin and the like) (surface science). Their contact with other materials in the body takes place at the atomic and molecular level. Other raw materials and additives used in new techniques include harmful metals such as nickel, chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, etc., either individually or in mixtures used to produce various types of steel. (Different percentages of harmful metals in iron compounds produce different steels with different properties against heat, pressure, and chemicals, which have unique flexibility capabilities). The transformation of metals and chemicals into powder and their use in new techniques of production of essential goods is unprecedented in the history of mankind. All this imposes new conditions and pressures on the working environment of workers, the human environment and nature, the dimensions of which are certainly much greater than those that mankind has ever seen. It is enough to refer to the various articles written by us in similar fields and make a comparison in your mind. For example, when a car painter paints a car in the final stage of production, the paint contains, in addition to hazardous substances, heavy metals and chemicals that are harmful to his health and the environment. This work has now taken on a new physical dimension, which is nanotechnology. This means that capitalists are not satisfied with using previously known harmful substances to produce goods, but in order to infinitely reduce production costs and increase profits, they use nanotechnology, which greatly reduces the costs of production processes and reduces production waste. As described above, this will cause disturbances in the body that are beyond our comprehension, but what is certain is that these will bring about greater disasters than anything we have ever witnessed.
Production equipment
The problem does not end here, for these trusts are mostly producers of means of production. The production of means of production is generally the specialisation of certain capitalists. This means that capitalists producing semi-finished goods and producers of consumer goods buy their capital goods from branches of production which are quite independent of their own. When these tools, buildings, and machines are used in the process of production, they consume their constituent parts. The result of this consumption is the transfer of their value to the mass of new products throughout the life of these capital goods. Here we focus on this process and do not enter into the specific and completely clear argument that labour power, as an organ of capital, creates value in these goods, which is surplus value and profit of capital. Just as labour power has created surplus value in capital goods.
This review will consider the products produced and production trends in agriculture, the metal smelting industry, mining, woodworking, construction, pharmaceutical production, chemicals and oil, electronics and computers, food, machinery production, automobiles, energy, and many other areas of capital investment. It should be noted that many of the goods in the above areas are re-entered into the production process, used as raw materials or as auxiliary materials and semi-finished goods. This is the essence of the capitalist mode of production, which constantly increases the productivity of labour. It transforms living labour into dead labour, increases the constant part of capital in relation to its variable part, and accumulates a large proportion of this dead labour in the form of the fixed part of fixed capital. A part that, although present in the production process, does not enter the process of producing goods, except for a small part that is depreciated. This mode of production, having these same characteristics that all are homogeneous components of the production process for profit, is struggling with the upward trend of the organic composition of capital. A trend that, in its continuation, leads to a downward trend in the rate of profit. A trend that inevitably becomes a law under certain conditions. This means that the rate of accumulation exceeds the rate of production of surplus value and sets off a storm of crisis.
Our aim here is not to enter into the political economy of crises and their other consequences, but rather one point is important to us here, and that is the enormous increase in fixed capital, which leads to the accumulation of a mass of environmental hazards within these goods, which are like time bombs that could explode at any moment. The production of productive means is generally the domain of certain capitalists (apart from cases involving large companies that produce everything from productive goods to individual consumer goods). When fixed capital (machinery, tools, buildings and installations) that give their value little by little and gradually to manufactured goods, the materials from which they are made are not destroyed or lost due to depreciation. For example, for about 100 years now, steel has been used in the construction of most machines, that is, iron with chromium (between 10 and 30 percent is used in all types of steel), nickel and vanadium are used in steel, heavy metals that have also been used in buildings and installations. Glass wool used in buildings (glass wool is produced from used glass and even sand. Its raw material is silicon oxide, which poses no danger to humans or living organisms, but when it is produced in the form of fine fibres for insulation, it becomes a very dangerous and carcinogenic material. Although it is now sold in protected forms in various packages, its health-threatening properties have not changed, and it still causes lung cancer in many people every year). Radon (Rn), which is present in cement and causes lung cancer. Various chemicals used in sewage pipes and even drinking water pipes (plastics, PVC and phenolic resin, which is used to coat the inside of the pipes and is carcinogenic). Paints containing heavy metals such as cadmium, nickel and arsenic used in tools and machinery. All of these are released into the factory, office, community and nature environment due to the wear and tear of machines, buildings and installations (it is clear that this trend is also true for residential buildings). But the circulating part of fixed capital (raw and auxiliary materials and semi-finished parts) which are made up of various materials harmful to humans, animals and nature, in the production process, not only their value but also their material and physical existence is transferred to the commodity (many auxiliary materials such as fuel, etc. do not enter the commodity in the production process, but they do not disappear either). In this way, capital enters into a fight with humans, animals and nature in the process of producing capital goods, from the very foundation stone. It lays a foundation that continuously and continuously spreads all kinds of poisons and pests around itself, and this, as we have seen, is not due to chance, the mistake of some capitalists, or with the aim of destruction. Rather, it is the inevitable result of intense and fierce competition for profit and surplus value. As we know, these anti-environmental trends and actions of capital are not new. That the capitalist evolution of human societies has long been accompanied by the destruction of the environment and work. This is by no means an accident, a series of random events, or that capitalism makes mistakes and disorders in the process of its development in every country. The long-standing nature of destructive phenomena clearly demonstrates the structure and kinship of this phenomenon with capitalism. The aim of all socialist, anti-imperialist and social democratic movements is to pretend that does not profit and capital accumulation, but the livelihood of the workers is the primary concern of capital relations. That is why they guide the capitalists to the right path with prophetic sermons, while in practice they demagogue the working masses and cover up the inhuman nature of these relations. Capital creates mass goods based on the need for accumulation and the scale of production, not on the needs that need to be met, because these needs are created in the process of production and capitalist development. This means that capital also creates goods and with them its needs, and in this whole process the driving force is the accumulation of capital on a larger scale. The valorisation of capital is the determining goal and driving force of capitalist relations of production. When bourgeois research institutes talk about the harmful gases and particles emitted into the air that result from the production, circulation and consumption of goods in this system, they ignore the type of health and biological abnormalities and their severity in relation to each of these substances, which are sufficiently dangerous, regardless of their quantity. The fact is that these substances are fundamentally harmful, destructive and cause health deterioration regardless of their quantity. When these institutions enter into a specific, daily or periodic study, they suddenly fill their pages with a stubborn emphasis on the quantity of these substances and especially whether on this particular day or date and year this amount is below or above the established limit. Their reports suggest that these particles and gases begin to cause damage when they exceed a certain threshold, and below these thresholds they pose no danger to humans, nature, or other living things!! They pretend that these substances are not inherently harmful, regardless of their amount! But any worker with a little curiosity will notice that when capital and its representatives play with numbers, they are trying to mislead them. In fact, these particles, gases, chemicals, pesticides, food additives and metals in question are harmful in general and regardless of how much they enter the environment, and their blatant use in the form of numbers, quotas and red lines does not diminish their anti-health nature. Capital’s meteorological and research organizations, with their reporting style, drowning in figures and quorums, act like parties and groups that try to sell capitalist relations to the working masses in the form of a new commodity and with a new face through various reforms. In fact, capital’s research organizations and institutes offer their research in certain packages and forms like any other commodity in the market of ideas. The buyers of these commodities, depending on the daily rate of its use in various conditions, are parties and groups representing different sections of the ruling class, who deceive the working masses with the aim of gaining a foothold in the organs of power. But when we feel the destructive effects of toxic gases and airborne particles in our breath and on our skin, when we look at the staggering increase in allergies, cancers, and heart problems in our workplaces and lives, and in our friends and acquaintances, we only see the destructive nature of these gases and particles and the production relationships that originate them, and at this time it makes no difference to us whether their amount has exceeded the permissible limit or not. As I said in previous chapters and in my writings on the environment, in the commodity economy and its highest phase of development, capitalist production, the products of human labour are traded on the basis of the socially necessary labour inherent in them. Here, exchange value is everything, but in order to be exchanged, commodities must also have use value. In capitalist agriculture, maintaining the same use value of the product, whether in the production process or in its circulation and storage, is subject to great risks. The same is true of many goods and production processes, such that their use value has certain limitations that will disappear if they do not enter the process of productive or individual consumption within a certain time frame. Or they have certain and limited properties that limit the scope of their use. For example, comparing old-style steel with current steels or non-resistant production processes with current more resistant and reliable production processes that produce similar results with high results all over the world every second, minute and year after year. In this way, as the consumption value of goods decreases, their exchange value property is lost and they are not sold. At this time, what is more harmful and disastrous for capital than that the goods it produces are not sold and the values and surplus values contained in them are not returned. Commodities are inherently perishable, but capital in all areas of production strives, and has succeeded to some extent, not only to extend their useful life but also to increase their flexibility by using techniques and materials. It is in this direction that it makes production processes flexible and increases the speed of production. The longer the goods spoil, the more resistant they are to heat, pressure and long distances of transport, the longer their life can be extended in circulation until they reach the consumer. This reduces the risk of the goods not being sold in the specific aspect we are discussing. The factor of distance from the place of production to the sales market depends entirely on the contents of the goods and the speed of transport. I will examine the latter for myself, and now we will only deal with the way goods are produced, the production processes, and the contents of the goods. In the chapters on industrial agriculture, which is the main aspect of capitalist production in this area, we discussed plant pests as the most important and influential part of the risks, both in the production process and during the circulation of these goods. To avoid the costs of reproducing a crop infested with pests, the capitalist farmer resorts to the use of pesticides. By doing so, he not only avoids the costs of reproducing but also minimizes the amount of waste and damage. In short, resorting to the uncontrolled use of the aforementioned pesticides is an integral part of the process of capital appreciation in the agricultural sector and a prerequisite for achieving the highest desired added value or profits. The foundation of capital’s work is based on the production of maximum goods with minimum labour, the extreme reduction of the cost of the various components of the fixed part of capital, the highest possible quality of goods, and the maximum competitiveness in the capitalist market. The guarantee of all this in capitalist industrial agricultural accumulation is tied to the widespread use of pesticides. All of this is to reduce costs, but the use of pesticides and the production of genetically modified products also have another purpose, which is to increase the shelf life of the product, increase the size of its sales market from local to international. The use of new packaging materials increases the range of transportation and increases the physical resistance of the product to its circulation time. By doing these things, capital increases its absolute control over the production process and the content of goods and the circulation process more than ever before. To prevent goods from spoiling and to increase their resistance in different conditions, additional capital must be used. This is something that capitalists struggle to do. In a world where capital has penetrated all geographical corners, it has increased the intensity of work to the highest level and uses all its efforts and resources to prevent a decrease in the rate of profit. Discovering new areas of production, increasing the productivity of labour, producing goods with high saleability capacity, preventing goods from spoiling and not being sold, increasing their resistance during the circulation period are the only areas left for it in the war to seize the market and earn more profits. The openings for transferring capital to new places with reservoirs of cheap raw materials, cheap labour, etc. are decreasing day by day, and what remains and is reliable and continuous is the evolution of the processes of production and supply of the same goods with more resistant and durable content. When different goods are produced for different purposes as capital goods, their producers pretend that they have a very long life. Their depreciation is so insignificant that it will give them a long life. In fact, for the same purpose, materials are used to produce them that have increased their resistance to heat, pressure, depreciation and chemicals compared to similar older goods. For example, look at the equipment used in restaurant kitchens (of course, the same equipment is also used in smaller sizes in the home, so the following information includes them as well). These tools, which form part of productive capital and its durable part, are made of materials such as nickel-plated steel, or Teflon-coated aluminium and iron, and the like. In the not-so-distant past, kitchenware was generally made of copper, which was protected by a layer of zinc, although clay and ceramic were also available. Both metals were flexible, expensive, and, when used under normal conditions of moderate heat and pressure, were not harmful to human health. For this reason, humans knew the limits of their use, which was cooking food under normal conditions (of course, at that time, chemicals were not used to cause changes in these utensils) and consuming it, that is, cooking food for direct consumption. But when food, like other elements of life, began to be mass-produced and quickly for sale (of course, large kitchens and restaurants existed in the army, barracks, and court before the emergence of capitalism), then using expensive copper utensils was not cost-effective and gave way to the aforementioned metals. These devices must gradually and gradually give their value to the manufactured goods (in this case, food) during their lifetime. The goods that are created during the use of these production devices are food, various food products such as sauces, cakes, and the like. However, the depreciation of these devices, their chemical form changes due to heat and chemicals, and even food, leads to the transfer of toxic substances, carcinogenic chemicals, and other particles to the prepared food. Here, the progress in the production of kitchen utensils and dishes has led to the use of materials that, along with the production of food as a consumer product, deliver a certain amount of toxins of various types to consumers. Now, if we consider other factors such as the speed of food production, i.e., less time spent on producing each meal, we can easily achieve better results in terms of production per unit of time compared to other product production processes. Because it is enough to increase the temperature of the production process to achieve this goal. Increasing production per unit of time can be achieved in the simplest way in food production by increasing the heat of baking and frying. But this also causes an exponential increase in the wear and tear of containers because heat is the most important factor in accelerating chemical processes and leads to the decomposition of containers and the materials used in them and by-products during cooking. Heat and pressure multiply the rate of chemical decomposition of food and its ingredients, their combination with the materials of the dishes and the like. But none of these processes are visible, but what is seen is the production of more food per unit of time. Remember the case of acrylamide formation, the factors that cause it are constant, but what affects the rate of its increase is the frying temperature of hydrocarbon-containing materials such as potatoes. The rate of wear and tear and decomposition of kitchen utensils in restaurants is less related to the balanced process of cooking and preparing food than to the quality of these goods, the type of use they have, and the degree and speed of the food production process.
It is not inappropriate to address here the field of capitalist industrial agriculture, which is the dominant method in the world, because this field is a major supplier of capital goods, such as raw and auxiliary materials for many other fields of capital, including the production of capital and consumer goods. When the scale of production grows and the need for raw and auxiliary materials for production increases, and this increase must be such that it does not cause any interruption in the production process, the storage of agricultural materials becomes increasingly important. The sustainability of goods, whether consumed or produced, is becoming increasingly important in their storage. This is especially true for agricultural goods, as their production takes a long time, and for this reason, capital has advanced in recent years in both areas: both the sustainability and resistance of goods and the shortening of their production process. Soybeans, corn, rice, and many genetically modified commodities, when used as animal feed, are generally raw materials and byproducts of animal production. Fruits, plants, and seeds, which were once fixed in the production process for a year, are now harvested and stored in greenhouses without allowing them to develop vital nutrients (vitamins, carotenoids, proteins, and natural Flavors). In this way, by shortening the return on investment period, it is possible to plant and harvest two to four times a year. Or genetically modified fruits, plants and seeds have been given the possibility of planting several times a year while being resistant to plant pests. Since for the capitalist, the return on investment period is the time during which he must pay his capital in the form of land, seeds, fruit trees, fertilizers and other capital components for value addition, therefore, shortening the production period, increasing plant productivity, increasing plant resistance to pests due to the use of pesticides and genetic changes that are carried out for the same purpose, leads to higher productivity 1331
work. Similarly, in livestock farming, cattle, sheep, and poultry are given hormones to make them grow faster, treated with antibiotics, and their meat is sold as raw material. Animals are genetically modified to produce meat or milk, and other methods shorten the work cycle (the time and period in which a product is prepared for sale). Genetic modification methods, mixing feed (usually genetically modified soybeans and corn) with growth hormones, increase their protein content and increase labour productivity. Although this results in less skeletal growth of the animal, it provides the rancher with more meat, which is marketed in a shorter period of time.
Now, consider all that has been said about capitalist industrial agriculture and animal husbandry in relation to the mass production of food in restaurants that we have discussed before, to see the dimensions of the catastrophes of capital in its most advanced form. The transformation of surplus value into additional capital is the inherent and identity phenomenon of capital. This means that in its historical process, capital constantly expands the scope of its accumulation in all respects, increasing the volume of capital, making labour more productive, etc. This leads to an upward trend in the organic composition of capital, which in turn exacerbates the downward trend in the rate of profit of capital in general. We have already mentioned this. The point we emphasize is that in this regard we are witnessing two parallel environmental and labour degradations. One is the production of goods containing pollutants, the nature of which we have exposed in numerous articles, and the other is the fixed capital sector, which is depreciated during production but leaves its mark on the workplace, the environment, and nature. The production of more consumer goods, in turn, involves investment in both fixed capital (machinery, tools, and buildings) and circulating capital (raw and auxiliary materials). When the latter increases, it actually increases the volume of these types of goods produced by capital goods producers, which supplies the needs of both sectors. Therefore, we should not only focus on consumer goods and their environmental and labour-damaging content but also consider all production processes in order to understand not only the dimensions of these wastes, but especially to realize that these destructions are temporary, irreparable, and not the result of the work of individual capitalists. On the contrary, they have an organic place in the framework of capitalist production relations. Consider, for example, the production of steel throughout its history. In the mid-nineteenth century (1850), a new style of production by combining coal and air flow shortened the production time, which in turn increased fixed capital in this area. But this was only the beginning, because today steel is composed not only of iron and carbon, but also of materials such as chromium, molybdenum, nickel and vanadium, which give it properties such as rust resistance, high strength, hardness, flexibility, low wear and the ability to form thin sheets. Currently, different steels are produced for different purposes. For example, rust-resistant steel consists of 18-20% chromium and 8-10% nickel. Kitchen utensils are products obtained from this type of steel. Among the metals added to steel, vanadium (V) and chromium (Cr) have destructive properties. Vanadium is not only released into the environment and nature from these production centers, but also through the depreciation of goods containing it. This metal is also obtained from fossil fuels (oil, coal and gas). In nature, it combines with chemicals in soil and water sediments and can enter plant structures. It is released into the air, which is why the amount of vanadium is very high around metal smelting and steel production industries. It enters the respiratory tract of workers through fine dust inside metal production factories. This metal, like lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury (which we have discussed in separate chapters), has its own cycle in nature (air, water, and soil), in which the metal industry, steel production, and the burning of fossil fuels play an important role. Volcanic emissions have been the main source, but this source, like other heavy and dangerous metals, has not added anything to the cycle over millions of years. Figures from a 1998 study put the natural emission rate at 9,300 tonnes per year, and emissions from the metal and fossil fuel industries at 74,000 tonnes per year in 2000 (Nriagu and Pirrone). It should be noted that the amount of vanadium emitted naturally remains almost constant, while that emitted from fossil fuel and metal industries is directly proportional to the production of these commodities. For example, oil production has increased from 19 million barrels per day in 1960 to 90 million barrels per day in 2013, a nearly fivefold increase. Similarly, coal use increased by 107% between 1990 and 2012. (41% of the world’s electricity generation in 2012 came from this source.) World steel production doubled from 1998 to 2008, and it is worth noting that coal is needed to produce steel, and this auxiliary material has also doubled with the increase in steel production. It is not possible to find figures for other metals in which vanadium is used. Among the disadvantages of vanadium metal are the inhibition of the action of some body hormones, poisoning, runny nose, often with blood, pulmonary discomfort, fatigue, lethargy, eye discomfort, and diarrhoea. More serious symptoms include laryngeal discomfort, shortness of breath, bronchitis, vomiting, diarrhoea, lung infection, effects on the nervous system, tremors, shortness of breath, and kidney damage (Randahl, H., Dock, Loch Christiansson, J. 1997. Molybden, vanadin och Vismot förekommande halter och effekter på miljö och hälsa).
Another example of gold production, which, like other metal production, generally belongs to the capital goods production sector (production of means of production), had a production scale of 170 tons in 1870. However, despite the limited and limited amount of gold reserves in the world (according to the World Metals Organization, the estimated gold reserves of the world are 168 thousand tons and by 2010, about 64% of them had been extracted), this amount reached 1350 tons (8 times) a hundred years later (1970), 2416 tons (14 times) in 2008, and 2652 tons (15.6 times) in 2010. Gold, whether mined or not, is never lost. It is only gradually reduced to sand and low-concentration ores, which means that mining costs are high per unit. For example, South African gold mines have a concentration of between 4 and 10 grams of gold per ton of ore, while sand and topsoil, i.e. open-pit mines, have a concentration of between 1 and 4 grams per ton. For this reason, year by year, access to high-concentration gold ores and mines is decreasing, and the percentage of gold extracted from sands and surface rocks is increasing. Of the gold produced in the world in 2010, about 18% was in the reserves of the world’s banks. This percentage has been almost constant throughout history, but with the growth of capitalist production and the growth of produced values, its absolute amount, i.e. the weight of gold in the monetary reserve, has increased. If we assume that a small amount of gold is used to compensate for its depreciation, the majority of the world’s existing gold (80%) enters the consumer goods sector from the production of means of production sector. Of this amount, a significant portion is allocated to jewellery and ornamental devices and personal savings, and the rest (its increasing portion) is used in chemical, pharmaceutical, aerospace, electronics, and dental production. In this way, the part that is used in the form of raw materials, auxiliary materials and sometimes semi-finished products is transferred from the production of means of production to the production of consumer goods. For the extraction of gold, especially from sand and open pit mines, a technique based on mercury is used as an auxiliary material. We have discussed this metal and its polluting compounds in a separate article entitled “Traceable and Heavy Metals” and it is not necessary to repeat them here. Mercury is used in the gold production process in gold mines around the world when miners use mercury to separate and purify gold from other minerals. An estimated 20 to 40 million workers in gold mines around the world use this technique (mostly in Southeast Asia, Africa, and South and Central Latin America). This technique releases tons of mercury into the atmosphere, but even worse is the plight of the workers who have been mining for money in this technique for hundreds of years. The final stage of production is when the gold amalgam (a mixture of gold and mercury) is heated and the mercury evaporates, resulting in pure gold. Workers at this stage bear the most risks and losses. Today, about seven techniques are used to extract gold. The mercury technique covers a quarter of the world’s gold production because it is the cheapest type of gold extraction. Although it requires more labour, capitalists in the mentioned countries use this technique due to the extremely cheap labour cost. This method produces a much cheaper gold per ounce. Other techniques are also less environmentally friendly, as many use cyanide compounds that are highly toxic to both miners and producers, as well as the environment. When mercury is released into the atmosphere from coal and oil energy sources and gold mining, it returns to the earth in rainwater. When mixed with seawater, methylmercury is produced, which is the most dangerous form of mercury. This mercury compound is easily absorbed and accumulated in microscopic organisms such as plankton, corals, and other microscopic and basic marine organisms. When fish feed on these organisms, it enters the food chain higher and higher, eventually reaching humans and other animals that feed on fish. This has led to more and more mercury accumulating, with the largest amounts being found in larger fish. This means that mercury accumulation in areas that have never had widespread access to gold mining techniques and fossil fuels such as oil and coal (the Arctic) has also increased to such an extent that there is no limit to its existence and abundance. In this way, the mercury cycle is completed from gold mining, fossil fuels, etc. to suspension in the air and ground space and rainwater, and this is a process that includes many capital goods. For example: oil, which causes the release and circulation of many substances from carbon dioxide (the most important greenhouse gas) to heavy metals and pollutants (lead, mercury and cadmium). Polyaromatics that cause hormonal disruptions and cancer, the process of converting oil into bitumen, asphalt and rubber that gives rise to many harmful pollutants. Plastics and various types of polluting chemicals, the processes of which we have examined in other articles and shown their huge and increasing volume. All of these have their own cycle and, like other materials produced by capital, their volume is constantly increasing in various forms, including consumer and manufactured goods. I explained about pesticides in the book “Capitalism and the Disaster of Environmental Pollution, Volume 1”. Many of these pesticides (including 1100 registered substances and hundreds of unregistered substances in each country) are stable in nature, and substances that have a hormonal role also have their own rotation. There are more than 500 registered food additives, some of which have special rotations. Genetically modified plants spread unchecked in nature, outcompeting natural plants, so that much of the world’s corn now consists of this genetic material. Soybeans and other genetically modified plants spread their modified fragments among plants, exposing living organisms and humans to changes of a magnitude unknown to mankind. The cycle of genetically modified plants in the world of living organisms is one of the most complex and destructive phenomena that humanity has ever witnessed. Radioactive materials resulting from nuclear activities, whether from power generation reactors or nuclear military activities, also have a certain cycle. These materials, which are in addition to volcanic activities resulting from capitalist production relations in the last 60 to 70 years, have given new dimensions to the spread of cancer and genetic diseases. Various chemicals with different lifetimes cover the seas, soil and air, so that a significant part of them each have their own cycles and their amount increases over time. This is very important because the existence of a cycle of a pollutant itself has enough destructive and permanent effects on the environment, humans and animals, but when its production, consumption and capital use are also added, the exponential intensity of its destruction also increases. We see this trend clearly in the case of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, deforestation, etc., because its emission and accumulation in the Earth’s atmosphere have reached such proportions during the life of capitalism that it threatens human life, while its accumulation is increasing every day. This causes an exponential increase in global warming and other effects of this gas. Thus, as mentioned at the beginning of this article, the cycles of water, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulphur are no longer the only biogeochemical cycles on Earth. Since its inception, capitalist production relations have added so many pollutants to the cycles that it is impossible even for researchers to count them. Their pollution and destructive dimensions, like the capitalist system itself, are not even comparable to natural diseases and pests. The various phenomena of the cycles of pollutants and environmental destruction that add a new dimension to the dimensions of these destructions indicate the structural connection of these phenomena with the relations of production of capital, therefore any effort to restore these relations of production serves its survival.
Appendix 1
FLUDIOXONIL: This toxin has caused liver and lymph cancer in mice. It is a genotoxic genetic toxin that causes liver, kidney and spleen cancer. It is very persistent in soil and continues to have destructive effects. It is fatal to fish, aquatic life and aquatic plants.
Iprodione: This biocide works by stopping the formation of DNA and RNA as well as the enzyme NADH cytochrome c. It is dangerous to insects and aquatic life. It has been shown to have detrimental effects on biochemical stops in experiments on mice and rabbits.
Imazalil: Has damaging hormonal, pregnancy and fetal effects. Causes goiter cancer and serious disorders of male hormones. It dissolves very slowly in nature, so it accumulates in nature and the body and leaves long-term effects. Agricultural workers and their families are in direct contact with it. It is toxic to aquatic organisms and causes infertility. It accumulates in nature and causes long-term damage.
Chlorpyrifos: Blocks acetyl choline and causes death. It enters the body through the mouth and eyes and its toxic effects in humans are the same as in animals. It causes vomiting, facial and eye muscle spasms, unconsciousness, amnesia, severe convulsions and death by suffocation.
Chlormequat: The results of testing this biocide on pigs in Denmark at the end of 1980 at the Agricultural Research Institute of this country showed a decrease in fertility in female pigs. Testing on mice led to the same result. It is stored in the trunk of the tree and therefore spreads to the fruit even if spraying is stopped. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA The capital government body does not see any danger from this biocide to humans! But it considers this substance harmful only to birds, aquatic animals, reptiles, fish and mammals, which is why it is limited to recommendations on the technique of using this biocide!
Chlorpropham and Trifluralin are herbicides. It includes 475 registered substances. Many of these substances prevent weed growth by stopping their growth hormones, so the dispersion of these substances in nature has the same destructive effect on plants, aquatic animals and humans. These biocides include different groups in terms of biochemistry and therefore have similar modes of action. Some of them act very selectively against weeds, but this does not prevent them from destroying the beneficial bacteria of nature and the body. By spraying on the surface of crops, they act through the roots or the product or the leaves and enter the biological system of the plant.
Chlorthalonil, 2-Phenylphenol are fungicides. They contain 83 registered substances. These biocides act on plants in two ways. First, by spraying a thin layer of these substances on the plant and fruit, and second, by water and chemical fertilizers that are fed to the plant. They are sprayed on the fruits after harvest to prevent them from spoiling.
Piperonyl butoxide: The role of this chemical is to enhance natural plant toxins. The natural toxin Pyretrum, which is present in some plants, is enhanced by spraying this toxin.
Dicofol is a miticide. It is chemically very similar to DDT and chlorine. It is very deadly to aquatic organisms. Symptoms of poisoning in humans include headache, dizziness, vomiting, imbalance, mental confusion, tachycardia, coma, and respiratory depression.
Phosmet, Carbaryl, Dithiocarbamate are insecticides. They contain 129 registered substances. The previous generation of these biocides includes two groups: Organophosphate insecticide (58 biocides) and Carbamate insecticides (19 biocides). Both of these groups affect the nervous system through the hormone acetylcholinesteras. Because they are released in the form of powder and spray, they easily enter the skin and lungs of agricultural workers and cause headaches, dizziness, excessive salivation, nausea, vomiting, and continued use leads to excessive sweating, flank pain, imbalance, shortness of breath, and changes in heart rate.
Procymidone, a fungicide. Fruits are treated with this substance before and after harvest. It is toxic. It causes changes in the hormonal system and has caused gender reassignment in male mice.
(PH3) Hydrogenphosphide, known as rice tablets in Iran, is a highly toxic gas used to disinfect grains, flour in silos, and the packaging of some fruits (in Iran, these products are also used to package and preserve dates 24). The symptoms of poisoning with this gas, which most workers experience while working with it, include nausea, vomiting, pain, coughing, dizziness, muscle cramps, coma, and shock, which are signs of poisoning and death 23.
Oxadixyl, a fungicide. It is sprayed on vegetables. Europeans will never forget the explosion of a factory that produced this and many other toxic pesticides in 1986. At the time of the explosion, the tanks of the factory contained more than 900 tons of this substance, and within 4 minutes, its largest warehouses were set on fire. The explosion resulted in the widespread dispersion of these substances and the widespread poisoning of aquatic animals and humans. 25.
Appendix 2
Harmful gases and particles in the air
Gas:
Nitrogen oxide (NO2) in combination with air humidity creates a strong acid that not only destroys the environment and the facades of buildings but is also very toxic to humans and animals. The increase in nitrogen oxide is the reason for the increase in other toxic gases. This gas mainly comes from traffic, oil industries and factories. According to calculations by the Swedish Meteorological Agency, an increase of every 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air leads to a 12-14 percent increase in future deaths.
Sulphur oxide (SO2) is the most important source of this gas emission, like nitrogen oxide, from oil and fossil fuels. In the case of sulphur oxide, a very important source is added to them, namely maritime traffic. The spread of this gas in the production of energy from coal is also very important. This gas has an important property that causes it to mix with polluting particles in the air and produce a sticky substance that sticks to clothes, objects and buildings, and this also leads to various bronchitis complications on the skin and inside the lungs. Sulphur oxide combines with air humidity and produces strong sulfuric acid, which causes acidification of waters and major changes in the ecosystem, which we have discussed in various articles.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a gas that is produced by the incomplete combustion of various fossil fuels and is a particular problem in cities. This dangerous gas combines with blood (haemoglobin) 200 times better and more stable than oxygen, making it very dangerous and fatal for the elderly and those with heart and respiratory problems.
Ground-level ozone (O3) is a gas that is formed when sunlight interacts with exhaust gases from automobiles. This gas not only interferes with photosynthesis in plants, but also, especially when combined with the membranes of the trachea and respiratory tract, reduces the efficiency of the lungs in absorbing oxygen and causes damage to the tissues of the trachea. The Swedish Meteorological Agency estimates that the number of deaths in Europe due to ground-level ozone was 21,000 in the year 2000.
Benzene (C6H6 Benzene) is present in gasoline fuels and is highly toxic and carcinogenic.
Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are molecules made up of multiple benzene units that are formed during the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, and aluminium production is another source of these polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. They are also released from the burning of automobile tires and asphalt. These substances, which include more than a dozen different types, are all carcinogenic. Lung, skin, and bladder cancers are among them.
Phthalates, which are used in the production and softening of plastics, have been shown to cause cancer and hormonal imbalances that lead to infertility in animal experiments. Phthalates, which come in 25 varieties, are dispersed in the air as a result of the dispersion of plastics in life, the workplace, and cities, and are one of the factors that are detrimental to human health.
Airborne particles: Asphalt particles are dispersed in the air by the friction of asphalt particles. The higher the speed, the more it increases. Reducing the speed from 90 to 70 km/h reduces these particles by 26% (Swedish Roads Agency). In addition to containing polyaromatics, these particles also cause asthma, various lung diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases when they enter the lungs.
Automobile Tire Particles: What was said about asphalt particles is also true about rubber particles, and in addition, rubber particles are smaller and therefore penetrate deep into the respiratory tract and remain there. The diseases and health effects of these particles are similar to asphalt particles.
Nanoparticles are a new and lesser-known field of Nanomaterials. This technique is capable of producing materials at the atomic and molecular level (sizes between 1 and 100 nm, i.e. one millionth of a millimetre). Nanotechnology, which has so far succeeded in producing materials such as: Titanium Dioxide, Nano silica, Zinc oxide, Carbone Black, Nanofood, Nano cosmetics Silver Nano, has revealed unknown and new dimensions of these materials such as their size, physical and chemical mechanisms that are different from conventional materials. The bioavailability of these materials is different from conventional materials in that they easily pass through and enter cell walls. They take on unconventional forms that can create new effects on the surface of other materials (surface science) and their contact with other materials occurs at the atomic and molecular level. These materials are present in the workplace of workers and are now spreading in the air of cities. Furthermore, while toxic gases in the air are measured based on their quantity, pollutant particles are measured based on their size, and this size is a micrometre, which is one millionth of a meter. Here the question arises: what particles lie in the distance between these gas particles, which is one billionth of a meter (1,000 times smaller than a micrometre), that no one is talking about. Does this mean that they do not exist? Of course, they do but measuring them requires the acquisition of expensive measuring devices, which is not cost-effective!
Salt: A study of workers in salt factories, reported in the Journal of Environmental Health in June 2015, confirms what has been observed in Iranian residents of cities near Lake Urmia. The study shows that most of these workers suffer from high blood pressure. The Lake Urmia Restoration Headquarters announced on July 29, 2015, “Citizens of villages around the lake and even Tabriz itself have developed high blood pressure due to inhaling salt-laden air.”
Sand and dust particles are the main factor in the intensification of this phenomenon, i.e. the increase in fine dust along with the desertification wind in Iran, Iraq and the surrounding areas of Iran. Regarding the destructive effects on human health, it is mainly the combination and mixing of fine dust particles with other particles and even bacteria. In addition, breathing these particles causes a runny nose, itching and burning of the throat and eyes.
Lead (Pb) is still present in gasoline, is released into the air by combustion, and is now a major source of lead in food. Lead is highly toxic, and even small amounts can stunt brain development in children.
Other heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As) and nickel (Ni) which have various origins such as pest control, batteries, coal, mining, metal production and food, their release into the air leads to diseases such as anaemia, heart disease, nervous system damage, various types of cancer and allergies. The mixing of these particles with sulfuric compounds from fossil fuels and factory smoke creates a complex that settles in the membrane tissue of the trachea and respiratory tract and causes long-term effects.
Appendix 3
This table lists technical additives added to foods that increase the shelf life of the product and cause asthma or other allergies. However, it should be noted that this is the official list of registered substances that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a license to register and use them in food production. In addition to the official substances, thousands of other legal and illegal substances are added to foods. It is important to note that these products are not only used in food production, but are also used in the preparation of medicines, cosmetics, shampoos, and soaps. 69, 70, 71, 72, 73.
| European code | Role in the production of goods | Effects on microorganisms in nature and the body |
| E200 to E228 | Preservatives and canning | To kill germs, it also kills beneficial intestinal bacteria |
| E230 to E232 | In nature, it destroys all types of fungi | |
| E239 | Antifungal and antibacterial | Destroys bacteria in the body and nature |
| E249 | Antifungal and antibacterial | Destroys bacteria in the body and nature |
| E250 to E252 | Antibacterial | Destroys bacteria in the body and nature, especially with antioxidants (E310-E325) becoming more dangerous |
| E310 | Antioxidant, increasing product shelf life | |
| E311 | Antioxidant, increasing product shelf life | |
| E312 | Antioxidant, increasing product shelf life | |
| E320 | Preservatives and canning | To kill germs, it also kills beneficial intestinal bacteria |
| E321 | Preservatives and canning | To kill germs, it also kills beneficial intestinal bacteria |
| E102 | Coloured materials | |
| E104 | Coloured materials | |
| E110 | Coloured materials | |
| E120 | Coloured materials | |
| E123 | Coloured materials | |
| E124 | Coloured materials | |
| E133 | Coloured materials | |
| E142 | Coloured materials | |
| E151 | Coloured materials | |
| E160 b | Coloured materials | |
| E171 | Coloured materials | |
| E173 | Coloured materials | |
| E175 | Coloured materials | |
| E420, E421 | Sweetener | |
| E400 to E407 | Mixing fat with water | Changes in beneficial gut bacteria |
| E413, E414 | Mixing fat with water | Changes in beneficial gut bacteria |
| E460 to E466 | Mixing fat with water | Changes in beneficial gut bacteria |
| E470 a, b | Mixing fat with water | Changes in beneficial gut bacteria |
| E476, E477 | Mixing fat with water | Changes in beneficial gut bacteria |
| E491 to E495 | Mixing fat with water | Changes in beneficial gut bacteria |
| E322-E337 | Mixing fat with water | Changes in beneficial gut bacteria |
| E553a | Preventing getting stuck | |
| E621-E624 | Flavoring |
Appendix 4
This table shows that a significant portion of pesticides produced after World War II were the result of capital’s profit-seeking lessons from the function of natural plant toxins, as well as experiences gained from the war in the field of chemical weapons production. Insects, rodents, weeds, fungi, bacteria, worms, parasites, and even spiders and birds are creatures that are attacked by pesticides produced by agricultural and chemical companies. These pesticides are divided into two groups in terms of their use. The first group is used in agriculture to protect and increase plant yield and product longevity. The second group consists of substances that are used to protect fabrics, wood, clothing, shoes, tents, water sediments in treatment ponds, boats and large ships. (Impregnating agents).
| Pesticides and Biocides | This number of registered substances is included | Effects on microorganisms in nature and the body |
| Against Fungus (Fungicides) | 83 | Antifungal agents work in two ways: multi-site, which denatures the protein and enzyme systems of the fungus through multi-dimensional biochemical action, or single-site, which, through plant absorption, stops cell reproduction and causes the death of the fungus, and in the same way, causes the death of other microorganisms |
| Herbicides | 475 | Many of these substances prevent weed growth by blocking the growth hormones of weeds, so the dispersion of these substances in nature has the same destructive effect on plants, aquatic animals and humans. These biocides include different groups in terms of biochemicals and therefore have similar modes of action. But this does not prevent them from destroying the beneficial bacteria of nature and the body |
| Insecticides | 129 | Very dangerous to fish, invertebrates, and bees |
| Avicides | 6 | Destroyer of the nervous system of all creatures that have nerves |
| Bactericides | 374 | All antibiotics are disinfectants, cleaning agents for tools, equipment, clothes, tiles, bathtubs, toilets and bathrooms. Disinfectants are used for tissues and living organisms, antiseptics are a group of substances that are used on the surface of the skin of the body and in living tissues and kill or prevent the growth of bacteria, viruses, fungi, bacterial spores and other organisms by acting on them |
| Miticides | 5 | Kills aquatic life such as crabs, plankton, fish, aquatic insects, frogs, and snails |
| Molluscicides | 4 | What is mentioned about spider killers and bird killers |
| Nematicides | 19 | They all also destroy beneficial soil bacteria |
| Rodenticides | 46 | Against all blood-sucking creatures, as well as bird killers |
| Impregnating agents | Used against all organisms on wood and wood products, as well as fabrics and organisms in water sediments in treatment plants, boats and large ships |
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