Sweet Poison (Doce Veneno) is a documentary film that elucidates the consequences of pesticide usage in Northeast Brazil. Limoeiro do Norte is a city of 60,000 where the repercussions of pesticide poisoning have devastated communities. From a contaminated water supply and to high incidents of birth defects, disability, and terminal illness, the inhabitants of this city have been intimately affected by their exposure to pesticides. While farmworkers are still preparing and spraying pesticides without access to proper protection, one person is dying of cancer every nine days. When local activist Zé Maria revealed the harmful impacts of pesticides on the media, he was murdered for speaking out. Farmworkers in Limoeiro have collaborated to organize and advocate, and have won historic legislation to protect their communities. This documentary shares their story to spread the movement in hopes of creating the momentum for authentic change.
—Waleska Santiago