Constructing a transnational crime: pesticide smuggling in Brazil
Pesticide smuggling may intensify public health, occupational health, and environmental risks associated to the use of agrochemicals. Yet, there is little scholarly research about this crime. Using data from around 1,300 forensic reports made by Brazil’s Federal Police between 2008 and 2018, this ar...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2022
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| In: |
Crime, law and social change
Year: 2022, Volume: 78, Issue: 4, Pages: 379-404 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Keywords: |
| Summary: | Pesticide smuggling may intensify public health, occupational health, and environmental risks associated to the use of agrochemicals. Yet, there is little scholarly research about this crime. Using data from around 1,300 forensic reports made by Brazil’s Federal Police between 2008 and 2018, this article demonstrates that the market for smuggled pesticides in Brazil is probably small, smuggled pesticides are rarely counterfeit, smuggling of prohibited pesticides is uncommon, and petty smugglers - rather than organized criminal groups - prevail. For pesticide manufacturers, campaigning against pesticide smuggling - framed as a threat to human health, the environment, and public safety - is important though. Corporations’ emphasis on the problem of pesticide smuggling may be driven not only by concerns about market losses but also by other reasons: interest in improving corporations’ legitimacy, expanding their networks with government officials and police agencies, or preventing tax increases. This can work as a diversionary tactic in response to criticisms against intensive pesticide use or low levels of taxation. This article’s findings indicate that corporations can increase the political salience of a crime alongside police agencies. |
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| Item Description: | Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 401-404 |
| ISSN: | 1573-0751 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10611-022-10026-1 |