09 November, 2018
Eugenio Madero examines his bees, in Xmabén, Campeche, Mexico. The young beekeeper struggles to keep his bees away from the soy fields of the neighboring Nuevo Durango Mennonite camp. The Xmabén elders recently negotiated with the governors of the Nuevo Durango camp to sell them 4,000 hectares of forest land belonging to the indigenous community.
Mennonite farmers growing soy in Campeche, on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, are allegedly adversely impacting the livelihood of local Mayan beekeepers. The Mennonites farm large tracts of land in the area. Environmental groups and honey producers say that the introduction of genetically modified soy and use of the agrochemical glyphosate endangers health, contaminates crops, and reduces the market value of honey by threatening its ‘organic’ label. Soy production also leads to deforestation, as land is increasingly bought for farming, further affecting bee populations.
Nadia Shira Cohen
Nadia Shira Cohen (1977) is a freelance photojournalist from Boston, United States. As a contributor to The New York Times, National Geographic, Harpers and many interna...
