Fear in the Fields Assignment
and Discussion Questions

 

 

This week you will be discussing events in Quncy, Washington, an agriculture community on the East side of the Cascades, as reported in 1997 by Duff Wilson, a Seattle Times reporter.

This assignment involves four elements:

1. Read the "Fear in the Fields" series of Seattle Times articles (below) to learn what you can about this situation in an agricultural community in Eastern Washington. Post a short paragraph describing to classmates what you understand to be the most salient or interesting elements of this situation
   
   
2. Say a few words about what ethical issues come to mind for you in reading about these events.
   
   
3. If you had to frame some of those ethical issues in terms of human rights norms or violations, what rights would you see as particularly relevant?
   
   
4. Discuss each other's responses to these DQs.

 

Readings:

The "Fear in the Fields" series

• Duff Wilson, "Fear in the Fields," Part I, Seattle Times, July 3, 1997
• Duff Wilson, "Here's What's Known, and Not Known, about Toxics, Plants and Soil," Seattle Times, July 3, 1997
  
  
• Duff Wilson, "Fear in the Fields," Part II, Seattle Times, July 4, 1997
• "Throughout the country, example after example of hazardous wastes being turned into fertilizer," Seattle Times, July 4, 1997
• "Experts: How to reduce risk," Seattle Times, July 4, 1997
• Duff Wilson, "Industry Responds to 'Fear in the Fields,'" Seattle Times, July 15, 1997
  
  
• "Fear in the Fields' wins national award," Seattle Times, December 17, 1997
• "Times Reporter Wins Two National Awards," Seattle Times, March 15, 1998
  
  
  
• The book Duff Wilson wrote about the experiences and discoveries that led to his "Fear in the Fields" series is titled Fateful Harvest: The true story of a small town, a global industry, and a toxic secret (HarperCollins, 2001). Click here to see some raeders' reviews.