Brazil's cane cutters: The muscle moving sugarcane ethanol

This audio slideshow puts you face to face with the men and women considered to be the muscle that moves Brazil´s ethanol industry -- seasonal migrants who cut cane in the fields. Brazilian farms still overwhelmingly rely on handworkers like them, men and women facing few job options in many poor Brazilian states who travel south for the cane harvest. Some are treated well by employers, making more in this grunt-work profession than they ever could in poor northeastern Brazil. Some are robbed by middlemen hired to help them find jobs. Some bring savings home to their families. Some die from heat exhaustion.

Reporting and narration was provided by myself (while with The Daily Advertiser of Lafayette, La.), with photos by Marcelo Min of Agencia Fotogarrafa in São Paulo.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Brazil
• sugar
• cane
• ethanol

[ChallengerMT875B]

Equipav have 58 Case harvesters and 7 John Deere harvesters. But your arguments are good.

[mrXnando]

@ChallengerMT875B why john deere harvesters are very expensive, and do not support the Brazilian working conditions such as weather, heavy cane and the terrible price john deere spare parts, resulting in a high maintenance cost, making it impractical to use any harvester on the market today.

 another aspect which makes impracticable the use of current harvesters, is their weight, they are extremely heavy, leave the ground very hard, compacted, damaging the whole reed

[ChallengerMT875B]

Why not buy harvesters from John Deere..?

[silviobal]

Well, a very little of this is true. Just a little. I live in the country, nearby lots of cane´s plantation and there is no HEARING ABOUT DEATH. I don´t deny is a hard work, very hard. But our goverment agencies fight hard agaisnt any abuse. if the USA or EUROPE didn´t make so many economics barriers, so many unlateral agreements, things could be better. The only purpose of this video,is to eternize, to make ECONOMICS BARRIERS PERPETUAL, by touching people or societies around the world.

[stimulater7]

burning the cane also raises the suger content

[surreelity]

And if you die from heat exhaustion, it makes it all worth it!

[kesskenworth]

At least they have a job

[Botonrodriguez]

This is the truth. I have done this.

[HolySpringRolls]

this is terrible