Dear Editor,
We write to highlight several extremely troubling facts about the new dairy partnership between DDL and the LR Group. While recent news headlines laud the upcoming dairy facility as a great investment in our agricultural sector, and while creating employment and contributing to regional food security are indeed commendable, there are some very compelling human rights and environmental factors which should give the shareholders and leaders of DDL, as well as the Guyanese public, reason to pause their support for this venture.
First and foremost is the fact that the governments of both Guyana and Israel played significant roles in facilitating and brokering this deal; this is not simply a private business partnership. Officials from the LR Group made several visits to Guyana since signing the MoU in 2020, meeting with President Irfaan Ali and various government agencies including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC), the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), and the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI). Numerous newspaper articles from as far back as 2021 also attest to numerous interactions between DDL and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs with Mr. Komal Samaroo, Chair-man of DDL, welcoming the expression of support for this project by the Government of Israel through its Foreign Ministry. Also noteworthy is the fact that the LR Group is part of Government to Government agreements that Jerusalem has with Beijing. Clearly the LR Group is a close friend and ally of the Israeli government.
It’s important to highlight this fact because this is the same Israeli government which has been responsible for the deaths of over 25,000 Palestinians – mostly women and children, as well as the grievous injury of thousands more civilians since October 2023, in their response to a Hamas attack. The Israeli government has also authorized the systematic bombing of all hospitals in the Gaza Strip and blocked the delivery of humanitarian and life-saving aid such as food, water, medicine, and fuel to the besieged Palestinian population – leading to widespread food insecurity and malnutrition of pregnant women, babies, children, the elderly, and the spread of disease. In fact, the Israeli reaction to the Hamas attack has been so extreme that scores of countries around the world have condemned it, with the United Nations General Assembly voting overwhelmingly (121 countries) on November 27, 2023, in favour of a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, and a case of genocide being brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December 2023 in which the ICJ has already ordered Israel to take provisional measures to prevent physical and mental harm to Palestinians in Gaza. The United Nations and other international human rights bodies have also voiced grave concerns about war crimes and violations of international law being committed by the Israeli state and army since Oct 7, 2023, but also for decades prior- such as the indiscriminate bombing of hospitals, schools, and religious facilities, the use of white phosphorous bombs in civilian areas, as well as collective punishment of Palestinian civilians by arbitrary arrest and detention (including of children), restrictions on movement and access to food, water, medicine, and fuel and blocking of humanitarian aid.
While Guyana has called for a ceasefire and two-state solution, and while it’s a member of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) which supported the genocide case against Israel, Guyana continues to maintain warm diplomatic and economic ties with the state of Israel and its allies like the LR Group. As such, the Guyanese government’s claim of solidarity with the Palestinian people rings hollow; their actions encouraging the partnership between DDL and the LR Group makes it clear that business deals trump Palestinian human rights and sovereignty and that as long as there’s money to be made, principles of justice and accountability will be overlooked.
In addition to the appalling human rights violations by the government backers of the LR Group, this dairy project also raises serious health, animal welfare, and environmental issues worthy of our concern. Cattle are the number one agricultural source of greenhouse gases worldwide. Each year, a single cow will belch about 220 pounds of methane into the atmosphere. While methane from cattle is shorter lived than carbon dioxide, it is 28 times more potent in warming the atmosphere. A second problem is that the manure produced by cows contains high quantities of nitrogen and phosphorus which can leach into soil and groundwater if not properly managed, causing acidification of soil and depletion of oxygen content in waterways (killing fish and other aquatic life). Thirdly, the entire operation of clearing land to cultivate corn and other crops to feed the cows, the use of pesticides and fertilizers in that process, and the use of fossil fuels to transform those crops into animal feed is a huge contributor of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide (major greenhouse gases) into the atmosphere. Last but not least, while DDL and the LR Group are characterizing grazing as old-fashioned, this is actually now being promoted by the US Department of Agriculture’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (CSC) programme as the more ecologically sound and climate-friendly practice compared to restricting cows to pens. Once again, our traditional practices are being denigrated and undermined by businesses and foreigners trying to convince us that they know better.
On the health and animal welfare front, cows that spend their lives confined in pens instead of freely grazing- while technically receiving food and basic health monitoring- are sadly almost completely removed from their natural way of life. Penning up animals in this way, as well as separating their calves from them soon after birth in order to maintain commercial milk production is cruel and fails to
recognize the fact that cows are sentient creatures that feel emotions such as pain and form bonds with each other. Also, the food they are fed in pens is designed to optimize milk production, not necessarily cow health. Mastitis – inflammation of the mammary gland – is a common disease afflicting dairy cows, and use of antibiotics on dairy farms is a regular practice. This has serious implications for human health as widespread and sustained use of antibiotics in any way leads to increased antimicrobial resistance.
In conclusion, there are multiple valid reasons why the management and leaders of DDL, its shareholders, the Guyanese public, and the government of Guyana should stop supporting this project. We must not continue to do business as usual with those perpetuating and supporting genocide. We must not continue to abuse and disregard the welfare of other creatures just so humans can benefit. We must make more environmentally sensible decisions. We urge the chairman of DDL, Mr. Komal Samaroo, to demonstrate wise judgement, compassion, integrity, and transformational leadership in ending this misguided partnership with the LR Group of Israel immediately. It is time for a radically different way of doing things. No longer can profit continue to take precedence over people and planetary wellbeing – the results of following such a model have clearly been revealed to be harmful and detrimental to the existence of us all. Let us build a new world where ethics, rights, and justice inform our leadership, decision making, and actions, and where wellness is enjoyed by all.
Yours sincerely,
Shahrazaad Abukhalaf
Zainab Adam
Ashara Ali
Hadiyah Ali
Samihah Khayriyyah Ali
Yusuf Ally
T. Arthur
Saaliha Azeez
Zara Bacchus
Annah Bacchus
Aasyah Bacchus
Muhammad Boodhoo
Joan Cambridge
Clairmont Chung
Amatullah Forero
Siddiq Gafar
Veranie Hardaiow
Salima Hinds
Shahad Husein
Mark Jacobs
Melinda Janki
Jyoti K
Aleeya Karim
Kaif Khan Mohamed Khan
Elton McRae
Sherlina Nageer
Jeremy Peretz
Gerald A. Perreira, Organization for
the Victory of the People (OVP)
Danuta Radzik
Haneyah Razack
Afeefa Richardson
Aleema Richardson
Bebi Alliyah Salim
Bebi Asiyah Salim
Christine Samwaroo, The Breadfruit
Collective
Shameka Sears
Sameera Shaw
Taheera Shaw
Zaheerah Shaw
Ramzan Shaw
Akola Thompson
Josephine Whitehead
Charlene Wilkinson
Adeeb Zaman