Dappled sunlight filters through rows of corn. Birds chirp in the background as we see flowers grow from the rich soil. This very soil, an unidentified voice says, “represents the dust of our ancestors” and to contaminate it is “unforgivable sin”.
The voice, we soon discover, belongs to David Weir, a journalist who coined the phrase Circle of Poison in his book that investigates the export of harmful pesticides to countries outside of the United States. This documentary of the same name, Circle of Poison, explores how the countries who import these pesticides spray the chemicals on crops before exporting them back to the United States, thus creating a circle.
The film jumps from narrative to narrative, as well as country to country. We see footage from news casters, from as early as 1991, discussing the possibility of a law that bans the export of dangerous pesticides. They imply that this law did not pass, and the audience understands that this issue is not new, nor is it uninvestigated. None other than former president Jimmy Carter appears on the screen, recounting his own efforts while in office to ban the export of toxic chemicals. The absence of those that refused interviews is palpable. These individuals, of course, are those involved in big agribusiness companies — the companies responsible for perpetuating the manufacture and export of toxic pesticides.
