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Two years ago, a group of residents from the rural Glades region of western Palm Beach County took powerful sugar companies to court, alleging that the farmers’ harvesting practices were poisoning poor communities in Florida’s heartland.
For sugar companies, the most efficient way to cull crops is to burn away the plant’s leafy outer stalk, which sends plumes of smoke and ash into mostly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods on the northern edge of the Everglades. Some residents say the smoke is making them and their children sick. The industry disputes that claim and has sought to dismiss the lawsuit.
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But last week, even as the case works its way through the court system, the Florida Legislature passed a bill that could hinder residents’ legal options and undo the most significant challenge to sugar cane burning, and the industry, in years.
Lawyers for Glades residents fear Florida Legislature just made it harder for them to sue over sugarcane burning msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Legislators pass bill to shield sugar farmers from lawsuits
For decades burning occurs from October through May each year and has been widely accepted as a necessary evil.
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Acres of sugar cane burn behind homes in Belle Glade. This is part of what is called pre-harvest burning to remove the outer leaves of cane stalks before harvesting.
Updated 1 hour ago
TALLAHASSEE â Persuaded by testimony from the leaders in the Glades agriculture community that sugar burning is not harming their residents, the Florida House on Thursday sent to the governor a bill that gives the agriculture industry protection from lawsuits related to long-term health damage.