4 days ago
Emmy-nominated film about sugarcane burning to be shown May 31 at West Palm library
A special screening of an Emmy-nominated film, "Bittersweet Muck," about sugarcane burning in the Glades will be shown May 31 at the Mandel Library in West Palm Beach.
NBC 6 consumer investigative reporter Sasha Jones produced the film, seeking to continue the conversation around cane burning, according to her Facebook page. The documentary paints a portrait of impoverished small towns around Lake Okeechobee whose residents of color endure as many as eight months of burning every year.
The Palm Beach Post in 2022 was a Pulitzer finalist along with its partner ProPublica for their investigative series, Black Snow, on the harmful health effects of the burning on residents of Belle Glade, Pahokee and other small cities in the Glades. They call the ash that rains down on their families and their property each year "black snow."
In a practice banned by other countries that grow sugarcane, powerful companies burn the stalks of the leafy plants before harvest.
Mothers and schools keep children indoors. Nebulizers, machines that ease breathing, are often in use. Inhalers are so intertwined with childhood that they come in toy-like cartoon-character dispensers.
The big sugar companies, headquartered in one of the largest sugarcane growing areas of the country, say the air quality in the Glades has some of the cleanest air in Florida.
The screening begins at 2 p.m. with a Q&A afterward including panelists Jones, Colin Walkes, former mayor of Pahokee; Dr. Ankush K. Bansal, president, Physicians for Social Responsibility Florida; and attorney Patrick Ferguson, senior organizing representative of Sierra Club Florida.
Holly Baltz is the investigations editor at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hbaltz@
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Emmy-nominated sugarcane burning film to be shown in West Palm Beach
