A first look at satellite images of the Province of Almeríain south-eastern Spain, might leave us rightly perplexed: huge expanses of white contrast with the almost desert-like colours of Andalusia. What we see is ainfinity of small and large greenhouses, from which a good part of the vegetable needs of the whole of Europe comes: a success of modern agricultural technologies which however hides heavy social and environmental consequences.
Why are greenhouses concentrated in this area?
The climate dry of the area has always limited the yield and types of exploitable crops, but the use of economical plastic greenhouses and of sandy soils scattered over the arable land has benefited local growers since the 1950s.
These devices were designed to protect the soil and plants from the effects of the wind and of the saltinessbut above all it was theincreased moisture retention capacity of the land to benefit crops.
Further innovations, such as the hydroponic cultivation and the increasingly careful use of water resources, have further pushed production which, thanks to the climate, is able to ensure collected even in the coldest seasons.
The low cost of local labor has allowed us to make the most of theSpain’s entry into the EU in 1986: the fall in export duties has led to an exponential increase in foreign demand, especially from Nordic countries such as Great Britain.
Greenhouse Growth and “Local Cooling”
Since ’86 the entire region has been lined with greenhouses (as we can see in this Google Earth timelapse): in 2022, approximately 100 million people were covered 26,000 hectares (260 km2), with a production of almost 40% of the fruit and vegetables exported by Spain.
This also led to an increase in albedo, or the amount of solar radiation that comes reflected towards the atmosphere and therefore does not release energy (as heat) to the ground. According to a recent study, the area has experienced a decrease in average temperature of -0.9 °C since 1980, in stark contrast to the increase of +1 – 3 °C in the neighboring provinces of Granada or Malaga.
Microplastic pollution
The economic miracle of Almeria, which at first glance may seem like a virtuous example to look up to, however hides many dark sides that the authorities and large buyers (hypermarket chains) seem to want to forget.
Although it is difficult to find precise estimates, studies by sea or rail routes highlight how the exports happen especially on rubbera polluting solution with increasing costs due to the increase in fuel prices.
The same plastic, which has enabled the production boom, has a significant impact on the territory: due to wear and tear, microscopic fragments of plastic are transported every day into the soil and into the sea. A study published in 2021 analyzed in particular the marine sediments of the coast, where the particles are mechanically filtered by algae: from a few dozen particles per kg of sediment in the 50s/60s, we have moved to concentrations of 2000 – 3800 parts/kg in the last decade.
The exploitation of illegal immigrants
The darkest side of the story, however, is the workers’ conditions of greenhouses, a common problem in the agricultural sector also in Italy.
The physical effort of harvesting is compounded by the climate inside the plantations, where the plants can be easily reached temperatures of 40/45 °C and high humidity, and the risks of trauma and pesticide poisoning. The majority of the labor is not regularizedcomposed of migrants initially from Morocco and subsequently from theEastern Europe andSub-Saharan Africa. The lack of contracts This has allowed the creation of a market of “on-call” workers, excluding anyone who requests raises or health protections.
Workers live in shacks no toilets or electricitywithout being able to access medical care for fear of being arrested as illegal immigrants. Many non-governmental organizations, including the Red Cross, denounce the disinterest of state authorities who, on the contrary, seem to have favored and directed the migratory flow, in the early 2000s, without caring about the social consequences.
Despite protests from associations and in-depth investigations by the international press, from the English press to Arabic-language television, the growth of the sea of plastic in Almeria does not seem destined to stop, and with it all the environmental and social problems that the market (and we consumers) more or less consciously ignore.
