Allegations of sugarcane workers being worked to death in appalling conditions have diluted Brazil's euphoria over the boom in its sugarcane and ethanol industry.

Working over 10 hours, on productivity-based pay, meaning low wages, inadequate food, these workers aren't getting much out of the boom. Safety equipment are not always used while workers harvest in difficult conditions. At least 11 people have died in the last two years from causes related to or aggravated by exhaustion and poor working conditions on sugarcane plantations, according to a Network of Civil Society report.