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The newest pesticide to be approved? It's a nasty one. Methyl iodide, for use on strawberry fields. The highly reactive stuff has been deemed toxic and carcinogenic but is now licensed in 47 states, including, most recently, California, where most of our country's strawberries are grown. Environmental groups and farmworkers are in an uproar.
The San Francisco Chronicle notes that even though "more than two dozen California legislators and 54 scientists, including six Nobel laureates," signed a letter opposing registration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved of the pesticide as an alternative to methyl bromide "which was being phased out because it was found to damage the ozone layer" back in 2007.
California approved use of the chemical late last month, right before Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger left office, but opposing groups -- "Earthjustice and California Rural Legal Assistance Inc. on behalf of the United Farm Workers of America and several pesticide reform groups" -- filed suit on account of an "irresponsible and illegal" decision by the state to approve such a toxic product, which "violates the California Environmental Quality Act, the California Birth Defects Prevention Act and the Pesticide Contamination Prevention Act."
Produced by Arysta Life-Science Corp, methyl iodide is said to be injected into the ground and can be applied to the plant and the fruit but claims no detectable effect on the fruit. Farmworkers feeling the burning effects in their eyes and throats would disagree.
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1-11-2011 @3:40AM Steven Di Ciucci said... Resist buying any but organic strawberries. Yes they cost more but this is a battle we must win. Use other fruit if you can't afford organic strawberries or only buy organic as a special treat. As soon as the farmers find that there is resistance to this poison and that their product won't sell, they will end the use of this dangerous chemical.
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1-11-2011 @1:06PM Gabriel said... As a proud employee of an organic farm, I work for Full Circle and organic farm and delivery service in the Seattle area, this is just another reason to eat organic. The more people that vote with their food dollars will make it more feasible for organic farmers to grow and provide more safe food for consumers. The easiest way to change the food system is to shop responsibly.
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1-12-2011 @12:04PM jm said... Organic pesticides that are used as an insect repellent are just as bad, or many scientist think worse, for you than the synthetic counterpart. You cant win.
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1-12-2011 @6:55PM Robert Dolezal said... You have it dead wrong when you say methyl iodide "can be applied to the plant and the fruit but claims no detectable effect on the fruit."
The substance is only applied beneath the soil, and no planting takes place for at least 14 days after application. There has never been a detection of methyl iodide in the fruit of plants grown in fumigated soil. It decomposes too quickly--within minutes of being exposed to sunlight and hours of contact with water.
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