NEWSFARM WORKERS

Twenty-nine-year-old Doroteo Lopez has worked on farms his whole life. Currently, he’s employed by Dole in Salinas, California, where he harvests strawberries. Dana Perls, a community organizer with the Pesticide Watch Education Fund, caught up with Lopez to discuss California’s approval of the carcinogenic pesticide, methyl iodide.

Methyl iodide was approved by California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation in December of 2010, despite widespread opposition from the environmental and science communities. The pesticide has been linked to cancers, thyroid disease, kidney problems, and late-term miscarriages, among other health issues. While only a handful of farms have obtained methyl iodide permits, environmentalists are worried that strawberry farms will begin using the pesticide as a replacement for methyl bromide, a soil fumigant that’s being phased out.

Note: This interview was conducted in Spanish and translated into English.  Some words or language may have been changed in the process.

DP: Good afternoon, Doroteo! Thank you for taking the time to talk with me about your work in the strawberry fields and your experience with pesticide exposure.  Let’s start with something about you.

DL: Thank you, Dana. I have been working with Dole for eight years now, harvesting strawberries here in Salinas.  I’m 29 years old, originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, where my mother and father still live. I’ve worked in farms my whole life, and have lived in Salinas since 2000.  And I have also been active with the United Farm Workers for at least six years. Previously, I was a worker representative, but I have since stepped back from that position.  Now I continue to fight for the rights of all of the workers out here; for our health, fair wages, and to be treated well.

DP: What sort of problems have you had working in the fields?

DL: All sorts. We work hard—very hard. All of us have families, friends, and partners who have had problems with being treated poorly. Sometimes the names we are called and the way we are yelled at is terrible. We have to fight for all of our rights to fair wages, to have breaks, and to be spoken to with respect.

We have to fight for protection against toxic chemicals used in the fields.  I’ve had terrible stomach aches, burning eyes, and dizziness from the pesticides.  I’ve seen pregnant women in the fields be exposed, and they will vomit while at work.

Gov. Jerry Brown has received hundreds upon hundreds of tweets and Facebook messages today. But we're guessing that his sudden internet popularity isn't making him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

More than 500 people have tweeted at Governor Jerry Brown and/or written on his Facebook page wall in just a few short hours, with more people sending messages by the minute. All of these messages have one major theme: The Governor needs to ban the cancer-causing pesticide, methyl iodide — now.

The messages came about as part of a social media day of action orchestrated by Change.org and Pesticide Action Network (PAN). Environmental activists and concerned citizens were encouraged to take to their computers today and flood Gov. Jerry Brown's social media accounts with anti-methyl iodide sentiments. The day has been a huge success so far, with more people joining the day of action by the minute.

With peak fumigation season just weeks away, we need your help urging Governor Jerry Brown to stop the use of the cancer-causing pesticide methyl iodide in California’s crop fields.

Today, August 23^rd, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) is teaming up with Change.org to launch a social media day of action. We’re inviting concerned citizens like you to join us on Facebook and Twitter in calling on Gov. Brown to pull methyl iodide from the shelves before fumigation season starts. We need to act quickly!

Here’s how you can get involved: On Facebook, go to Jerry Brown's page and click the ‘Like’ button at the top. Then post this message to his wall: "Governor Brown, please keep California's strawberry fields and communities safe from the cancer-causing pesticide, methyl iodide. http://www.change.org/petitions/fumigation-season-is-here-we-need-action-on-methyl-iodide-3" You can also craft your own message—the more personal the story, the better!

On Twitter, post a message like this: "Hey @JerryBrownGov Pull methyl iodide. Kids, farmworkers & neighbors will thank u http://ow.ly/6amYl @pesticideaction #SafeStrawberry"

More than 16,000 people have called and emailed California Governor Jerry Brown in the last 24 hours urging him to immediately revoke the approval of the carcinogenic pesticide methyl iodide. Scientists say the safety of California’s food, farmworkers, and residents is at stake.

Three farms have already started fumigating their fields with one of the most toxic chemicals on earth. With peak fumigation season mere weeks away, environmental organizations like Pesticide Action Network of North America (PANNA) are worried that other farmers will follow suit. It's likely that more farmers will start using this dangerous pesticide unless Governor Brown takes action immediately.

"We are at a critical point,” said Kathryn Gilje, Executive Director of PANNA. “Fumigation season is nearly upon us, and though there have just been a handful of methyl iodide applications so far, there could be many more in the next 30 days unless Brown takes action now."

PANNA created an online petition on Change.org asking Gov. Brown to reverse the approval of methyl iodide before it is too late. The campaign asks the governor to immediately ban the use of methyl iodide in the state and to appoint a director of the Department of Pesticide Regulation who will allow science rather than corporate interests to guide policy decisions on pesticides.

Scientists, environmentalists, and public health experts have all spoken out against the use of methyl iodide, a pesticide linked to cancers, thyroid disease, and late-term miscarriages. Now America's educators are joining the cause.

The California Federation of Teachers recently concluded its 2011 Convention, releasing a number of resolutions and constitutional amendments (pdf). One of the biggest resolutions deals with a topic not typically covered in the education sector — pesticides. Resolution One demands that the state of California immediately withdrawal the approval of methyl iodide until more research is conducted on the pesticide's potential health and environmental dangers.

It may seem strange that California's teachers would concern themselves with a pesticide, but it makes sense — methyl iodide impacts most of the state's residents, especially children. "The overall potential negative impacts of living and going to school near ranches, farms and fields on which methyl iodide is used for pest management — even with the legally required protections, application procedures, and buffer zones in place — pose unconscionable risks to the health and well-being of our children, their families, educators and school employees," the resolution read.

Few corporations hold a reputation as evil as Monsanto's. The Big Ag behemoth is behind such catastrophic inventions as Agent Orange, DDT, PCBs, and most recently, genetically modified (GM) seeds. How the company is even still in business after decades of mucking up the environment and our health is beyond me — but I digress.

If organic farmers get their way, though, Monsanto won't wreak more havoc with its GM crops. Yesterday, the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) filed a lawsuit against Monsanto on behalf of a group of seed businesses, organic agriculture operations, and more than 60 family farmers. The plaintiffs sued preemptively to prevent Monsanto from going after them for patent infringement should their organic seeds become contaminated with Monsanto's GM canola, soy, cotton, corn, sugar beets, and alfalfa.

The preemptive strike is certainly warranted: Monsanto has a history of suing farmers — even the little guys! — for patent infringement. The worst part is that oftentimes this "infringement" isn't even farmers' faults. GM seeds' DNA makes its way over to organic and conventional crops through processes like pollen transfer — through no fault of the small farmer — yet Monsanto holds these parties accountable for infringing upon the company's patented, GM technology.

It may be too late to bring back the life of 17-year-old farmworker, Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez, but there's still time to demand that those who killed her are held accountable. That's exactly what student groups, farmworkers, community activists, and the United Farm Workers aim to do this week — and you can help.

For those unfamiliar with the case, Vasquez Jimenez's story is a tragic tale. The teenager was two months pregnant and pruning grapes in a California vineyard when she collapsed in 2008. Vasquez Jimenez toiled in 95-degree weather for nine hours straight, illegally denied breaks for water or to rest in the shade. Although Vasquez Jimenez was eventually brought to the hospital after her body temperature spiked to 108 degrees, it was too late — two days later, she died of heat stroke.

Vasquez Jimenez's employer, Merced Farm Labor, acted inhumanely to the pregnant teenager, but denying farmworkers regular breaks for water and shade runs counter to California's most basic heat laws, too. Merced's owner, Maria De Los Angeles Colunga, and safety coordinator, Elias Armenta, failed to provide water, shade, or prompt medical attention for Vasquez Jimenez. The pair's gross negligence and abysmal management earned them charges of involuntary manslaughter.

Pruning grapes for nine hours straight is enough to make even the most able-bodied person collapse. Now imagine carrying out the task in 95-degree heat with no breaks to grab a drink of water or rest in the shade. Now picture yourself working in these conditions while being 17 years old and two months pregnant.

Those are the exact conditions that farmworker Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez experienced while working for California's Merced Farm Labor back in 2008. They're ultimately the same conditions that gave her heat stroke, causing her untimely death two days later.

Merced's gross negligence got owner Maria De Los Angeles Colunga and Safety Coordinator Elias Armenta charged with involuntary manslaughter. Now, nearly three years later, these farm bosses who exposed Jimenez to horrifying dangers may get off with little more than a few hours of community service.

While Jimenez's story is certainly tragic, what makes her death even more heartbreaking is the fact that it could have easily been avoided. California law dictates that agricultural operations like Merced Farm Labor must provide their workers with drinking water every hour and regular shade breaks. According to Merced employees who were working the day that Jimenez collapsed, the water cooler was a 10-minute walk from where the teenager and her fiance, Florentino Bautista, were stationed, and the foreman on duty wasn't allowing laborers to take breaks.

Last month, Change.org brought you news that a coalition of environmental and public health non-profits filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Pesticide Regulation's (CDPR) decision to approve the pesticide methyl iodide. Methyl iodide is a substance so toxic that it's actually used in lab settings to grow cancer cells, and CDPR recently gave strawberry farmers the green light to fumigate their fields with this chemical. For the first time since the lawsuit, the state Assembly's Health and Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committees will hold a joint oversight hearing tomorrow, February 22nd, to examine methyl iodide's hasty approval.

Understanding just how critical this issue is to California's environmental and public health requires a bit of backstory. CDPR first approved methyl iodide in December 2010 despite overwhelming backlash from the scientific community, environmentalists, public health experts, and basically everyone else besides Big Ag. After a substance is approved for use as a pesticide, it's typically subject to a public comment period before it is officially registered. The CDPR, however, bypassed this regulation by declaring methyl iodide's approval to be an "emergency" situation (what the emergency was is still unclear), sending it straight to full registration. Without government intervention, the toxic substance is set to be used on strawberry fields as early as this spring.

Many folks will surprise their sweethearts today with an assortment of chocolate goodies. While treats like Hershey's Chocolate Hearts may taste sweet, they often hide a cruel secret — child labor and exploitation.

As The Atlantic reports, the majority of the world's cacao — the bean from which chocolate bars are produced — is grown and harvested in Africa. One-third of the world's cocoa beans come from Cote d'Ivoire, while another 30 percent of the global supply originates in Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon. The rest comes from Central and South America. These countries' six million cocoa farmers churn out about three million tons of cocoa beans every, single year.

That steady stream of beans keeps major chocolate manufacturers like Hershey's in business. There's just one problem: Hershey's profits come at the cost of child labor, exploitation of impoverished farmers, human trafficking, and unfair labor practices.