Cancer-Causing Neurotoxin Approved for Use in California's Crop Fields

In a baffling decision yesterday, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) ignored the advice of top scientists — including five Nobel Laureates and its own Scientific Review Panel — and approved the dangerous chemical methyl iodide to be used as a pesticide, primarily for strawberry cultivation. The chemical is so toxic it makes arsenic look like powdered sugar.

Methyl iodide is used to intentionally induce cancer in lab animals, and exposure can cause late-term miscarriages and permanent neurological damage. This chemical obviously poses a serious health risk to consumers, not to mention the farm workers who will be forced to work in the poisoned fields. Despite all these safety issues, the chemical manufacturer Arysta lobbied hard and spent millions of dollars to get the chemical approved, and the DPR seems to have listened.

This is a big problem, and not just for Californians. More than 80 percent of the nation's strawberries are grown in California, so this is a decision that affects almost everyone who bites into these tasty treats — unless you buy organic or grow your own, that is. The strawberries I grow in my front yard, in addition to being poison-free, are by far the best I've ever eaten. Certainly we should exercise these options now, but that's not enough. For the sake of those who work in the fields, those who live near them, those who can't afford or don't have access to organic, or those who simply don't know about this dangerous chemical, methyl iodide must be stopped.

Last month, Californians elected Jerry Brown to be the new Governor, a politician with a great environmental track record who would likely have a sympathetic ear. The chair of the Scientific Review Panel, John Froines, recommended that the committee reconvene and that Governor Brown direct the DPR to incorporate the committee's recommendations into its final decision. Activists everywhere are now calling for Governor-elect Brown to enact these recommendations and to issue a moratorium on the use of methyl iodide on his first day in office. After the DPR's major failure, Governor Brown is our best hope for keeping this dangerous pesticide out of our fields, our waterways, and our bloodstreams. Sign our petition and tell Governor Brown to stand up for safety and science instead of corporate lobbying.

Photo credit: D. Sharon Pruitt via Flickr