CropLife America

by Natasha Chart · 2009-04-30 16:00:00 UTC
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A new nonprofit was recommended to the Change.org Sustainable Food community today, CropLife America, let's hear a little about them from their website:

"Established in 1933 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., CropLife America is the nation’s largest trade organization for agriculture and pest management. We represent more than 80 developers, manufacturers, formulators and distributors of virtually all the crop protection products used by American farmers and growers. We are the voice of the industry that ensures the safe and responsible use of pesticides in order to provide a safe, affordable and abundant food supply. ..."

One of their regional partners is the Mid America CropLife Association, and you may remember this one-hit-wonder organization as the group whose director got the shudders when she heard that the Obama's White House garden would be organic and sent Michelle Obama a letter that read in part as follows:

... Much of the food considered not wholesome or tasty is the result of how it is stored or prepared rather than how it is grown. Fresh foods grown conventionally are wholesome and flavorful yet more economical. ...

In other words, they're genetically modified crop, chemical fertilizer and poisonous pesticide pushers trying to paste a big, PR-friendly poster of the faces of America's farmers over the political agendas of companies like DuPont and Monsanto. They shamelessly endorse policies that force developing nations to accept biotech crops in order to get food aid. Here's their expression of sincere disappointment that they couldn't hold up the EPA's screening program for endocrine disruptors:

In response to CropLife America’s (CLA) July 2008 petition, filed by the association to help ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) is successfully implemented and to reduce potential financial, time, and resource burdens on both industry and the agency, the EPA has formally responded by denying CLA’s petition.

“We’re disappointed with the EPA’s decision to deny our petition which was intended to help keep the EDSP on schedule,” said Jay Vroom, CLA president and CEO. “In arriving at this formal response, we worry EPA have not taken into account the unique aspects of pesticide regulatory requirements as they intersect with the overarching, new endocrine screening process. ..."

Worried about keeping this on schedule, my toenails. Nothing terrifies these companies more than that the toxins they dump into our air, food and water by the ton might start getting independent scientific scrutiny.

This was recommender Aaron Smethurst's suggested description for CropLife America:

CropLife supports sustainable food for the world. They believe that farmers everywhere deserve the right to choose the best technologies for the challenges they face in providing for food security.

Words fail. Application denied.

Natasha Chart
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