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If you eat strawberries from California, you may also be eating a cancer-causing pesticide (from "Chemical Month" on 13.7 Billion Years)A symbol of Venus, the Roman goddess of love, the strawberry has long
been considered a sign of perfection. Designs containing its image were
carved into the altars of churches by medieval stone masons. But today
in California, the strawberry is far from being a model of perfection.
In December, the state's Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) approved the pesticide methyl iodide,
a known carcinogen, for use in the state's strawberry fields "despite
vocal opposition from public health experts, environmentalists and farm
workers," according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Many opponents claim that the controversial decision was the result of heavy lobbying by the chemical industry.
"The
decision flies in the face of unprecedented public and scientific
opposition, and is a clear instance of corporate influence overriding
science and the public interest," according to an email from the San
Francisco based non-profit Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA).
"The
decision to permit use of a chemical in the fields that causes cancer,
late-term miscarriage and permanent neurological damage is [a] ticking
time bomb," said Susan Kegley, a PANNA consulting scientist, according
to Mother Earth News. "The idea that this pesticide can be used safely in the fields is a myth."
Though
it will target California's highly lucrative strawberry fields, methyl
iodide may also be used on other fruit, vegetables and flowers across
the state.
According to PANNA, over 50 scientists, 6 of them
Nobel Laureates, agreed to go on record opposing the decision, saying
they were "astonished" that officials would "legalize broadcast releases
of one of the more toxic chemicals used in manufacturing into the
environment."
