Diverse coalition calls for county protections and statewide ban
Courtesy photo.
CAMARILLO — There’s a better way to grow food in Ventura County that doesn’t risk damaging the brains and health of local children. That’s the message brought by a diverse group of local residents, including Ventura County farmworkers, organic growers, health professionals, and experts in biological pest-management. They are calling on officials to step up and enact a statewide ban of the brain-harming organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos, and to educate the agriculture industry and the public about the many available safe alternatives to the dangerous chemical.
Dozens will rally and hold a Thursday, July 26th 5:30 p.m. news conference in front of The Abundant Table organic farm (1012 W Ventura Blvd, Camarillo) that uses alternatives to chlorpyrifos. The event is sponsored by the Ventura County Coalition Advocating for Pesticide Safety (VC CAPS).
Chlorpyrifos is a potent neurotoxin, linked to autism, ADHD, IQ loss, and neurological, respiratory and developmental health harms, even in tiny amounts. Already banned in 2000 for home use, the pesticide is applied in huge quantities in Ventura County, especially on lemons and strawberries–almost 27,000 pounds in 2016. After exhaustive scientific review, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared the chemical unsafe to use in any amount and proposed a total ban, but Trump’s EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt reversed the ban in March 2017. Since then, a number of states have weighed a variety of responses to the federal government’s failure to end use of the dangerous chemical. Hawaii passed a statewide ban in May, while so far California has listed it as a Prop 65 Reproductive Toxin.
For those rallying Thursday, that’s not enough.
“The weight of scientific research that chlorpyrifos harms young brains and nervous systems is overwhelming,” said Dr. Minako Watabe, a Santa Paula Obstetrician & Gynecologist. “If we are to base public policy on evidence, we must—as Hawaii has done—ban chlorpyrifos in California.”
Until such a ban is passed, Ventura County is not doing enough to support farmers in eliminating use of chlorpyrifos or to educate growers about safe alternatives, coalition members say.
“The transition away from chlorpyrifos can be immediate. There are many available and well-tested alternatives to the brain-harming pesticide,” said Jan Dietrick President of Rincon-Vitova Insectories, noting that it’s been two years since the United Kingdom banned chlorpyrifos for all food crops with the single exception of broccoli seedlings.
For those working in Ventura County’s fields, that transition can’t come soon enough. Former farmworker and Lideres Campesinas member Olga Medina commented, “I have suffered with other farmworkers in the fields from exposure to many dangerous pesticides. Most of them I can’t name, but the one I know we must stop is chlorpyrifos. It doesn’t just make you sick for a day or a week; it can permanently damage your children even before they’re born.”
Reyna Ortega, an organic farmer at The Abundant Table, said she wants farmworkers like Ms. Medina to be safe, and notes that all Californians are at risk, even those living and working far from the fields: “If you get your 5-a-day helpings of fruit and vegetables, you’ll eat a serving with chlorpyrifos residue on it once a week on average in California. We don’t believe in that on our organic farm. All farmers need to stop harming kids’ brains and use alternatives to chlorpyrifos now.“
“Like the UK and Hawaii, California needs a ban on brain-harming chlorpyrifos,” said Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) and VC CAPS organizer, Adam Vega. “Until then, our new Ventura County Ag Commissioner should implement 1-mile protective buffer zones between schools and chlorpyrifos applications, alert the schools to such applications well beforehand, and require growers to try safer alternatives before resorting to chlorpyrifos.”
Ventura County Coalition Advocating for Pesticide Safety (VC CAPS): is a group of local residents organizing to reduce the threat of pesticide health harms and move toward a regenerative, sustainable form of agriculture. VC CAPS is part of the Californians for Pesticide Reform network.
Please see related stories:
- KEYT News — Farmworker groups in Santa Maria call for ban on harmful pesticide
- Santa Maria Times — Ventura County Coalition Advocating for Pesticide Safety (VC CAPS)