Tuesday, April 19, 2011

TOXIC STRAWBERRIES?

Pardon me if I don't get it. I've been eating and enjoying strawberries that I purchase at my local grocers for a long time. Beautiful, delicious, enjoyable, good for you. What more could you ask of a fruit?  There is one thing, please don't let California growers pour a bunch of toxic chemicals on strawberry fields.  I know the chemical companies like to sell their stuff, and some of it has been beneficial poisons, but not methyl iodide. As a consumer, the first thing you can do to prevent this, is begin to ask your grocer if the strawberries you are buying are treated with methyl iodide. He/she may not know what it is, but will immediately be on the alert that customers know about it and are watching. Tell your neighbors. 

The Environmental Protection Agency is going to take another look at methyl iodide, a chemical approved during the waning years of the Bush administration over the protestations of more than 50 scientists, among them six Nobel Laureates in Chemistry.
 Methyl iodide is a known human carcinogen, as well as a neurotoxin and disruptor of thyroid function. It can be especially damaging during fetal development, and it has no business being used as a fumigant in our farm fields -- especially when there are safe alternatives. Even the strictest regulations on application cannot prevent exposure of workers, surrounding populations, and drinking water to this hazardous chemical.

If you love strawberries, and you love your kids and grand kids, contact the EPA and protest this lousy choice. To make it easier, I've copied the above information and an address where you can sign on and protest this decision before it becomes approved for strawberries. http://action.earthjustice.org/site/R?i=DsjFAbhpWstJFc31I6bFNQ..

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