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Pesticides & Herbicides, The Facts
Controversy surrounding the strawberry involves the use of toxic chemicals in commercial farms, specifically methyl bromide. The California strawberry industry is the second largest methyl bromide user in the nation, in Santa Cruz County using about 650,228 lb of methyl bromide in the year 2000. According to “Pesticides and the Environment” by Dr. Mohd. Isa Abdul Majid, 68% of pesticide use (not just methyl bromide) derives from agricultural uses, 17% by industrial and commercial uses, and 15% on home and gardens. Pesticides applied can become airborne spread anywhere. The significance of pesticides such as methyl bromide and others is that they can either go through desegregation or become resistant and remain in the environment for long periods of time.
Methyl bromide is a chemical declared toxic by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that is used as to kill pests in strawberry crops and other crops as well. The pesticide is injected into the soil before planting. The toxin is known not only to cause environmental effects but also to harm humans and cause neurological damage, reproductive harm, asthma, skin damage, eye injuries, and hormone disruption.
Direct exposure to the pesticide is toxic to the central nervous system and can lead to damage in the lungs and kidneys and could possibly lead to cancer. Farm workers and residents that live near fumigated farms have experienced the various symptoms of headaches, blurred vision, nausea, and dizziness that indicate exposure to methyl bromide especially in Watsonville. According to anecdotal evidence I researched a number of farmers who have reported the dizziness, nauseas, and blurry eye vision. A former farmer Angel Granados, a 55 year old man claims that throughout the years he worked for a company named Frank Capurro he began to lose his vision at an incredible pace.
Even more disturbing are the incidents of evacuation due to methyl...