You and I vs. Money
You may never have heard of Arysta LifeScience, the largest privately-held agrochemical company in the world. You’re more likely to have heard of Arysta’s most infamous product, methyl iodide. It’s a frighteningly toxic pesticide that has just been used for the first time in California.
Arysta is a wealthy enough company that it hires big name lobbying and public relation firms to get its message to legislators, regulators, and the media. The PR firm and the lobbyists can make polished presentations about how “safe” methyl iodide is, even if standard health and safety testing has shown that it causes cancer and miscarriages. They can also assert that methyl iodide is necessary to keep California’s agricultural economy strong, and decision-makers will listen.
You and I, on the other hand, don’t have Big Money to speak for us. What we do have, though, is Big Numbers. In the last few months over 200,000 people have spoken out against methyl iodide. Now it’s time for even more people power to keep the pressure on. Governor Brown has indicated that he”ll take another look at California’s approval of methyl iodide. Don’t miss this opportunity to give him a call and tell him that you expect him to do just that.
California’s strawberry fields are expected to be where most methyl iodide is used. Let’s keep those fields methyl iodide-free.