Pesticide News Briefs
edited by Kate Pattison

Mt. Olive Boycott Ends

The end of a five-year boycott against the Mt. Olive Pickle Company will have widespread repercussions across North Carolina for migrant “guest” workers. Over 8,000 workers with H2A visas are the first in the history of the US to win union representation and a contract. The agreement between the North Carolina Growers Association (NCGA) and the Farm Labor Organizing Committe AFL-CIO (FLOC) is the largest union contract in North Carolina’s history.

“This agreement will set an important standard to the rest of the agricultural industry. Everyone else almost exclusively utilizes undocumented workers and the conditions of those workers are tragic and shameful,” stated FLOC President, Baldemar Velasquez.
Source: FLOC Press Release

Tougher Pesticide Fines

The NC Pesticide Board voted Sept. 14 to change their long-standing interpretation of the limits on pesticide fines for private applicators. The long-standing limit on fines (previously $500 total) will be re-interpreted to mean $500 per violation, allowing higher fines for more severe offenders. The new interpretation will allow greater leverage in negotiating settlement agreements, and is intended to bring fairness to a system that has traditionally served both minor offenders and major, repeat violators with very similar fines. The Pesticide Board retains the authority to reject any fines that they deem unfair.
Source: Toxic Free NC

Unsound Science

The Union of Concerned Scientists released a report in July, citing the Bush administration’s manipulation of science to fit policy goals. The Department of Health and Human Services, headed by Secretary Tommy Thompson, rejected the nomination of scientists (including Nobel laureate Dr. Torsten Wiesel) for being critical of, or not voting for, George W. Bush, according to the report.

Bush administration officials called the 34-page report “wrong and misleading”. This report follows a similar one released in February by the Union of Concerned Scientists, along with a statement signed by dozens of prominent scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates.
Source: The New York Times

Drift Law in CA

Doctors, farmworkers and residents in California are lauding a new bill that will help victims of pesticide drift. In recent years, pesticide drift has sickened hundreds of people, including pregnant women and children, in or near California farms. However, farmers are concerned that the law will cause their insurance rates to rise, adding burden to increasing fuel prices and other costs.

The law provides for emergency care for those injured, as well as training for first responders. Some residents in Earlimart, CA, were taken to a football stadium and hosed down publicly in 1999 after being exposed to toxic chemicals.
Source: The San Luis Obispo Tribune

Biodiversity and Organic Farming

Two independant research groups have compiled the largest review of studies comparing organic and conventional farming around the world, finding organic farming to increase biodiversity at every level of the food chain. Data came from studies conducted in Europe, Canada, New Zealand and the US. Studies measured biodiversity in groups of organisms including bacteria, plants, insects, birds and mammals. One study showed foraging activity up 84% for bats on organic farms, with two species, the greater and lesser horseshoe bats, found only on organic farms.
Source: New Scientist•